Harold Nelson and depictions of Athena
Happy 150th birthday to Harold Nelson who was born on this day – 22 May – in 1871.
It’s been a while since I have added something to the blog
and thought that it was about time that I got around to doing so. Nelson was
best known in his lifetime as a black and white illustrator and ex-libris
designer for wealthy clients and organizations.
One of my questions about his working method was whether he
re-used image or had a design book that potential patrons could choose what
they would like for their personalized ex-libris. He did indeed re-use images
which I will delve into further detail at a later date. I have decided on this
occasion to focus on his images of Athena, the goddess of wisdom and the arts,
she was the counsel of Odysseus during his Odyssey. At the time of the
French Revolution Athena began to stand for Freedom and Liberty.
Nelson depicted Athena a number of times through his career
and must have been interested in depicting her as she had become seen as the
Goddess of the Arts. I have included some examples below from sketches, design
drawings and finally to ex libris bookplates.
This exquisite drawing features Athena in the centre flanked
by water nymphs. I am not entirely sure whether this was later developed into a finished
image.
Design drawing for the Strand Magazine. Here Athena, in
armour ready for battle, is depicted to the right of the drawing. Below Athena
is written ‘Fact’ an allusion that she stands for wisdom and knowledge. I am unsure whether this design was ever used in print.
A sketch for Athena (most likely to have made for an
ex-libris design for a library or book collector), depicted holding a book and
a spear. Behind her are the leaves of the olive tree.
This image of Athena with her sword and lantern was also used
by Nelson for the National Union of Teachers. Athena is entwined in an olive
tree, representative of the one that grew on the Acropolis. The scroll behind
Athena has ‘Vince Fide’ (Conquer with Faith) inscribed on it.
Here is the above image used as the logo for The National
Union of Teachers. The main discernible difference is the inscription on the
scroll. As they are undated I am not entirely sure which came first.
This is such an
appropriate representation of Athena for the Bedford College Library. Here she
is within an olive tree with an owl on her right shoulder and a lantern in her
left hand. Books, source of knowledge, are scattered at the bottom of the
ex-libris.
This is a more serious stoic representation of Athena for a potential ex-libris patron as there is no name included in the design (it is included in Nelson’s 1929 volume of bookplates). Athena holds a shield and spear, standing in front of classical architecture (the Acropolis?) and an owl appears in an olive branch in front of the goddess.
As these images are all from my own collection, I am sure
there must be other variations in existence from Nelson’s career. Hopefully I
can add other images as I discover them. His works are quite accessible and a
good way to get into black and white illustration in late nineteenth and early
twentieth century Britain.
