Discover historical illustrations by subject, artist and book.
Creation and rebellion in Blake’s illuminated plates.
Norwegian fairy tales illustrated by Kay Nielsen.
Four colour drawings from a 1908 Gnostic text.
From the dark wood to Paradise with Gustave Doré.
Ethelwynne Quail’s visions of the spirit world.
Art Deco studies of fear by John Vassos.
68 illustrations
A richly dressed young woman looks down towards a pool enclosed by slender trees.
A young woman stands at a decorated doorway beneath a bright round moon.
Two small figures hurry across an ornate bridge suspended above a pale landscape.
Tall trunks fill the narrow image with closely repeated vertical lines.
A young woman leans towards a richly dressed swineherd while attendants gather around them.
A long-haired woman pauses beside a young man sleeping beneath a tree.
A richly armoured rider reaches upward towards a princess leaning from a window.
A young woman extends her hand towards a crowned head within a squat iron stove.
Seven serpentine heads extend across a garden towards a group of small human figures.
A bent, darkly dressed woman climbs over the rail of a ship.
A man raises a sword above a heavy chain disappearing into an opening in the floor.
A long-haired woman rises from water filled with reeds and broad leaves.
A young woman raises one hand between a wild-haired flying figure and a crouching prince.
A young man braces himself against a tree while holding a great pale swan.
A seated young woman is surrounded by richly dressed companions in a garden.
A crowned young man extends his hands above a great fish dropping towards the water.
A young man grasps the beard of a long-robed magician and pulls him violently forward.
A young man bends forward and empties a sack towards the flames at the foot of a tree.
A young woman leans into an embrace beneath a canopy of flowers.
A crowned ruler looks down from a high balcony over ranks of armed men.
A pale young woman raises her arms beneath dark tree trunks.
A man drives a team of horses across a field while another approaches holding a hatchet.
A long-haired young woman stands beside a tall, heavily layered bed.
An immense eagle spreads its wings above a mountainous landscape and distant towers.
Two richly dressed women sit in a wooded clearing while a plainly dressed attendant stands behind them.
A young woman holds a shaggy lion skin against a dark opening surrounded by flame-like lines.
A pale bear carries a small rider through a snowy landscape beneath a huge blue curve of sky.
A young woman stands beside a richly dressed man under patterned hangings.
A powerful pale figure strides above an immense curling wave.
A young man in a great pale bearskin sits close beside a richly dressed princess.
A pale woman stands beside a tall decorated bed while richly robed figures gather at the left.
A crowned man bends beside a young woman on a flower-covered slope.
A dark-robed woman floats within an oval of golden light.
A small traveller stands before an immense curling black rock or tree form.
A long-bearded traveller strides on narrow snow-shoes with a staff in one hand.
Two richly robed figures face one another beneath a wide architectural arch.
Mounted figures move through a pale landscape towards a castle rising among rounded trees.
A young man turns away from a princess at a doorway surrounded by fantastic carved figures.
A dark horse carries an elaborately dressed rider beneath diagonal bands of light.
A small pale figure bends beside an immense curved white bed beneath a hanging lamp.
A mounted warrior raises his weapon above a dense field of round shields and crossed spears.
Three tall pale figures stand close together beneath diagonal strokes of snow.
Three pale princesses stand hand in hand against a deep blue chasm.
A tall cloaked figure raises a small object to his mouth beneath a curving flock of black birds.
A dark-haired maiden lifts enormous wings above a long blue-green robe and a train of peacock feathers.
A young man in pink leans towards a woman in a yellow robe beside a pond and a willow tree.
A young woman holds a slender flute across her body above a dark blue robe patterned with pale flowers.
Two pale-faced women advance through a rounded dark opening, one carrying a glowing lantern.
48 of 68 shown