Encyclopedias & Dictionaries
These
sources can be used for explanations of terms, concepts, movements, or artists
discussed in relation to Cruikshank and his times. This list includes encyclopedias and dictionaries pertinent
to the field of art. Pay attention
to the date when the term you are looking for was written, and select a
dictionary contemporary with that source for the best relevant explanation of
what that word means.
Brigstocke,
Hugh, ed. Oxford Companion to
Western Art. New York: Oxford
University Press, 2001.
ART READY REF N33.O923 2001
This source is
useful for shorter, quicker, and more concise entries than those that can be
found in the more authoritative Grove Dictionary of Art.
It is a single volume, and created for quick referencing.
It is alphabetically arranged with many cross-references, and some very
nice large color plates.
Clement, Clara
Erskine and Lawrence Hutton. Artists
of the Nineteenth Century and their Works: A Handbook Containing Two Thousand
and Fifty Biographical Sketches. Boston:
Osgood & Company, 1885.
ART
N40.W45 (revised 1969 edition in ART REF)
This work was
written seven years after Cruikshank’s death and includes short biographical
entries about notable nineteenth century artists.
If available, the editors then include quotes about the artist from
critics, other artists, or scholars. They
include both positive and negative comments; so this source is an excellent
place learn about how these artists were viewed by friends and foe alike during
their lifetime. Cruikshank’s
entry is nearly 2 pages long.
Dickens,
Charles. Dickens’s Dictionary of
London, 1879: An Unconventional Handbook. London:
Charles Dickens, 1879.
DAVIS REF DA679.D54
This work shows
amazing insight into Dickens’s mind and view of Victorian London.
It is Dickens’s attempt at a dictionary, and includes common words,
place names, and contemporary slang. There
is also a neat section of Victorian advertisements in the back of the book. It is an excellent peak into how Cruikshank, the city of
London and its inhabitants may have viewed the world.
Use this source when seeking clarity or definition of terms from sources
written in the 19th or early 20th centuries.
Dictionary
of Art. New York: Grove’s
Dictionaries, 1996.
ART
REF N31.D5 1996 (34 vol.), also available through UNC’s electronic indexes and
databases at http://eresources.lib.unc.edu/eid/
Click on the “G” and scroll through the alphabetical list until you
get to Grove’s Dictionary of Art Online.
The
first place to look for authoritative definitions and discussions of all things
related to art, from movements, to individual artists, to materials, to
cultures. It is a great source that
provides a starting point for all art research.
Most entries include bibliographies.
Houfe,
Simon. The Dictionary of 19th
Century British Book Illustrators and Caricaturists (1800-1914).
Woodbridge, Suffolk: Antique Collectors’ Club, 1996.
ART
REF and RBC REF NC978.H65 1996
The
first part of this work covers the historical background of book illustration
and caricatures, then traces illustration through the century.
The bulk of the text is a “dictionary” of illustrators with
informative, illustrated entries. At
the back, there are three useful appendices: Schools of Illustration, Specialist
Illustration, and Famous Books and their Illustrators.
This is a great source for contextual information about Cruikshank, as
well as contemporary illustrators and caricaturists.
Mitchell,
Sally, ed. Victorian Britain: an
Encyclopedia. New York: Garland
Publishing, Inc., 1988.
DAVIS REF DA550.V53 1988
This is a single
volume encyclopedia with good, solid entries with bibliographies, cross
references, and illustrations where appropriate.
It includes personal names, places, concepts, and movements from the
Victorian Era. At the beginning of the work is a very useful chronology of
the era, and in the back is an excellent section entitled, “Research Materials
for Victorian Studies.” It is an
annotated bibliography of the principle reference works and important archive
and manuscript collections in the field.