Some Notes on English Illustrated Books. A Paper Read Before the Bibliographical Society, November 19, 1900.

Pollard, A.W.

Published by Bibliographical Society, London, first separate edition, reprinted from the Society's Transactions, 1901, 1901

About this Item

Small edition of perhaps 20 - 30 copies. Printed wrappers, small 4to, 27 pp, plus 10 pp of facs. Uncommon separate printing: from 1894 twenty copies of any paper printed in the Transactions were presented to the writer, and presumably a few more were run off. Reprinted from the Transactions of the Bibliographical Society. 6. 1901. From the text: "The periods into which the history of book-illustration in England may be divided are very easily defined. The earliest English printed book-illustrations known to us are two little woodcuts in the third edition of the Parvus et Magnus Cato (1), printed by Caxton about 1481, the same cuts, with others, appearing also in the Mirrour of the World, printed in the same year. For as nearly as possible a century from 1481 the reign of the woodcut was practically undisputed in England. But in 1540, as Mr. Plomer reminded us in last month's paper, the first edition of The Birth of Mankind was illustrated by two copperplates of anatomical figures and by some smaller plates of babies as yet unborn. These were reprinted in the edition of 1545, and in the same year Thomas Gemini's Compendiosa Anatomiae Delineatio was illustrated not only with anatomical plates, but with a finely designed engraved frontispiece. Gemini's book was reprinted in 1553 and 1559. In 1568 we find engravings in the Bishop's Bible, and in the seventies and eighties there are a few books with engravings. After 1590 engraved illustra tions increase rapidly, and for the first sixty years of the seventeenth century they were very popular, often possessing real artistic merit, and quite ousting woodcuts from favour." Yapp edges worn, otherwise Good.

Seller Inventory # ABE-31399

Bibliographic Details

• Title: Some Notes on English Illustrated Books. A Paper Read Before the Bibliographical Society, November 19, 1900.
• Publisher: Bibliographical Society, London, first separate edition, reprinted from the Society's Transactions, 1901
• Publication Date: 1901
• Binding: Soft cover
• Seller catalogs:
  • Book Arts & Illustration