Animals Are Us: Anthropomorphism in Children’s Literature; Celebrating the Peter J. Solomon Collection
Why do we tell stories to children through and about animals? Are there reasons why we shouldn’t? Animals Are Us invites explores these questions and more through influential historic examples of anthropomorphism in dialogue with contemporary books drawn from the collection of Peter J. Solomon (Harvard College Class of 1960, MBA 1963) and the holdings of Houghton Library. The exhibition invites you to engage critically with animal anthropomorphism, and delight in the artfulness of this enduring literary genre. Catalog of an exhibition on view at Houghton Library, Harvard University, September 1, 2021 - January 7, 2022.
Why do we tell stories to children through and about animals? Are there reasons why we shouldn’t? Animals Are Us invites explores these questions and more through influential historic examples of anthropomorphism in dialogue with contemporary books drawn from the collection of Peter J. Solomon (Harvard College Class of 1960, MBA 1963) and the holdings of Houghton Library. The exhibition invites you to engage critically with animal anthropomorphism, and delight in the artfulness of this enduring literary genre.
Catalog of an exhibition on view at Houghton Library, Harvard University, September 1, 2021 - January 7, 2022.
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18<br />
Charles H. Bennett (British, 1828–1867, author-illustrator)<br />
Preparatory draw<strong>in</strong>g for title page illustration for<br />
The Frog Who Would A-Woo<strong>in</strong>g Go<br />
London: Routledge, Warne, and Routledge, 1865<br />
21 x 17 cm<br />
Ink, graphite, and watercolor on paper, 11 x 19 cm<br />
Loan from <strong>Peter</strong> J. <strong>Solomon</strong><br />
The tale of <strong>the</strong> courtship of Frog and Mouse goes back to <strong>the</strong> midsixteenth<br />
century. The characters are humble animals depicted <strong>in</strong><br />
human clo<strong>the</strong>s with very human desires. Bennett re<strong>in</strong>forced <strong>the</strong> story<br />
<strong>in</strong> explicitly Darw<strong>in</strong>ian terms: savage cats shatter <strong>the</strong> genteel civility<br />
of <strong>the</strong> courtship; Frog escapes, only to encounter a predatory duck.<br />
A prolific cartoonist, Bennett’s life was cut short at <strong>the</strong> age of thirtyeight<br />
by tuberculosis.<br />
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