Short answers, pulled from the story.
The word illustration comes from late Middle English, where it carried the sense of illumination or spiritual and intellectual enlightenment. It arrived via Old French from the Latin illustratio, derived from the verb illustrare. The term also means providing an example, whether in writing or picture form.
The golden age of illustration in America ran from before the 1880s until the early 20th century. It was driven by dramatic growth in printing and publishing: between 1846 and 1916, book production increased by four hundred percent and book prices were cut in half. Leading figures included N.C. Wyeth, Howard Pyle, Maxfield Parrish, J.C. Leyendecker, and Jessie Willcox Smith, among others.
The British magazine Punch, which ran from 1841 to 2002, was the first publication to use the word cartoon to describe a humorous illustration. That usage became widespread and led to John Leech being recognised as the world's first cartoonist.
Norman Rockwell's painting "Breaking Home Ties" sold at a 2006 Sotheby's auction for US$15.4 million. Rockwell was an illustrator, and the sale helped demonstrate that original illustration art could attract prices comparable to traditional fine art.
The Association of Medical Illustrators reports a median salary of $70,650 for medical illustrators. The median salary for science illustrators is $72,277. Jobs in both fields range from research institutes to museums to animation studios.
Ukiyo-e is an illustration style that originated in 1600s Japan, characterised by expressive line, vivid colour, and subtle tones produced through ink-brushed woodblock printing. Subjects included traditional folk tales, popular figures, and everyday life. Hokusai's "The Great Wave off Kanagawa" is among its most recognised images.