Last time we looked at the Golden Age of the dragon in color. The black & white illustrations that filled the regular pages offer many more draconian treasures. The artists who painted their wonders often did b&w work too, but there are artists who are better known for non-color pieces. Last time it was Arthur Rackham who was most prolific. He is here too but he is not tops. That honor falls to Henry Justice Ford and John D. Batten, who did multiple images of dragons in fairy tale books.
Arthur Rackham (1867-1939)
Rackham is a natural for black & white because he drew his images then colored them with water color. All he had to do was skip the color.
Sidney Sime (1865-1941)
Sime is best known for his Lord Dunsany illustrations, which are more bizarre than ordinary dragons.
Maxfield Parrish (1870-1966)
Walter Crane (1845-1915)
Heath Robinson (1872-1944)
Charles Robinson (1870-1937)
John D. Batten (1860-1932)
Batten drew the illustrations for Joseph Jacobs fairy tale books like English Fairy Tales. He also did books of mythology.
Harold E. H. Nelson (1871-1948)
Frank C. Pape (1878-1972)
Willy Pogany (1882-1955)
Howard Pyle (1853-1911)
Henry Justice Ford (1860-1941)
Ford drew the illustrations for Andrew Lang’s fairy books. Lots of dragon stories so many dragon pictures.
These images would have inspired the great Fantasy writers of the middle of the 20th Century. Tolkien, C. S. Lewis, and many others grew up with the illustrated fairy books and other children’s fare. These artists helped to bring Smaug the Great, Chrysophylax, Eustace (turned into a dragon in Narnia), and others to light. Their legacy still inspires readers and writers today.