Fisher Son & Co. 1832 to 1854
Fisher’s Drawing Room Scrap-Book had a long run, spanning 23 years, from 1832 to 1854. It was published in London by H. Fisher, R. Fisher, and P. Jackson, but it was so successful that it was also distributed in New York, Paris, Berlin, and St. Petersburg. Henry and Robert Fisher were a father-son duo who also published under the name Fisher, Son & Company. At the start of his career, Henry Fisher published primarily religious works in Liverpool. Following a warehouse fire, he moved to London in 1821 and combined forces with his son, marking a switch to the publication of illustrated topographical works, of which the Drawing Room Scrap-Book was one. No records appear to survive from this period except the surviving travel books published between 1829 and 1844. Fisher, Son & Company was one of the leading publishers of picture books with steel engravings. In addition to the Drawing Room Scrap Book, Fisher also published other annuals, including the Easter Gift (1834), Christian Keepsake and Literary Annual (1835-38), Juvenile Scrap Book (1836-50), Fisher’s National Portrait Gallery (1830-33), Fisher’s Oriental Keepsake (1837-39) and the Waverly Forget-Me-Not (1838).
Fisher\'s Drawing Room Scrap-Book is a poetic and visual portal into foreign lands—an aesthetically appealing travel book for the leisurely reader. Each volume contains 36 engravings accompanied by a poem (or occasionally a short prose piece) usually composed by the editor. Unlike most other literary annuals, the editor is the primary contributor, describing the content of each engraving in text. The annual featured few pieces by additional writers. Its name, exterior appearance, and relatively large size, suggested that the Drawing Room Scrap-Book was intended to be on display on a drawing room table. As many of its engravings depict architectural and landscape scenes from exotic places (including but not limited to India, Africa, Asia, and Greece), the annual allowed its audience temporarily to escape the monotony of daily life and delve into an unfamiliar culture.
Each volume contains 36 engravings, which typically depict landscape, architecture, and portraits.Engravings reproduce paintings by Thomas Allom, Samuel Prout, E.T. Parris, Edward H. Corbould, William Henry Bartlett, George Cattermole, and William Purser. Among the Drawing Room Scrap Book\'s engravers were W.H. Mote, Henry Robinson, Henry Cook, John Cochran, and James Thomson. Reuse of engravings occurred frequently. In 1834, the first non-monochrome engraving made its way into the Drawing Room Scrap-Book: George Baxter\'s \"Hindoo and Mahomedan Buildings\". Baxter was a key player in the color printing revolution, which was fueled by the public\'s desire for more lavish illustrations in the increasingly popular literary annual genre. Baxter used both wood and metal color blocks with steel plates to create the colored engravings, such as the sole one featured as the frontispiece in the 1834 volume. This literary annual was at the forefront of publishing innovation and used visual technological advancements to sustain readers\' interest.
Fisher\'s Drawing Room Scrap-Books are masterpieces, comprising not only exquisite engravings, enhanced by the annual\'s large size, but also original literary contributions, tailored to the engraving they accompany. Despite the seemingly exhausting nature of the task, all five editors exercised their poetic prowess to craft unusual and groundbreaking literature. Powerful literary themes and political statements were disguised under the veil of a mere \"travel book\" of pretty pictures and verse, innocently resting on a living room table, like a latter-day coffee table book.

Please note all items auctioned are genuine, we do not sell reproductions. A Certificate of Authenticity (COA) can be issued on request.