Of the Decorative Illustration of Books Old and New

Bell, London, 1972 reissue of 1896 first edition, . Cloth, small 8vo, 21 cm,. 243 pp. From the blurb: "Originally published in 1896, this survey of book illustration is both a comprehensive guide to many facets of early work in the field and important evidence of Victorian taste and the influences which shaped it. Walter Crane, as a leading designer and illustrator, was exceptionally well placed to survey the subject -indeed, some of the finest pieces among over 100 drawings reproduced here are those by Crane himself. Crane begins by describing the artist's role in producing manuscripts and early printed books up to the end of the sixteenth century, giving an account of Italian, French and (particularly) German work. He then moves to the beginning of 'modern illustration', which he dates from the work of Blake, and takes in most of the major Victorian exponents of the art, with examples from such men as Rossetti, Selwyn Image, Arthur Hughes, Laurence Houseman [sic], Howard Pyle and Will H. Bradley. The result is a book which has delighted the collector for many years, and is now in increasing demand among art historians and typographers. This reissue makes it available again, with the advantage of modern reproductions of the half-tone plates. Top edge duststained, otherwise near Very Good in slightly used dustwrapper.