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.
47 illustrations
A small animal leans over the top of a deep well while another stands far below near the water.
Small travellers cross a high platform above a city of brightly coloured towers, domes and striped roofs.
A long-coated figure stands with a cane and a dark object hanging from one hand.
An elongated figure bends across a field of broken black shapes.
A towering traveller in a green coat stands amid brightly coloured domes and small houses.
Ten figures in varied hats, cloaks and bright garments form a loosely stacked group.
A small elaborately dressed animal kneels before a much larger richly robed ruler.
Two long-legged birds wear extravagant patterned garments and carry delicate accessories.
Animals in elaborate clothes gather around a raised royal seat.
Armed animal figures move together beneath dark trees and curling branches.
Two small children stand on a broad pink bridge above winding blue water.
Coloured elephants carry towers and rounded compartments filled with fantastically dressed birds.
Elongated birds and animal-headed figures clash around a winding stretch of water.
A young armed figure stands beside a tall bird-like companion above a great coiled creature.
Small brightly dressed animals stand beside icy water beneath snow-covered trees and distant houses.
A seated woman spreads a broad patterned skirt beneath a red disc containing a fantastic fish.
A fantastic company gathers in two groups beneath dark flowering branches.
An impossible company of long-limbed figures and bird-like creatures occupies a dark blue landscape.
Two small figures stand near the opening of a red-framed enclosure.
Three slender dancers hold hands below a group of seated spectators.
A small passenger sits within a richly patterned sedan-chair carried by two fantastically dressed attendants.
Several companions gather around a low table beneath dark branches and an immense golden disc.
A thin bearded man in ragged clothes stands among long vertical canes.
Three thin figures stand together with impossibly long legs and arms.
Two elongated figures advance together through a sharply divided black-and-white space.
A long-limbed figure bends towards pale ground interrupted by solid black shapes.
A lone figure lowers his head and advances with a long stick.
A tapir-headed figure occupies the centre of a crowded interior beneath a great clock.
Two elongated figures hold baskets and flowering forms above a small heap of fruit.
A woman’s pale arms curve above an immense dark skirt beneath a high, stacked headpiece.
Gulliver stands in a dark coat while tiny people gather below his shoes and on nearby supports.
A small acrobat leaps over a horizontal stick while another figure crawls below it.
Mounted figures point long weapons towards their opponents above broken egg forms.
Small figures rush through a palace courtyard beneath great bands of red and orange flame.
Three enormous faces and a sickle loom above a dense stand of corn.
A young woman in a long orange dress sits beside an immense red chair.
A small traveller holds a rope beneath a broad red sail as his boat tips over curling water.
A monkey perches high on a roof while clutching the tiny traveller.
A workman bends over an opening with a saw and a small stool near his hands.
A long narrow aeroplane carries passengers above black water while a tiny submarine glides beneath it.
A large pelican with an unusually expressive head stands among sharply dressed bird-like figures.
A vast black horse and rider rise above a line of small islands.
A slender musician plays a long flute while balanced on the back of a fish-like vessel.
A spotted giraffe bends its long neck beneath dark branches beside a tortoise carrying a small basket.
Four small figures cling to a flat rectangular surface above enormous white currents.
Thin angular figures appear suspended above overlapping dark shadows.
Small figures climb a great angular structure filled with platforms, wheels and hanging buckets.
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