Figure descriptions
The poem title, “Childhood”, appears in hand-drawn lettering with small capitals on
a rectangular banner. Butterflies fly
above the first letter “D” and below the first letter “O”. There are four identical
flowers on the banner: one flower stands to the
left of the title; the other three flowers are placed to the right the title, and
are spaced evenly apart. The hand-drawn byline,
“By the Rev John Reid M.A.” is placed below these flowers; there is a decorative circle
placed between each word. The banner has a
medium-weight border which is thickest and darkest on the left and bottom edges. There
is shading to the left of the illustration,
which is designed to look like a shadow. 1/6 page.
A tree with twisted branches stands on the left side of the page. It is winter. The
tree has dropped most of its leaves and
snow falls in the sky. Some of the tree’s discarded leaves float in the breeze. The
poem’s first illustration is superimposed over
the top of this illustration and the poem’s fourth illustration is superimposed over
the bottom. 1/2 page.
Two matching sets of decorations. The first set features a butterfly flanked by two
concentric circles. The second set
features an upside-down leaf flanked by two concentric circles. The poem’s first stanza
is let into blank space above the first set
of decorations and the second stanza is let into blank space between the first and
second sets of decorations.
Four girls play in a Spring field. In the foreground, a girl kneels and fastens a
floral crown onto the head of a younger
seated girl. In the middle ground, a girl holds the hand of a younger girl and leads
her into the field. The girls in the middle
ground stand beneath a tree that resembles the tree from the poem’s second illustration.
Wild flowers grow in the field and sheep
graze in the background. There is a fence, bushes, and trees in the distance around
the perimeter of the field. 1/3-page
illustration contained within a dark, medium-weight border.
