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.
23 illustrations
A young man grasps the beard of a long-robed magician and pulls him violently forward.
A standing figure raises a wand above a table carrying a cup, blade, staff and pentacle.
A gesturing figure faces an assembled company beneath a tumult of airborne bodies and winged forms.
An immense ibis-headed figure raises its arms above a small recumbent man in a shadowed chamber.
Two jugglers raise wands over tables of implements.
Three cups labelled A, B and C stand in a row on a decorated conjuring table.
An open hand displays a small ball retained near the base of the fingers.
A large ball is held against the lower edge of a top hat while the performer’s hands conceal the handling.
Two hands hold a large ball in front of a top hat.
A small patterned bag hangs from a narrow ribbon handle.
A bearded man holds a wand inside an inscribed circle surrounded by books, vessels and astronomical instruments.
A man stands inside an inscribed circle among graves while a pale shrouded figure rises nearby.
A bearded figure in an elaborate pointed cap turns across a broad gold-coloured field.
Two men stand side by side in a formal photographic portrait.
Four separate portraits are arranged in a rectangular group.
An elderly bearded man stands beside Houdini in an outdoor photograph.
A seated woman rests her hands beside a small table in a plain photographic setting.
A rectangular slate is shown with the fittings used to close or secure it.
Two standing figures hold writing slates above the head of a seated participant.
Two men bend towards a small framed surface held between them.
Houdini’s portrait appears with additional pale faces or forms in the same photographic field.
A narrow vertical carving combines faces, curling forms and a large projecting headpiece.
A bearded man in a yellow robe stands above a writhing dragon amid swirling patterned forms.
27 plates
22 plates
4 plates
24 plates
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10 plates
