“There Was an Old Woman Tossed Up in a Basket,” by Maud Humphrey

“There Was an Old Woman Tossed Up in a Basket,” by Maud Humphrey

c. 1891

Chromolithograph

Featured here is a charming 1891 color print by Maud Humphrey titled "There Was an Old Woman Tossed Up in a Basket," which was originally published as a decorative book plate for a nursery rhyme anthology. The narrative imagery centers on a curly-haired young child dressed in a floor-length, polka-dotted gown and a massive fabric bonnet, pretending to be an elderly woman as she works a tall wooden broom across the floor. To the right sits an empty woven basket accented with flowing cloth ribbons, while the traditional nursery verse is printed directly below the figure in a stylized gothic typeface. Humphrey's delicate illustrative approach relies on clean, ink outlines filled with soft, pastel watercolor washes, creating a whimsical vignette set against a spacious, unadorned cream background.

The piece is situated within the late-Victorian and early-Edwardian eras of American commercial illustration, a period marked by a surging demand for sentimental, idealized depictions of childhood. Maud Humphrey (1865–1940) was a leading and highly successful commercial artist of this generation, renowned for her watercolor illustrations in books, calendars, and greeting cards, as well as being the mother of legendary actor Humphrey Bogart. Her work was highly significant because she was one of the highest-paid female illustrators of her time, helping to define the visual style of children's literature at the turn of the century. Original antique printings of Humphrey's nursery rhyme plates remain highly coveted artifacts among collectors of vintage children's books, Victorian ephemera, and late 19th-century graphic design.

Dimensions: H 10 ½” x 8 ⅜” W

Condition: Toned with age