While today the word \"illustration\" often evokes children's books, in late nineteenth-century Germany illustrated literature was a serious, albeit embattled, literary mode for adults. Informed by book history and image-text studies, I argue that book illustration provides insights into how literary works were read and re-interpreted in the second half of the nineteenth century. My study examines six illustrated book editions by three German authors: Wilhelm Raabe, Theodor Storm, and Eugenie Marlitt. In the case of Wilhelm Raabe, I focus on two novels--Chronik der Sperlingsgasse: 1856) and Horacker: 1876)--which were published as illustrated editions in the same series in 1877 and 1876, respectively. In the case of Theodor Storm and Eugenie Marlitt, I examine two illustrated editions of each author's most popular work, namely Storm's Immensee: 1850; illustrated 1857, 1887) and Marlitt's Goldelse: 1866; illustrated 1871, 1890). Conceiving illustrations as an embedded narrative, I argue that every illustration represents an interpretation of the text it accompanies. These illustrations in turn influence how a later generation of readers encounters and understands the text. I contextualize these close readings through analyses of the polemical debates for and against illustration recorded in the literary, art, and family magazines of the period. In particular, I analyze how illustration was contested in explicitly gendered and nationalistic terms, with the illustration of Goethe's works serving as frequent catalyst for these debates.
","abstract_html":"<p>While today the word "illustration" often evokes children's books, in late nineteenth-century Germany illustrated literature was a serious, albeit embattled, literary mode for adults. Informed by book history and image-text studies, I argue that book illustration provides insights into how literary works were read and re-interpreted in the second half of the nineteenth century. My study examines six illustrated book editions by three German authors: Wilhelm Raabe, Theodor Storm, and Eugenie Marlitt. In the case of Wilhelm Raabe, I focus on two novels--Chronik der Sperlingsgasse: 1856) and Horacker: 1876)--which were published as illustrated editions in the same series in 1877 and 1876, respectively. In the case of Theodor Storm and Eugenie Marlitt, I examine two illustrated editions of each author's most popular work, namely Storm's Immensee: 1850; illustrated 1857, 1887) and Marlitt's Goldelse: 1866; illustrated 1871, 1890). Conceiving illustrations as an embedded narrative, I argue that every illustration represents an interpretation of the text it accompanies. These illustrations in turn influence how a later generation of readers encounters and understands the text. I contextualize these close readings through analyses of the polemical debates for and against illustration recorded in the literary, art, and family magazines of the period. In particular, I analyze how illustration was contested in explicitly gendered and nationalistic terms, with the illustration of Goethe's works serving as frequent catalyst for these debates.</p>","abstract_has_math":false,"creators":["Peterson, Shane D."],"institution":null,"degree_name":"Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)","degree_level":"Dissertation","degree_discipline":"Germanic Languages and Literatures","degree_department":null,"school":null,"contributors":["Lynne Tatlock"],"advisors":[],"committee_chairs":[],"committee_members":[],"year":2012,"date_issued":"2012-09-04T07:00:00Z","date_published":"2012-09-04T07:00:00Z","updated_at":"2026-07-24T06:13:31Z","subjects":["book history","illustration of books","nineteenth-century"],"languages":["English (en)"],"rights":[],"rights_urls":[],"identifier_entries":[{"key":"dc:identifier.doi","label":"DOI","values":["https://doi.org/10.7936/K7ZW1J0W"],"render_values":[{"text":"https://doi.org/10.7936/K7ZW1J0W","href":"https://doi.org/10.7936/K7ZW1J0W","code":true}]}]},"links":{"outbound_url":"https://openscholarship.wustl.edu/etd/975","outbound_label":"Repository record","outbound_source":"dc:identifier"},"metadata_groups":[{"id":"people","label":"People","entries":[{"key":"dc:contributor","label":"Contributor","values":["Lynne Tatlock"]},{"key":"dc:creator","label":"Author","values":["Peterson, Shane D."]}]},{"id":"academic_context","label":"Academic Context","entries":[{"key":"dc:date.available","label":"Dc Date Available","values":["2113-07-08T07:00:00Z"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_discipline","label":"Discipline","values":["Germanic Languages and Literatures"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_level","label":"Degree Level","values":["Dissertation"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_name","label":"Degree Name","values":["Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)"]}]},{"id":"subjects_keywords","label":"Subjects and Keywords","entries":[{"key":"dc:subject","label":"Dc Subject","values":["book history","illustration of books","nineteenth-century"]}]},{"id":"language_rights","label":"Language and Rights","entries":[{"key":"dc:language","label":"Dc Language","values":["English (en)"]}]},{"id":"identifiers","label":"Identifiers","entries":[{"key":"dc:identifier","label":"Identifier","values":["https://openscholarship.wustl.edu/etd/975"]},{"key":"dc:identifier.doi","label":"DOI","values":["https://doi.org/10.7936/K7ZW1J0W"]}]},{"id":"additional","label":"Additional Metadata","entries":[{"key":"dc:description.abstract","label":"Abstract","values":["While today the word \"illustration\" often evokes children's books, in late nineteenth-century Germany illustrated literature was a serious, albeit embattled, literary mode for adults. Informed by book history and image-text studies, I argue that book illustration provides insights into how literary works were read and re-interpreted in the second half of the nineteenth century. My study examines six illustrated book editions by three German authors: Wilhelm Raabe, Theodor Storm, and Eugenie Marlitt. In the case of Wilhelm Raabe, I focus on two novels--Chronik der Sperlingsgasse: 1856) and Horacker: 1876)--which were published as illustrated editions in the same series in 1877 and 1876, respectively. In the case of Theodor Storm and Eugenie Marlitt, I examine two illustrated editions of each author's most popular work, namely Storm's Immensee: 1850; illustrated 1857, 1887) and Marlitt's Goldelse: 1866; illustrated 1871, 1890). Conceiving illustrations as an embedded narrative, I argue that every illustration represents an interpretation of the text it accompanies. These illustrations in turn influence how a later generation of readers encounters and understands the text. I contextualize these close readings through analyses of the polemical debates for and against illustration recorded in the literary, art, and family magazines of the period. In particular, I analyze how illustration was contested in explicitly gendered and nationalistic terms, with the illustration of Goethe's works serving as frequent catalyst for these debates.
"]},{"key":"dc:title","label":"Title","values":["Picturing the Text: Illustrated Editions of Marlitt, Raabe, and Storm in the Age of the Industrial Book: (1857-90)"]}]}],"canonical_facts":{"dc:contributor":["Lynne Tatlock"],"dc:creator":["Peterson, Shane D."],"dc:date.available":["2113-07-08T07:00:00Z"],"dc:description.abstract":["While today the word \"illustration\" often evokes children's books, in late nineteenth-century Germany illustrated literature was a serious, albeit embattled, literary mode for adults. Informed by book history and image-text studies, I argue that book illustration provides insights into how literary works were read and re-interpreted in the second half of the nineteenth century. My study examines six illustrated book editions by three German authors: Wilhelm Raabe, Theodor Storm, and Eugenie Marlitt. In the case of Wilhelm Raabe, I focus on two novels--Chronik der Sperlingsgasse: 1856) and Horacker: 1876)--which were published as illustrated editions in the same series in 1877 and 1876, respectively. In the case of Theodor Storm and Eugenie Marlitt, I examine two illustrated editions of each author's most popular work, namely Storm's Immensee: 1850; illustrated 1857, 1887) and Marlitt's Goldelse: 1866; illustrated 1871, 1890). Conceiving illustrations as an embedded narrative, I argue that every illustration represents an interpretation of the text it accompanies. These illustrations in turn influence how a later generation of readers encounters and understands the text. I contextualize these close readings through analyses of the polemical debates for and against illustration recorded in the literary, art, and family magazines of the period. In particular, I analyze how illustration was contested in explicitly gendered and nationalistic terms, with the illustration of Goethe's works serving as frequent catalyst for these debates.
"],"dc:identifier":["https://openscholarship.wustl.edu/etd/975"],"dc:identifier.doi":["https://doi.org/10.7936/K7ZW1J0W"],"dc:language":["English (en)"],"dc:subject":["book history","illustration of books","nineteenth-century"],"dc:title":["Picturing the Text: Illustrated Editions of Marlitt, Raabe, and Storm in the Age of the Industrial Book: (1857-90)"],"thesis:degree_discipline":["Germanic Languages and Literatures"],"thesis:degree_level":["Dissertation"],"thesis:degree_name":["Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)"]},"updated_at":"2026-07-24T06:13:31Z"}