The Savoy, Volume 1, Number 2 (1896: January - April)

More than just a magazine of art criticism and literature, The Savoy was a movement in publishing that embraced a reaction against the Victorian materialistic world. Its embrace of writers and artists who were variously termed as “decadent” or part of the Symbolist cadre bucked the traditional journal in both form and content. Beautifully illustrated by artists such as Aubrey Beardsley and featuring the work of Oscar Wilde, William Butler Yeats, Joseph Conrad, and many other prominent writers, The Savoy was a hardcover publication with exquisite Art Nouveau sensibilities. It published eight issues in 1896 before folding, and in its approach to literature and art was very similar to its contemporary, The Yellow Book, which the Archives & Rare Books Library also holds in its collections. The Savoy also represents another aspect of publishing during the late 19th century that is complementary to our holdings of the Arts & Crafts Movement.