English: Virginia Frances Sterrett: illustrator of Arabian Nights (1928)

I’m thinking about scanning an original 1899 edition of “Arabian Nights” with illustrations by W. H. Robinson and others, but I’m worried about messing up the binding so we’ll see about that. In the meantime, here is the triumphant but unfortunate story of the artist behind another edition of “Arabian Nights”: Virginia Sterrett.

She was born in Chicago in 1900. Her father died when she was very young, and her mother moved with Virginia and her sister to live with their extended family. Demonstrating an early talent for art, she entered and won prizes in drawing competitions at the Kansas State Fair Exhibition. Her course in life as an illustrator was set, and as a teenager she began to work for various advertising agencies. A bout of tuberculosis left her in a state of permanently poor health.

Her talent for fantasy art caught the attention of publishing houses, and at the age of 19 she completed her first book illustration commission for the volume “Old French Fairy Tales”. The same publishing company, Penn, immediately employed her again to illustrate “Tanglewood Tales”. By 1923, her illness had become so severe that it was necessary to enter a sanitorium as a long-term patient.

The Penn Publishing Company again commissioned her for a new edition of Arabian Nights. As before, this was a large commission: 16 colour illustrations, 20 in black ink, a coloured picture for the front cover and further drawings for the inside cover. Her failing vitality hindered the progress of the pieces and there were limited hours in which she could work, which meant that the project took three years to complete.

After some exhibitions, Penn signed her to create artwork for “Myths and Legends”. Sadly this assignment was never completed; Ms. Sterrett died after a relapse of her tuberculosis in the summer of 1931.