Harold Nelson and the Ladies' Field - Masks and Faces

There are many columns that Nelson created decorative headings for and one of the first I was aware of was Masks and Faces...

This was a weekly column that included details and gossip about actors in professional theatre productions as opposed to the pieces dedicated to amateur theatre. 

Nelson designed a Renaissance style figure (actor?) and some classical style masks with the usual scroll announcing the title of the column. The figure is in the centre looking proudly toward the masks that he may well wear in his performance.

A sketch survives for the masks... which appear to be very similar to the final design albeit moved to the left, separated from the text. Originally Nelson conceived that the masks of Comedy and Tragedy would inhabit the whole design, although probably in the end deciding that this was too complicated and would not translate well to a wider page.

Harold Nelson, Masks and Faces (a sketch for the decorative heading for The Ladies' Field), about 1898.

Harold Nelson, Masks and Faces (final design printed in the Ladies' Field Magazine), November 1899.

The finished design is more interesting and fits better in the large page format of the magazine. It's also interesting as it is one of few designs that I come across that Nelson made for The Ladies' Field featuring a man on their own. Other designs for the magazine feature men and women or women on their own.

Of course I will be posting more in the future.

If you enjoy this please do check out my Instagram page devoted to Harold Nelson - @haroldnelson_artist