A two-volume catalogue (1866-8) of influential wood engravings attributed to Thomas Bewick and his younger brother John.

This set focuses on pre-Victorian book illustration, and in particular wood engraving. At the heart of the collection stand two giant figures of British illustration, William Blake (1757-1827) and Thomas Bewick (1753-1828). Thomas Bewick was one of the major revivalists of wood engraving technique, and Blake had a massive impact on the nature of book illustration and design which still resonates today. Bewick's autobiography is complemented with Hugo's book describing the wide variety of Bewick's illustrations. Gilchrist's justly celebrated biography of Blake contains descriptions of his engraving techniques as well as many illustrations and a descriptive catalogue of his output. Ottley's lavishly produced and esteemed treatise is a rare work that Bigmore and Wyman describe as occupying the same relation to engraving as Dibdin's Ames (see the collection British Printers pre-1600) does to typography. Along with Chatto and Woodberry they may be taken as the key standard works on wood engraving. Together these highly-illustrated volumes form a good source collection for pre-Victorian engraving techniques in Britain, Germany, France, and the Low Countries. --important and scarce works on the techniques and history of engraving in Britain and Europe --biographies and catalogues of two great British illustrators, William Blake and Thomas Bewick --invaluable art history and illustration reference tools