The Snake and the File, The Fox and the Crow 1908

Walter Crane made this around the turn of the century. It’s an illustration, maybe a lithograph, in shades of gold, cream, and black. It depicts two fables: "The Snake and the File," and "The Fox and the Crow." I imagine Crane, bent over a table, meticulously inking each line. There’s so much detail – the scales on the snake, the leaves on the tree. You can tell he was someone who loved this stuff. The typeface is interesting, too. It’s like he’s trying to evoke illuminated manuscripts. I love how the snake is wrapped around the file – the way the line wraps around the image. The fox and crow one the other side is a bit looser. It reminds me of William Morris, all those pre-Raphaelites doing illustration at the time. They were all riffing off each other, trying to bring art to the masses, like a conversation across time. The message? Beware of flatterers.