Gryphon 

Arthur Rackham made this pen and ink drawing of a Gryphon in 1907. The image presents a mythical creature, half-lion, half-eagle, resting against a gnarled tree. Rackham was a leading figure in the Golden Age of British book illustration, a period when advances in printing technology allowed for more widespread reproduction of detailed artwork. This made art more accessible to a broader public, moving it beyond the elite circles that traditionally patronized the arts. Rackham’s illustrations, often featured in fairy tales and fantasy stories, tapped into a growing interest in folklore and the supernatural. These fantastical elements perhaps provided a form of escape from the realities of a rapidly industrializing society, as well as a way to express anxieties about the changing social order. The historian uses close visual analysis, knowledge of cultural trends, and an understanding of institutional factors such as advancements in printing, to interpret the social meanings of images like this.