Yellow Nineties 2.0

V3 Cover SAVOYV3_icon1 SAVOYV3_icon1 The Savoy Aubrey Beardsley July 1896 London 23 x 18 cm cover design pen and ink 1890s Victorian Era Europe outdoors garden terrace pathway walkway staircase day winged child cupid cherub Eros man woman boy wings shawl hat slippers pants coat shearling edges cane walking stick mask hat braid bow large skirt polka dotted fabric fan stalks leafy plants sunflowers fountain large rock railings posts planters garden pots water stream urn “THE SAVOY” [caps]// “AN ILLUSTRATED MONTHLY” [caps]//“No. 3”//“July 1896”//“Price 2/- net”//“EDITED BY ARTHUR SYMONS” [caps]// “AUBREY BEARDSLEY. ETC.” [caps] V3 Cover This line-block reproduction of a pen-and-ink design integrated with letterpress is in portrait orientation. The image is a cover design comprised of publishing information in the top third and a scene with three figures in a garden in the bottom two-thirds. The publishing information is printed within a box that is framed by two lines close together on the horizontal sides, and three lines close together as the vertical sides. The title: “THE SAVOY” [caps] appears in the top half of the box. The text “AN ILLUSTRATED MONTHLY” [caps] is centered below the title. One row down the text “No. 3” is aligned on the left side, and in the same line but centered is the text “July 1896.” The text “Price 2/- net” is in the same line and aligned to the right. One line down and centered is the text: “EDITED BY ARTHUR SYMONS” [caps]. The image below is framed with three lines close together on the vertical sides and the bottom edge, but only two lines close together on the top edge, which is the edge shared with the publishing information. The image has three figures in the foreground. In the bottom left corner is a small child-like figure that is turned in profile and walking towards the left. The child has wings emerging from its back and is wrapped in a dark shawl; only their left foot and head are visible. The child has their face turned back to face the viewer. There is a dark cap on the child’s head and the face is round and the features are small. To the right of the child is a male figure, facing to the right. His body is leaned forward from the waist up, and he has his left leg stepped forward, appearing to be in the motion of walking. The man wears white baggy pants that bunch around the ankles, and dark slippers. He has on a dark coat with white shearling edges. His hands are resting on a walking stick that he is leaning forward on. His head is turned to the left, looking down at the child. His eyes are fixed on the child under a mask or circular glasses. He has on a hat that has horns built-in. The hat has diagonal black-and-white stripes. He has wavy hair emerging from the bottom of the hat, and the hair falls to his shoulders. To the right of him is the female figure. She has her back to the viewer. Her head is turned to the left to look at the man, and thus her face is visible in profile. She has long hair that falls down to below her waist in a tight braid with a large bow at the bottom. She wears a large skirt and loose jacket that flows to halfway down the skirt. The jacket has a zig-zag hem comprised and an off-the-shoulder neckline formed by a polka-dot collar. Depending from her waist there is a tassel made of various plant-like elements joined together vertically. Behind the child, man, and woman is a terraced garden, and the woman appears about to walk up a staircase to enter it.. The three figures stand on a walkway that has a curbed edge delineating it from the garden that sits backgrounded. The garden is made up of many stalks of leafy plants that are close together. The garden is growing around the base of a terrace that has two staircases leading up to it from the ground where the figures stand: one staircase is half cut off on the left e and the other appears to the right. The stairs are light in colour and comprised of thick stone that is rectangular and stabilized by wide stone balusters. In the garden area between the two staircases is a fountain basin partially hidden by the body of the male figure,with a vertical stream of water shooting upwards toward the bottom of the publishing information box. At the base of the fountain appears a large flat rock, again partially covered by the man’s body. At the top of the stairs a bannister connects the two staircases together. Sitting on top of the posts in the staircases are urns of flowers. There is one pot on each side of the staircases, with the furthest left pot cut, and the furthest right pot also partially cut off. There are three pots that appear in their entirety. One is the complementary half of the pair to the left side staircase, and the other two are fully visible on either side of the right-oriented staircase. Each pot is filled with tall flowers that appear to be sunflower-like because of their large centre and identically-sized petals. Hanging out from each side of the bottom of the planters are dark vines in a small bunch. Behind the staircases and background to the planters and balcony is plain page. In the bottom right corner of the page is a long rectangular box that contains the author’s name: “AUBREY BEARDSLEY. ETC.” [caps].