- Museum number
- 1913,0415.192
- 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: 1873. 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. XXXI. Various Works. 1873'. The album includes approximately 814 wood-engraved proofs, with many touched proofs. Following the title-page there is a contents page written by the Dalziels; this provides an extremely useful reference for publishers and titles in the albums, although it is not necessarily a reliable finding aid. Print numbers were accidentally duplicated from 560 to 599; the duplicated numbers have been re-named 560a, 561a, etc. (although the new numbers will not show on the photographs attached to the records).
The album contains numerous book and periodical illustrations of all sorts, including many commercial images. There are numerous illustrations to fiction and poetry, and a lot of illustration to children's books, including fiction, education and large picture books, as well as nursery rhymes - including some offensive racist material. The album includes decorative borders and lettering, images of boats, trains, optics, natural history, agriculture, heraldry (coats of arms) and tools. There are several imperialist illustrations. Periodicals illustrated including ‘London Society’, ‘People’s Magazine’ and 'Hood's Annual'.
Individual prints include the following:
Nos. 1-8: a page of commercial wood-engravings, including lettering for ‘W F Thomas & Co’s Sewing Machines’; an unidentified image of a mermaid; lettering for ‘Breidenbach’s Wood Violet’ and the same firm’s ‘Maccassarine Oil’; an advertisement for ‘Henry Brett & Co’s Pure Brandy’; and an advertisement for ‘Himalaya Tea Co. / Pure tea in packets’, with an illustration of a tiger attacking a man.
No. 15: advertisement for ‘Cottier & Co / Artists in Stained Glass’ and other decorative arts.
No. 20: unidentified commercial illustration showing three views of an adjustable desk.
No. 21: large print after Edward Gurden Dalziel, probably for a periodical (‘The Illustrated London News’?), printed on two separate sheets of paper from at least four blocks, some joins clearly visible.
No. 34: wood-engraving after Gustave Doré; for an associated drawing in the British Museum’s collection, see reg. no. 1963,1214.7.
Nos. 36-48: large decorative lettering for posters or signs, at least some of it for music at the Royal Albert Hall.
Nos. 50-77: illustrations after Frederick Bernard for Charles Dickens, ‘Bleak House’, The Household Edition (London: Chapman & Hall, 1873). First issued in parts. These are the final 27 illustrations from the novel, plus the title-page vignette.
Nos. 78-136: illustrations after J. Mahoney for Charles Dickens, ‘Little Dorrit’, The Household Edition (London: Chapman & Hall, [1873]). First issued in parts. These are all Mahoney’s illustrations for the novel, including the title-page vignette and tailpiece. There is also an extra full-page illustration that was not used in the publicaiton (no. 135).
Nos. 137-166: illustrations after Hablot K Browne (‘Phiz’) for Charles Dickens, ‘The Posthumous Papers of the Pickwick Club’, The Household Edition (London: Chapman & Hall, [1874]). First issued in parts. These are 30 of the illustrations from the novel. It was a rare commission for Browne at this point in his life. Designs are adapted from the etched vignettes that illustrate the earlier, 1837 edition, although with many differences, including of format and medium. Note that most but not all the ‘Pickwick’ wood-engravings were made by Dalziel. Though engraved later on, this was the first novel commissioned for the ‘Household Edition’, and after this one illustrations for the entire series were managed by Dalziel. See Dalziel, ‘A Record’ (London: Methuen, 1901), p. 332. For Browne’s role, see Allingham and Landow, ‘Illustrators of Dickens's Pickwick Papers in the 1873 Household Edition’, in ‘The Victorian Web’ [http://www.victorianweb.org/art/illustration/phiz/pickwick/household.html]. For impressions of the illustrations at the end of the novel, see reg. no. 1913,0415.194.
Nos. 172-175: illustrations after ‘WM’ (unidentified designer) for Charles Dickens, ‘The Uncommercial Traveller’, The Library Edition, illustrated (London: Chapman & Hall, [1874]). This edition also includes four illustrations after Pinwell that were reprinted from an earlier edition (also cut by Dalziel, but in 1868 and 1865).
Nos. 196-215: illustrations after Frederick Barnard for Charles Dickens, ‘Barnaby Rudge’ The Household Edition (London: Chapman & Hall, [1874]). First issued in parts. These are 20 of the 46 illustrations Barnard designed for the novel. Curiously, the illustration for Chapter 1 has a partially erased monogram for Francis Arthur Fraser (FAF), visible in this proof but more fully masked in the published edition. This was presumably a mistake by the engraver; the illustrations are all published as after Barnard. For impressions of the other illustrations from the novel, see reg. no. 1913,0415.194.
Nos. 244-249: illustrations after William Bell Scott for his own edition of ‘The Poetical Works of Percy Byssche Shelley. Edited with an introductory memoir and illustraions’ (London: Routledge, [1873-4]).
Nos. 250-255: illustrations after William Bell Scott for his own edition of ‘The Poetical Works of John Keats. Edited with an introductory memoir and illustrations’ (London: Routledge, [1873-4]).
Nos. 256-261: illustrations after William Bell Scott for his own edition of Letitia Elizabeth Landon, ‘The Poetical Works of L E L. Edited with an introductory memoir and illustrations’ (London: Routledge, [1873-4]).
Nos. 576a-579a: four illustrations showing resuscitation, possibly made for the National Life-Boat Institution, for whom Dalziel made wood-engravings in 1864 (see reg. no. 1913,0415.180).
Nos. 607-646: illustrations after various artists for the South Kensington Museum. Numbered 1 to 51 in a contemporary hand – some blocks containing multiple numbered illustrations. It is surely relevant that in February 1873, all three of the designers who have signed these illustrations (J J Shaw, W Clausen and G Payne) were among the prize winning students reviewed in the Art Journal’s coverage of the South Kensington School (‘Schools of Art’, ‘Art journal’, Feb 1873, p. 48). The proofs in the album are noted in Dalziel’s hand as having been delivered in three lots, in July, September and January(?) 1873.
Nos. 649-656: illustrations for Ascott R. Hope, ‘Hope’s Annual: The Night Before the Holidays’ (Edinburgh: Nimmo, [1873] 1874). Six of the eight illustrations have designers’ monograms, but these are rather unclear. The designer could perhaps be Harry Tuck or John Gordon Thomson, or a combination of them.
777-784; 792-799; 807-814: three separate illustrated alphabets, publication details untraced.
- Producer name
-
Print made by: Dalziel Brothers (All)
-
Published by: Chapman & Hall (Nos. 50-215)
-
Published by: Dalziel Brothers (Nos. 813-871, and others)
-
Published by: Routledge (Nos. 244-261)
-
Published by: William P Nimmo (Nos. 649-656)
-
After: Frederick Barnard (Nos. 50-56(m), 57, 58-65(m), 66-69, 70(m), 71, 72-77(m), 196, 197-198(m), 199, 200(m), 201, 202-215(m))
-
After: Hablot Knight Browne (Phiz) (Nos. 137-146(s), 147, 148-166(s) (all signed 'Phiz'))
-
After: William S Brunton (No. 739(m))
-
After: W Clausen (Nos. 611-612(s), 615(s), 618(s), 620(s), 625(s), 629(s), 632-633(s), 638(s))
-
After: Adelaide Claxton (No. 9?(m?))
-
After: Cottier & Co (No. 15(s))
-
After: George Cruikshank (No. 35(s))
-
After: Edward Gurden Dalziel (Nos. 21(s), 185-189(m), 740, 741-742(m), 743 (unsigned prints attributed on grounds of style and continuity))
-
After: Thomas Bolton Gilchrist Septimus Dalziel (No. 678(m))
-
After: Gustave Doré (No. 34(s))
-
After: Mary Ellen Edwards (Nos. 339-345(m), 349(m))
-
After: Alfred Elmore (No. 32(m))
-
After: Francis Arthur Fraser (Nos. 22-25(m), 180(m), 182-184(m), 221(m), 223(m), 225(m), 230(m), 232-234(m), 236-237(m), 271(m), 709(m), 717-718(m))
-
After: Henry French (No. 190(m), 256-257(m), 269-270(m))
-
After: Charles Green (Nos. 194-195(m))
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After: Townley Green (Nos. 192-193(m))
-
After: Ernest Griset (Nos. 719-721(m), 724-726(m), 750-752(m), 756-757(m))
-
After: W Gunston (Nos. 459-464(s), 537-540(s))
-
After: John Leighton (Nos. 595-596(s))
-
After: J Mahoney (Nos. 78-80(m), 81, 82-89(m), 90, 91-120(m), 121, 122-124(m), 125, 126-136(m), 181(m), 191(m), 272-277(m))
-
After: G Payne (Nos. 608(s), 613-614(s), 616(m), 617(s), 621(s))
-
After: H Sanderson (Nos. 288?-293?(m), 351-390(m), 395(m), 398(m), 400(m), 405(m), 421-422(m), 428(m), 438(m), 682?(m), 710-711, 712(m), 713-714, 715(m) (those with query were tentatively attributed by Robin de Beaumont. The monogram is different from Sanderson's usual monogram))
-
After: William Bell Scott (Nos. 244-245(m), 246-248, 249-255-256(m), 257, 258-261(m))
-
After: Henry Courtney Selous (Nos. 684(m), 689(m))
-
After: J J Shaw (Nos. 607(s), 609(m), 610(m), 619(s), 622-623(s))
-
After: John Moyr Smith (No. 716(m))
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After: John Gordon Thomson (Nos. 655?(m?), 708(m), 727-731, 732(m), 744-745, 746(m), 748-749 (for queried item, see object description; unsigned prints attributed on grounds of style and continuity))
-
After: Harry Tuck (Nos. 649?-651?(m?), 653?(m?), 736(m), 753-754(m) (for queried items, see object description))
-
After: Albert Henry Warren (No. 29(s))
-
After: John Dawson Watson (No. 679-680(m), 686-687(m), 691(m), 693(m), 695(m))
-
After: W J Wiegand (Nos. 723(m), 770-776(m), 785-791(m))
-
After: Johann Baptist Zwecker (Nos. 445-448(m), 450-451(m), 471?(m?), 479(m), 592-594(m), 587a-591a(m), 594a-597a(m), 599a-601(m), 602-606(s), 704-707(m))
- Production date
- 1873
- Dimensions
-
Height: 447 millimetres (size of bound album)
-
Thickness: 52 millimetres (size of bound album)
-
Width: 307 millimetres (size of bound album)
- 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).
This is one in a series of 49 albums in the British Museum with proof impressions of wood-engravings by the Brothers Dalziel.
An overview of the album has been offered here, but it would be possible to identify more writers, titles, artists and publishers on inspection and with further research.
In many cases, designers have been listed for the wood-engravings. Where no attribution comments are given, evidence is clear and has been verified (e.g. through publication details, etc.). Further, some indication has also been given throughout when a designer's work is signed with signature or monogram. After the producer's name and the print number or range, the letter 's' in parentheses indicates a signature, the letter 'm' a monogram, and neither letter indicates a print that is unsigned by the draughtsman or draughtswoman. In addition, most of the proofs have the Dalziels' signature, although some do not. The presence/absence of the Dalziel signature has not been catalogued, since it is known that all these prints are by them.
The album includes some hand-written annotation, including brief notes written at the Dalziel office, and some designers and publication details added more recently, e.g. by Robin de Beaumont.
- Location
- Not on display
- Acquisition date
- 1913
- Department
- Prints and Drawings
- Registration number
- 1913,0415.192
