The Frogs Desiring a King
Richard Heighway
Photomechanical reproduction of pen and ink drawing.
5 x 3½ inches
Joseph Jacobs,The Fables of Aesop, p.28.
One of Heighway’s most amusing illustrations, with a series of smiling frogs welcoming their new king with no perception of what is about to happen (that is, be eaten). The image is treated as a flat linear design, with lyrical contrasts between the stylized waves and the Art Nouveau arabesques of the waterside plants.
Click on image to enlarge it.
Scanned image and text by Simon Cooke.