Miriam Irwin Collection of Margaret Neilson Armstrong Book Design

Margaret Armstrong (1867-1944) was born to a wealthy and artistically minded family. Her father, David Maitland Armstrong was an artist of stained glass. Margaret and her younger sister Helen began their artistic careers by painting menus and Christmas cards at an early age. Armstrong's first book cover design was published in 1890 by the Chicago based publisher A.C. McClurg. In 1892 Armstrong's designs won awards in the World's Columbian Exposition in Chicago. Margaret Armstrong and two female contemporaries, Sarah W. Whitman and Alice C. Morse set the standard for cover illustration at the turn of the Century.

Over the course of her life, Armstrong's style evolved. Her designs began with more soft and delicate forms and in the early 1900s shifted to the use of more bold and larger lettering. Her most notable works are her designs for the Henry Van Dyke books which spanned the years of 1895 to 1926. Her work stood out for its unconventional use of bold cloth colors bright inks and Art Nouveau forms. While Armstrong is most well known for her cover designs she was also a successful author in her later life. In 1915 she published the "Field Book of Western Wildflowers." She also published two biographies, Fanny Kamble (1938) and the second, Trelawny: A Man's Life (1940) as well as three popular mystery novels, Murder in Stained Glass (1939), The Man with No Face (1940) and The Blue Santo Murder Mystery (1940) later in life.

Over the course of her life, Armstrong's style evolved. Her designs began with more soft and delicate forms and in the early 1900s shifted to the use of more bold and larger lettering. Her most notable works are her designs for the Henry Van Dyke books which spanned the years of 1895 to 1926. Her work stood out for its unconventional use of bold cloth colors bright inks and Art Nouveau forms. While Armstrong is most well known for her cover designs she was also a successful author in her later life. In 1915 she published the "Field Book of Western Wildflowers." She also published two biographies, Fanny Kamble (1938) and the second, Trelawny: A Man's Life (1940) as well as three popular mystery novels, Murder in Stained Glass (1939), The Man with No Face (1940) and The Blue Santo Murder Mystery (1940) later in life.