- Museum number
- 1913,0415.175
- Title
- Object: India-Proofs of Wood-Engravings by The Brothers Dalziel
- Description
-
Album with hand-written title page: 'India-Proofs of Wood-Engravings by The Brothers Dalziel. General Work - Various. 1861. This Book was made up at the time the engravings shown in it were done.' Half-bound in brown leather and gilt; lettering on spine reads 'Wood-Engravings by the Brothers Dalziel. XIV. Various Works. 1861'. The album includes approximately 1304 wood-engraved proofs. Leaf numbers have been written in the top right corner by the Dalziels, as is standard in their albums. But unusually, in this volume there are also different leaf numbers in the bottom left corner, upside down and counting down from 228 to 174, where they stop for the rest of the album, suggesting an error on the part of the compiler.
The album includes numerous book illustrations of all sorts, including many religious, literary and commercial images, and many for children. There are several illustrations for the periodicals 'Good Words' and the 'Cornhill Magazine'. There are botanical, mechanical and zoological illustrations. As with all the Dalziel albums, while most of the impressions are proofs on india paper, in a few cases impressions taken from the published editions have been included instead. There are a particularly large number of these in this album (see. e.g. 356-89, 664-71). Compared to other volumes in the archive, there are also a relatively high number of large-scale prints in which several woodblocks have been joined, and the joins are visible (see e.g. 761-4).
Individual prints include the following:
Nos. 356-359: illustrations after Thomas B. Dalziel for Sarah Crompton, 'The Life of Robinson Crusoe, in short words' (London: James Hogg, [1861]), an abridged version of the novel by Daniel Defoe, for children.
Nos. 469 & 471: illustrations after Barton showing the open door of a safe, labelled 'Chubb's patent'.
Nos. 504-521, 1067-1162: illustrations after Edward Lear for 'A Book of Nonsense' (London: Routledge, 1861). These are for the third edition of the book, the first with wood engraved illustration. The first two editions of 1846 and 1855 were in the more expensive medium of lithography.
Nos. 526-9: illustrations after Edward Neale for Mary and Elizabeth Kirby, 'Thing in the Forest' (London: T. Nelson and Sons, 1861). Nos. 527-9 certainly appear in this publication; no. 526 appears to be an unused illustration for the same work.
No. 554: Full scale clock face (152 x 152 mm) with 'Haseldine 3 Coventry St.' on the face. Time shows just after seven minutes past nine.
Nos. 558-9: illustrations of Chubb locks signed 'S.B.', almost certainly after Barton.
Nos. 593-601: illustrations after Julian Portch for H. C. Adams, 'Schoolboy Honour: A Tale of Halminster College' (London: Routledge, 1861). Number 598 and 599 are two different blocks for the same illustration. No. 599 is the first, unused version, with three boys in a rowing boat. No. 598 is a hurriedly engraved new version of the same block, with five boys in the boat instead of three. This was obviously done to correct a misreading during the illustration process; the text clearly requires five boys.
Nos. 646-51: illustrations after Thomas Morten for Geraldine Stewart, 'The Laird's Return and What Came of It: A Story for Young People' (London: James Hogg, [1861]).
Nos. 652-657: illustrations after J. A. Pasquier for Emma Marshall, 'The Happy Days at Fernbank: A Story for Little Girls' (London, [1861]).
Nos. 693-4: illustrated cover and spine for Gerald Griffin, 'The Invasion: A National Tale' (Dublin & London: James Duffy, [c. 1861-2]).
Nos. 726-33: illustrations after W. Sharpe for Holme Lee [Harriet Parr], 'The Wonderful Adventures of Tuflongbo and his Elfin Company, in their Journey of Little Content through the Enchanted Forest' (London: Smith, Elder & Co., 1861).
Nos. 742-9: illustrations after John Gilbert for William Dalton, 'Cortes and Pizarro: The Stories of the Conquests of Mexico and Peru' (London: Griffin, Bohn, and Company, 1862).
No. 764: a wood-engraving translating Murillo's painting 'The Immaculate Conception of Los Venerables', or 'The Soult Immaculate Conception' (c. 1678). The painting is in the collection of the Prado Museum, though from 1813 to 1941 it was in Paris, and from 1852 to 1941 in the Louvre Museum.
Nos. 776-787: illustrations after Edmond Fitzpatrick and Charles Whymper, decorative title and illustrations for 'The Illustrated Dublin Journal'. The illustrations include portraits, narrative and genre subjects. There is an imperialist image which appears to show a white soldier having just shot a Native American soldier, who approaches on horseback.
Nos. 829-842: cover and spine design, and illustrations after William S. Coleman for J. C. Atkinson's 'British Birds' Eggs and Nests' (London: Routledge, 1861).
Nos. 843-53, 1006-1014: illustrations after Richard Doyle for the 'Cornhill Magazine'.
Nos. 885-908: decorative title page and illustrations after John Everett Millais for Anthony Trollope, 'Orley Farm' (London: Chapman & Hall, 1861-62). The decorative title is the cover for the paper wrapper to the novel, as issued in parts. This was colour-printed from two blocks in navy blue and red; here in the album, both blocks are proofed in black on separate sheets, and pasted next to each other (nos. 885-6). All the illustrations for volume I of the novel are included in this series, and two for volume II. The rest may be found in the next Dalziel album (reg. no. 1913,0415.176). Also, for copies of the published book, see reg. no. 1992,0406.386 (the two volume edition) and 1996,1104.48 (one of the monthly installments, in paper wrappers).
Nos. 926-1005: illustrations after numerous designers for Robert Aris Willmott (ed.), 'English Sacred Poetry' (London: Routledge, 1862).
Nos. 1209-1210: illustrations after John Pettie and Alfred W. Cooper for J. De Liefde, 'The Postman's Bag and other Stories' (Edinburgh: Alexander Strahan and Co., 1862).
- Producer name
-
Block cut by: Dalziel Brothers (All)
-
After: Sir John Gilbert (Nos. 118-122, 742-749, 953-958, 985, 987 (some with monogram; many identified as Gilbert's in the original publication; all attributed by Arthur Aspitall))
-
After: Harrison William Weir (Nos. 125-8, 929, 934-6 (one with monogram; all others with signature))
-
After: Hablot Knight Browne (Phiz) (Nos. 9-22 (most signed 'Phiz'; all attributed by Arthur Aspitall))
-
After: George Henry Andrews (Nos. 950, 1063 (one with monogram; the other acknowledged in original publication; both attributed by Arthur Aspitall))
-
After: Henry Hugh Armstead (Nos. 865, 940, 942, 991-2, 1051 (most with monogram; many attributed to Armstead in the original publication; all attributed by Arthur Aspitall))
-
After: H S Barton (Nos. 469, 471, 558?-9?, 692 (all with signature or monogram 'S.B.'; no. 692 also attributed by Arthur Aspitall))
-
After: Charles Henry Bennett (No. 877 (with monogram and attributed by Arthur Aspitall))
-
After: Jemima Blackburn (Nos. 854, 856, 860, 862-3, 868-9, 876, 880, 884, 1046 (all with monogram and attributed by Arthur Aspitall))
-
After: William Paton Burton (Nos. 944, 983, 990, 999, 1002, 1004 (all attributed by Arthur Aspitall and in the original publication))
-
After: W. Chappell (Nos. 1167-1207 (most with monogram, and attributed by Arthur Aspitall))
-
After: William Stephen Coleman (Nos. 602-9, 628-33, 829?-830?, 831-42 (one with monogram; some attributed in the original publication; all attributed by Arthur Aspitall, except those queried, which are the cover designs to a book illustrated by Coleman))
-
Published by: Routledge (Nos. 829-842)
-
After: Edward William Cooke (No. 535 (with signature, and attributed by Arthur Aspitall))
-
After: Alfred W Cooper (Nos. 878, 1210 (one with monogram; both attributed by Arthur Aspitall))
-
After: Edward Henry Corbould (Nos. 734-741 (some with monogram; all attributed by Arthur Aspitall))
-
After: Alfred Crowquill (No. 922 (with signature and attributed by Arthur Aspitall))
-
After: Thomas Bolton Gilchrist Septimus Dalziel (Nos. 356-419, 494-6, 500, 550, 610-615, 658-663 (a few with monogram; all attributed by Arthur Aspitall))
-
After: Clarence M Dobell (Nos. 872, 881 (both attributed by Arthur Aspitall))
-
After: Richard Doyle (Nos. 843-53, 1006-14 (some with monogram; all attributed by Arthur Aspitall))
-
After: George Du Maurier (No. 583? (attributed by Arthur Aspitall))
-
After: Edmund Fitzpatrick (Nos. 776-782, 784, 786-7 (all with signature or monogram; also attributed by Arthur Aspitall))
-
After: William Baxter Collier Fyfe (No. 1047 (with signature, and attributed by Arthur Aspitall))
-
After: James Godwin (Nos. 534, 552 (both with signature, and attributed by Arthur Aspitall))
-
After: Thomas Alexander Ferguson Graham (Nos. 874-5, 882, 1050 (all but one with signature, and all attributed by Arthur Aspitall))
-
After: J Gresley (Nos. 349-50, 353 (all with signature; also attributed by Arthur Aspitall))
-
After: Keeley Halswelle (Nos. 680-7, 909-16 (all with signature; also attributed by Arthur Aspitall))
-
After: William Harvey (Nos. 634-45 (attributed by Arthur Aspitall))
-
After: Thomas Hood (Nos. 136, 138-44, 147-51, 153, 155, 159, 166, 169, 171, 174, 176-7, 180, 182-3, 190 (most with monogram; all attributed by Arthur Aspitall))
-
After: William Holman Hunt (Nos. 1000, 1060 (both with monogram))
-
After: Charles Keene (Nos. 931, 949 (one with monogram; both identified as Keene's in the original publication))
-
After: E Law (Nos. 459-468 (many with monogram or signature; attributed by Arthur Aspitall))
-
After: Edward Lear (Nos. 504-521, 1067-1162)
-
After: William McTaggart (Nos. 861, 1048 (one with signature; both attributed by Arthur Aspitall))
-
After: John McWhirter (No. 859 (attributed by Arthur Aspitall))
-
After: Henry Stacy Marks (Nos. 927, 930, 945, 948, 969, 971, 984 (all with monogram and attributed in the original publication))
-
After: John Everett Millais (Nos. 129-30, 887-908, 1058-9 (all with monogram))
-
After: Thomas Morten (Nos. 646-51, 1049, 1062 (many with mongram; those that lack monogram attributed in original publication))
-
After: Bartolomé Esteban Murillo (No. 74)
-
After: Edward Neale (Nos. 526-9 (all with monogram or signature))
-
After: James Abbott Pasquier (Nos. 652-7 (attributed in original publication))
-
After: M Pearce (No. 538 (with signature))
-
After: John Pettie (NOs. 870, 871, 1209 (all with signature or monogram))
-
After: Julian Portch (Nos. 593-601, 622-27 (all with signature))
-
After: Frederick Richard Pickersgill (No. 981)
-
After: Samuel Read (No. 952, 979)
-
After: H Sanderson (Nos. 137, 152, 172, 179, 184-5, 187, 189 (all with monogram and attributed by Arthur Aspitall))
-
After: Frederick Sandys (Nos. 943, 996 (both with monogram))
-
After: W Sharpe (Nos. 726-33)
-
After: John Sleigh (Nos. 970, 972, 1001 (all with monogram))
-
After: Frederick Smallfield (No. 998 (with monogram))
-
After: James Smetham (No. 1208 (with signature))
-
After: Charles Piazzi Smyth (Nos. 1064-6 (one with monogram; both attributed by Arthur Aspitall))
-
After: George Clark Stanton (No. 476 (with signature))
-
After: Marcus Stone (No. 760 (with monogram))
-
After: Sir John Tenniel (Nos. 5-8 (with monogram))
-
After: Frederick Walker (Nos. 530-3, 688-91, 867, 879, 973, 982, 1005, 1163-6 (many with monogram; all attributed by Arthur Aspitall))
-
After: John Dawson Watson (Nos. 114, 420-2, 585-92, 761, 825-8, 855, 857-8, 866, 926, 928, 933, 937-9, 959-68, 974-8, 980, 986, 988-9, 993, 995, 1003, 1061 (most with monogram, and all attributed by Arthur Aspitall))
-
After: Charles H Whymper (Nos. 783, 785 (both with monogram))
-
After: Joseph Wolf (Nos. 548, 864, 932, 941, 946-7, 951, 994, 997 (all with monogram))
-
After: Thomas W Wood (No. 562 (with signature))
-
After: John Drayton Wyatt (No. 135 (with signature))
-
After: Johann Baptist Zwecker (Nos. 346, 549, 569-72, 701-8, 873, 1020-2, 1031, 1034, 1036 (most with monogram or signature; all attributed by Arthur Aspitall))
- Production date
- 1861
- Curator's comments
- Catalogued by Bethan Stevens (University of Sussex) in partnership with the British Museum and the Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC); digital photography by Sylph Editions, London (www.sylpheditions.com).
At the front of the volume is a handwritten list of artists linked to several of the prints. The handwriting has been identified as Arthur Aspitall's, after comparison with the bound volume 'Specimens of Handwriting', held in the British Museum Print Room. Where no comments are given after the names of producers, evidence is clear and has been verified (e.g. signed print, publication details, etc.). An overview of the album has been offered here, but it would be possible to identify more publications and artists on inspection and with further research.
- Location
- Not on display
- Acquisition date
- 1913
- Department
- Prints and Drawings
- Registration number
- 1913,0415.175
