Renascence: A Book of Verse

Walter Crane, whose illustrations shaped the visual language of childhood for generations, reveals another dimension of his artistic soul in this rare volume of verse. The poems carry the weight of his socialist convictions and his deep belief in art as a force for social change. Here is Crane not as the beloved illustrator of fairy tales and nursery rhymes, but as a poet wrestling with the inequalities of his age, celebrating labor, and imagining a more just world. The first section contains poems published for the first time, while the second gathers verses that appeared across various left-leaning publications of his era. Each piece is illustrated with Crane's own black and white engravings, creating a seamless dialogue between image and word. This edition, one of only sixty-five copies printed for England, offers readers an intimate glimpse into the artistic philosophy and political heart that drove one of the Victorian era's most influential visual artists.