PiCoBoo · 19th-Century European Picture-Books in Colour

19th-Century European Picture-Books in Colour

The PiCoBoo project investigated 19th-century European picturebooks printed in colour for children. It assessed their significance as a catalyst for major cultural and social changes and offered the first comprehensive analysis of a large genre of books that, although mass-produced and of undoubted significance to the history of print as well as many individuals’ reading experiences, was still almost entirely neglected by scholarship. From the mid-19th century, the supremacy of monochrome had come to an end. For the first time, large numbers of readers were seeing the world in colour: this had important implications for many aspects of culture, society and the economy, leading to a completely new visual culture. Remarkably, this major revolution in visual culture had its origins in books for children, and yet these colour picturebooks – the first titles successfully published on a mass scale in colour – have seldom been subjected to scholarly consideration. PiCoBoo filled this lacuna, providing the first detailed account of when, where and how these books were made, of who produced them and for what audiences. It analysed what their long-term influence was, across national boundaries, and placed them in larger cultural, publishing and visual histories. In collaboration with some of the major collections of these books in the world, PiCoBoo brought new attention to this important chapter in the history of the book. PiCoBoo had two main research objectives: (a) to improve catalogue records and establish new descriptive protocols, achieved through the construction of an international network of institutions and through the creation of an open-access database, and (b) to offer a detailed account of these picturebooks, through publications and exhibitions. Researcher Francesca Tancini has been supported by the unique expertise of Prof. Matthew Grenby at Newcastle University and of one of the most eminent children’s book historians of his generation, Brian Alderson. PiCoBoo project has been hosted by the Children’s Literature Unit at Newcastle University, in partnership with Seven Stories, The National Centre for Children’s Books, with a secondment at the Victoria and Albert Museum, London.

Data: CORDIS, © European Union