Combines essays, bibliographical descriptions, and 295 illustrations to chronicle a golden era in the art of the illustrated book. Artists range from Blake, Turner, Rowlandson, and Morris to Caldecott, Greenaway, Beardsley, and Rackham.

This is the first detailed survey of the past five centuries of book illustration in England. It is divided into two parts: Part One is a comprehensive analysis of specific artists, books and illustrations and covers the anonymous work in books by leading printers before 1600 and then the work of over 200 illustrators up to 1976; Part Two, a Catalogue of Illustrations and Books, lists 2,700 selected entries of English illustrations and includes 200 reproductions, chosen to illustrate the discussion.Edward Hodnett gives a general impression of each artist's work, describes the subject-matter of the designs, notes their relation to other illustrations, and attempts to reach an estimate of the artist's relative achievement as an interpretive illustrator. The book also features bibliographies and a comprehensive, alphabetical index of illustrators, printers, booksellers, presses, and engravers.

Each chapter of this stimulating book collects a wide variety of images show the different ways that historical events can be represented. Metal and wood engravings, lithographs, woodcuts, etchings, watercolors, and drawings all reflect changing attitudes towards gender, politics, the family, education, and industrialization. This revised second edition has many new illustrations which further assist the interpretation of popular graphic images from the 18th and 19th centuries.

Explores a vital aspect of British Romanticism, the role of illustration in Romantic-era literary texts and visual culture.