Printmaking in the book illustration of Polish fairy tales of the 19th and 20th centuries in the context of the emergence of children’s literature

<jats:p>The study aims to provide a detailed description of the evolution of printmaking in the book illustration of Polish fairy tales during the 19th and 20th centuries. The article examines the transformation of the print as an element of the graphic design of children’s literature and analyzes the main printmaking techniques used to illustrate Polish fairy tales of this period. The scientific novelty lies in the fact that, for the first time, using the material of illustrations for Polish fairy tales of the 19th and 20th centuries, it provides a detailed analysis of thematic illustrations as a semantic field where Western European, Russian national, and uniquely Polish motifs converge; it also traces the path of the fairy-tale print’s transformation from a utilitarian reproductive technique to an art of authorial interpretation. The study establishes that printmaking played a key role in the rise of children’s literature: in addition to its decorative and reproductive roles, it also performed a didactic function. Gradually, under the influence of European artistic schools and national traditions, the print became a space for intercultural dialogue and an integral part of a book’s typographic design alongside typeface. Simultaneously, the book transformed into a platform for the emergence of a new type of printmaker characterized by a distinct authorial style.</jats:p>