During the blackandwhite era of book illustration it was axiomatic that each and every childrens book called for some form of illustration This extended to the large category of novels for the upper reading ages which was to suffer progressive attrition as print runs shortened The level of activity in all areas of childrens publishing remained considerable but it was run predominantly as a lowbudget operation for most of the period and as such encouraged a fair amount of routine and mediocre work although the finest artists seldom submitted less than their professional best Therefore the blackandwhite archive is part junk shop part treasure house a wonderful place for research or for browsing and one in which to make immediate finds or to begin to reevaluate a fertile artistic period The real treasures are bound to return to public display whether enduringly through reissues of individual titles and new publications about the artists who illustrated them  or from time to time in the form of exhibitions of original books and drawings There are signs that after a period of neglect this is starting to happen and the familiar processes of stylistic rehabilitation can be seen to be at work In due course an enterprising publisher will doubtlessly see the potential for a series of classic childrens book illustrations from this period either in facsimile reprint or in freshlydesigned editions using the original artwork where it survives