Collecting children's book illustrations

Whether you display them on the wall or treasure them in a portfolio, original artworks from children's books will never lose their charm.  

 

An ink and watercolour illustration by the Australian artist Ida Rentoul Outhwaite for Chimney Town (1934) by Tarella Quin Daskein. This is from a set of illustrations by Outhwaite that are estimated to fetch £5,000-£7,000 at Sotheby's

If your budget is limited or the original artwork of your favourite illustrator is scarce or unavailable, consider lesser-known illustrators, whose work can be picked up from the low hundreds of pounds. Names to look out for include John Hassall, Margaret Tarrant and Rene Cloke from the first half of the 20th century, and Barbara Brown, Anne Mortimer and Ronald Searle from the second half.

Antique and vintage dance cards

Dance cards became popular items at balls and assemblies during the early 19th century. They were created as a way for a lady to keep track of the gentleman to whom she had promised dances in the course of the evening, and afterwards served as a momento of the occasion.

Dance cards were generally made of paper or card, although sometimes had elaborate covers of bone, ivory, silver or wood, and were small enough to be readily portable. They were generally given only to ladies.Often a small pencil was attached by a cord to the card. The cord also allowed the card to be suspended from a lady's wrist or belt.