Victorian Mother's and Children Illustrations From The Harper's Young People Illustrations Book From 1889

There's nothing quite like looking at the different expressions of family members within gatherings - especially the expressions of mother's and children.

You cannot help but feel the despair in the face of the mother from the illustration above that appeared in the July 27, 1889 weekly in the Harper's Young People Illustrated Book on page 580. It was entitled "Homeless" and was drawn for the poem "Homeless" written by Dora Read Goodale.

The illustration above appeared in the February 9, 1889 weekly in the Harper's Young People Illustrated Book on page 670. It was entitled "Celestial Geography." The captions were: "Charlie (recently promoted to the study of geography, and much interested in the same.) "Mamma, do all the big countries have capitals?" Mamma. 'Yes, Dear."  Charlie. "Then what's the capital of heaven?"

For the above you can see the questioning look on the boy and the surprised look on the mother who is trying to decide how to answer that question.

The illustration above appeared in the March 9, 1889 weekly in the Harper's Young People Illustrated Book on page 270 is also one of my favorites as it always reminds me of the time I spent in my grandmother's arms while she was rocking me and watching her soap opera's on the television.

The illustration above appeared in the December 15, 1888 weekly in the Harper's Young People Illustrated Book on page 68. It was entitled "Grim walked proudly into the room."  It was drawn for the story "Delcy's Squirrel" written by Kate Upson Clark.

You can see the children's delight with the gift from the cat and the mother and grandmother's disgust with getting that out of the house.

The illustration above appeared in the December 29, 1888 weekly in the Harper's Young People Illustrated Book on page 100. It was entitled "The boy sank on the floor and cuddled the monkey in his arms."

My favorite part of the illustration above is the grandmother in the rocking chair.  I just love her face.

The illustration above appeared in the February 16, 1889 weekly in the Harper's Young People Illustrated Book on page 224. It was entitled "Not Yet Time To Turn Over."  The captions were: Mother. "I am distressed to hear that you have been naughty again, Jack. It certainly is time for you to turn over a new leaf." Jack. "What's the use of my turning over a new leaf when I can't read any at all yet."

You can't help but wonder how the young mother above is going to answer that question.

The illustration above appeared in the July 6, 1889 weekly in the Harper's Young People Illustrated Book on page 537. It was entitled "Mrs. Tenderden came up on the walks with her arms full of great white lilies."

I just love the details in this illustration, the little girls dress and hair and the expression on the woman with the lilies.

The beautiful engraving  above appeared in the July 20, 1889 weekly in the Harper's Young People Illustrated Book on page 561 and is another one of my favorites. It was entitled "Madame Vigee-Lebrun and her Daughter - From the painting by Madame LeBrun."

How exquisite are the details for both the mother and daughter's faces? Just amazing - don't you think? Wow!

The illustration above appeared in the January 26, 1889 weekly in the Harper's Young People Illustrated Book on page 169. It was entitled "Christmas in Germany - Distribution of presents to peasant children at the castle" and was drawn by Charles Mente.

The illustration above appeared in the May 4, 1889 weekly in the Harper's Young People Illustrated Book on page 385. It was entitled "A Waif of the Sea" and was drawn for the story "Dorymates: A Story of the Fishing Banks" written by Kirk Munroe.

I just love how beautifully detailed the illustration above is and how wonderful each of the fisherman's expressions are.

The illustration above  and the illustration below appeared in the October 26, 1889 weekly in the Harper's Young People Illustrated Book on page 797 and were contained within the poem entitled "A Change of Opinion: Ten Years Afterward."

How beautiful are these two illustrations.  Just look at the expression on the face of the older woman.  Certainly not one of joy.  Same for the little girl.  Wonder what the problem was?

I hope you enjoyed seeing the Victorian mother's and children's illustrations.