Felix Summerly's Home Treasury

Felix Summerly's Home Treasury. This landmark series of children's books, published in London between 1841 and 1849, was conceived by the civil servant and design reformer Henry Cole under the pseudonym Felix Summerly. It was a direct and influential reaction against the perceived moralistic dullness of works like Peter Parley's Tales and the crude sensationalism of chapbooks then dominating the juvenile market. Published by Joseph Cundall, the series aimed to cultivate artistic taste and provide wholesome, beautifully produced literature for the young, drawing on traditional English folklore, nursery rhymes, and classic fairy tales.

Background and Publication

The series emerged during the early Victorian era, a period of intense debate about childhood, education, and industrial society. Henry Cole, later a key figure in organizing the Great Exhibition of 1851 and founding the Victoria and Albert Museum, was deeply involved in the Design Reform movement. He believed that aesthetic education should begin in childhood and was appalled by the poor quality of most children's books. Collaborating with the publisher and bookseller Joseph Cundall, who operated from New Bond Street, Cole launched the Home Treasury as a commercial venture with high artistic ideals. The books were physically produced with great care, using quality materials and commissioned illustrations from respected artists, setting them apart from typical publications of the time and aligning with contemporary movements like the Etching Club.

Content and Format

The series comprised individual volumes dedicated to specific tales or themes, such as *Traditional Nursery Songs of England*, *The Ballad of Chevy Chase*, and *Beauty and the Beast*. The content deliberately revived and sanitized traditional English and European stories, including works from Charles Perrault and the Brothers Grimm, which had been largely absent from respectable English children's publishing. Each book was a small, square volume bound in brightly colored glazed paper boards, a format inspired by German Romanticism and books from publishers like Georg von Cotta. The interior illustrations, created by artists including John Absolon, William Mulready, and John Callcott Horsley, were notable for their fine detail and careful integration with the text, often reproduced via then-advanced techniques like wood engraving and lithography.

Artistic and Literary Significance

Felix Summerly's Home Treasury is historically significant for asserting that children's books were a legitimate art form worthy of collaboration between authors, artists, and skilled printers. It helped redefine the visual culture of childhood in Victorian Britain by prioritizing aesthetic harmony and quality production. Literarily, it played a crucial role in the Victorian rediscovery and canonization of folk tales and nursery rhymes, treating them as a valuable part of the national heritage. The series directly influenced the later generation of Golden Age illustrators, such as Walter Crane, Randolph Caldecott, and Kate Greenaway, who would further elevate the picture book. Its ethos connected to broader cultural currents, including the work of John Ruskin and the Arts and Crafts Movement.

Influence and Legacy

The commercial and critical success of the Home Treasury demonstrated a viable market for high-quality children's books, paving the way for publishers like Edmund Evans and George Routledge. Its model of the artist-illustrated, single-story gift book became a standard format for premium children's publishing throughout the 19th century. The series' championing of fairy tales influenced later literary fairy tales by authors like John Ruskin (*The King of the Golden River*) and contributed to the milieu that produced Lewis Carroll's *Alice's Adventures in Wonderland*. Furthermore, Henry Cole's work on the series informed his later public campaigns for design education and museum reform, indirectly impacting institutions like the South Kensington Museum.

Critical Reception

Upon publication, the series was praised by influential figures in the literary and art worlds. The writer and critic John Ruskin was an ardent admirer, commending its beauty and moral purity in contrast to other juvenile fare. Reviews in periodicals such as *The Athenaeum* noted its exquisite production and refinement. However, some contemporary moralists remained skeptical of fairy tales generally. Modern scholarship, from historians like Brian Alderson and M.O. Grenby, recognizes the Home Treasury as a pivotal turning point in the history of children's literature, marking the beginning of a consciously artistic tradition in British publishing that balanced entertainment with aesthetic education and successfully negotiated the tensions between commerce and culture in the Victorian period.

Category:British children's book series Category:1840s books Category:Victorian literature