Who were the artists? These charming Victorian illustrations were first published in about 1890. All of the artists are unknown. In the late 1800's the theme of "guardian angels protecting little children" (both a Victorian and Judo-Christian concept) became a very popular one, and many artists were commissioned by lithography companies to illustrate their own version of this extremely popular theme, so that they could flood the market with printed calendars and cheap wall prints before the popularity wore off. These images left a lasting impression on the era, but most of the artists who were paid the quick bucks to produce these illustrations were never recognized for their talents, and therefore never recorded in history. Part of the reason so many illustrations were anonymous, is because the artists were embarrassed that they were just copying someone else's style (everyone was copying everyone else). Looking back on this era, we are very much enchanted by each individual work, but to many of the artists who were doing just one more "guardian angel rip-off" illustration, this was just a pay check.
This image is probably the most famous "Guardian Angel" illustration in the world.
There are many variations of this illustration. It has been copied by dozens of artists, but we'll feel ours is the most original,
and of the highest quality (scanned from a 16" x 20" original chromolithograph).
All of our Vintage Guardian Angel Illustrations were scanned from 120-year-old art and digitally restored.
Protecting Children Theme. This innocent view of how children were protected was a very popular belief throughout the Victorian era. Because of the higher mortality rate in those days, children were greatly cherished. It was a popular belief that children had several guardian angels. Even today, children are considered more vulnerable and in need of more protection when they are young. A popular thought then and today is that as they grow, they need less angelic protection as they become aware of the dangers around them. Some, not all, of the angels leave a child as he matures.
Biblical History. Throughout the Bible we find it repeatedly implied that each individual soul has a guardian angel. Thus Abraham, when sending his steward to seek a wife for Isaac, says: "he shall send his angel before thee." Although no Biblical passage of itself demonstrates the doctrine that every individual has his appointed guardian angel, there is reinforcement of the notion from the words of Jesus: "Take heed that ye despise not one of these little ones; for I say unto you, That in heaven their angels do always behold the face of my Father which is in heaven." (Matt. 18:10)
The Koran states, "He [God] sends forth guardians who watch over you and carry away your souls without fail when death overtakes you."
Do angels have wings? John said, "And I beheld, and heard an angel flying through the midst of heaven, saying with a loud voice, Woe, woe, woe, to the inhabiters of the earth..." (Rev. 8:13) Illustrations throughout the past millennia have usually depicted angels as having wings. The association of wings with these messengers was probably due to the description of angels in ancient Israel, i.e. the two cherubs which were described in the ornamentation of Solomon's temple (which were similar to those on the Ark of the Covenant): "And he set the cherubims within the inner house: and they stretched forth the wings of the cherubims, so that the wing of the one touched the one wall, and the wing of the other cherub touched the other wall; and their wings touched one another in the midst of the house." (I Kings 6:27) But do angels need wings to fly, or do we only need to see wings on angels to help us recognize them as such? What really matters is that angels truly do exist and continue to help us as directed by God!
From Psalm 91:10-12: "There shall no evil befall thee, neither shall any plague come nigh thy dwelling. For he shall give his angels charge over thee, to keep thee in all thy ways. They shall bear thee up in their hands, lest thou dash thy foot against a stone."
