The Graphic Arts Collection recently acquired two copy books by Elizabeth Corbet Yeats (1868-1940), the sister of W.B. Yeats. In the 1890s, Elizabeth was living in London, teaching art to children and involved with the Royal Drawing Society of Great Britain and Ireland. The Society’s director, Thomas Robert Ablett, wrote the introduction to her 1896 edition:

Miss Yeats, who is the daughter of an artist and a skillful kindergarten mistress, has proved that she can make good use of the subject. For several years her pupils’ brush work has obtained high awards at the Annual Exhibition of the Royal Drawing Society of Great Britain and Ireland . . . In this volume, Miss Yeats gives her experience for the benefit of others, wisely choosing her subjects from the flowers of the field, so that any teacher may paint from the growing plants themselves, with the help of the advice freely given and the chance of comparing the results obtained by Miss Yeats.

In 1901, the Yeats family moves back to Ireland and Elizabeth learns printing. Her imprint, Dun Emer Press, begins in 1903 with the letterpress printing of her brother’s book In the Seven Woods.

Elizabeth Corbet Yeats (1868-1940), Brush Work (London: George Philip & Son, 1896). Graphic Arts Collection GAX 2014- in process

Elizabeth Corbet Yeats (1868-1940), Brushwork studies of flowers, fruit, and animals for teachers and advanced students (London: George Philip & Son, 1898). Graphic Arts Collection GAX 2014- in process