Lambs' Tales from Shakespeare (1923)

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Lamb, Charles, Mary Lamb, and Maud and Miska Petersham. Tales from Shakespeare. New York: Macmillan, 1923.

Image source: University of Oregon Rare Books Collection 

For general background on Charles and Mary Lamb’s Tales from Shakespeare, see the 1901 E. F. Dutton edition elsewhere in this section.

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The Petershams depict toddler Miranda enjoying stylized waves and Prospero holding her carefully (click twice for maximum detail). Their dynamic design and color give life and feeling to an episode only described second-hand in the play.

This 1923 edition of the Lambs’ Tales  features illustrations by Maud and Miska Petersham. The Petershams were prolific illustrators, known for their use of color and their modernist style. Images here show a few of their Shakespeare illustrations, including a striking frontispiece based on a scene in The Tempest . The Petershams often choose episodes to depict that are not part of the play's or story's actions but are mentioned by characters. In doing so, they become adapters of the Lambs' adaptations, allowing a reader to imagine a description as a vivid action.


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An illustration for the Lambs’ telling of Cymbeline. Iachimo sneaks out of the chest where he has concealed himself to spy on sleeping Imogen. The Petershams emphasize the textures and lineation of the room’s furnishings as well as Iachimo’s sly menace and Imogen’s vulnerability.

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An illustration for the Lamb’s telling of A Midsummer Night’s Dream. Puck disrupts churning. Again the depicted vignette is not part of the play or story but merely referenced in it.

Lambs' Tales from Shakespeare (1923)