Desdemona mccannon biography of martin

A History of Everyday Things in England: Illustrators of mid-twentieth-century social history books Desdemona McCannon, Manchester Metropolitan University Abstract The illustrated books considered in this article present histories of every day life and align with the genre of history writing that had existed at least since the nineteenth century, of women documenting the domestic sphere, challenging the hegemonic and dominant narratives of history and presenting ‘Englishness’ instead within the practices and objects of the everyday.

The use of illustrations to evoke empathy, describe the detail of ordinary lives and offer graphic interpretations of data shows an engagement with the pedagogical possibilities of visual literacy in schoolbooks, allied to developments in the state school system at the time.

The books demonstrate a variety of approaches towards the function of illustratio