By the 1890s the development of photo-mechanical means of reproduction had led to the publication of a wide range of popular illustrated magazines together with an enormous expansion in the numbers of illustrated books, especially for children. The development in the early 1900s of cheap and effective means of colour reproduction reinforced this trend and, in the UK at least, the National Art Schools programme meant that there were large numbers of well trained artists to meet the developing demand. The period from 1900 to the first world war is generally regarded as a golden age of book illustration.
The end of WW1 brought a disastrous slump in the book trade, and whilst the production of children's books continued, during the interwar years it was mainly the private presses that kept fine book illustration alive. Many artists turned to magazine work and advertising to earn a living.
Since WWII advances in printing methods and a steady growth in the number of books published have provided increasing opportunities for illustrators, largely in the field of children's books, although this has been accompanied by a severe decline in magazine work.
There is now a growing public awareness of and interest in the illustrators' art, an interest which IBIS seeks to focus and enhance.