A Child's Visions (1912)

Illustrated by Daphne Allen

A rare copy of A Child's Visions - illustrated by Allen and published by George Allen & Company, Ltd (London) in 1912.   Printing for the 1st Edition of A Child's Visions was undertaken by Ballantyne, Hanson & Co. at the Ballantyne Press (Edinburgh).     To the left, we show an example with the original binding carrying the applied illustrated plate.   On the right, we show the illustrated Title Page for A Child's Visions.

A Child's Visions is, in effect, a portfolio of illustrations selected from the then-accumulated work of the 12 year old artist,

Daphne Allen.

The Introduction provided by C Lewis Hind provides some perspective on the work:

There could be no happier title for this book than A Child's Visions. They are just that -

visions by a child who, when these drawings were made, was not thirteen. But they are

concrete visions, simple, sincere, straightforward, showing delicate fancy, and a remarkable

power in drawing and composition - visions, done "our of the head," never from models,

and always, I believe, without effort, or tuition from her parents. Other children play

seriously with dolls: Daphne plays seriously with Art. Before she was twelve she had made

thousands of drawings. Why so much of her work should deal with the sacred themes I

cannot explain. That is her secret. The child has made many other drawings of fancy-land,

of romance-land, but the New Testament has been her chief source of inspiration.

I am careful to avoid the work "genius" in regard to her work, but no one can look at the

range of illustrations in this book without a feeling of astonishment that they should have

been produced by a child. Who can say how so precocious a talent will develop? Contrast

"The Crucifixion" (frontispiece) in colour, with the pen and ink drawing facing it; one a

vision of deep, quiet grief, the other the birth of wonder, a springtime fancy.

How simple and direct is "The Remorse of Eve," how ably the interest is focussed on the

figure, and with such economy of line. Note the tenderness of the drawing in "The Virgin

and Child with St John," the easy grouping of "The Holy Family," the sense of space in

"After the Temptation," the boldness of "The Return from Calvary," the rhythm of "The

Taking Down from the Cross," the imagination and the sense of decoration in "Christ the

Healer," and the beauty, as of the pure in heart, of the idea of "The Child Christ in Glory."

Once again I can only express my astonishment that such facility, imagination, and variety

should proceed from a child.

As a bird sings so these drawings were made, merely from an impulse for expression. They

show no sign of effort, because they were all done in joy without self-consciousness. I hope

that the sight of her drawings in a book will not lessen the resemblance of Daphne's future

drawings to a bird's song.

Allen's illustrations - in both colour and monotone - throughout A Child's Visions are lovely examples of some of her

earliest work.

Our Greeting Cards, Posters and Prints

We have prepared sets of 5 Greeting Cards displaying each of the colour images from A Child's Visions (1912) and on the left, we show an example of how these Greeting Cards appear. Ordering one of those sets is as easy as selecting the "Add to Cart" feature below and following the prompts provided with our Shopping Cart secured through PayPal. Multiple purchases will be consolidated by that feature and shipping and handling costs to any destination in the world are accommodated by our flat-rate fee of US$20 for every US$200 worth of purchases.         Code: DA CV CS(5) Price: US$25.00

When presented on Greeting Cards, these images are prepared as tipped-on plates - in hommage to the hand-crafted

approach typical of prestige illustrated publications produced in the early decades of the 20th Century.

Hand-finishing is used to replicate the visual appearance of a tipped-on plate and the images are presented on

Ivory card stock with an accompanying envelope. We have left the cards blank so that you may write your own

personal message.

Should you wish to order a Poster or Print of one or more of these images, we have provided some options

below. Of course, should you wish to discuss some customised options, we welcome your contact on any matter

through ThePeople@SpiritoftheAges.com.

In the meantime, enjoy perusing these wonderful examples of the art of Daphne Allen.

The colour illustrations

A Child's Visions Cover illustration	The Crucifixion	After the Temptation	Suffer Little Children to Come Unto Me
Reproduction on 12x18" sheet Code: DA CV C1 12x18 Price: US$60.00	Reproduction on 12x18" sheet Code: DA CV C2 12x18 Price: US$60.00	Reproduction on 12x18" sheet Code: DA CV C3 12x18 Price: US$60.00	Reproduction on 12x18" sheet Code: DA CV C4 12x18 Price: US$60.00
The First Easter Dawn
Reproduction on 12x18" sheet Code: DA CV C5 12x18 Price: US$60.00

The major monotone illustrations

The Infant New to Sea and Sky
Reproduction on 12x18" sheet Code: DA CV M1 12x18 Price: US$60.00