Victorian Illustrated Books

by Percy H. Muir

Physical description; xv, 287 p., 4 of plates : ill. (some col.), facsims. ; 26 cm. Notes; Revised impression published 1985. Originally published: London : Batsford, 1971. Includes bibliographies and index. Contents; Background -- Catnachery, chapbooks and children's books -- Two colossi: Thomas Bewick and George Cruikshank -- Line engraving (with specific reference to Turner) -- Pickwick, Punch and other periodicals -- Dalziel era -- Advent of colour -- Fin-de-siècle -- Foreign influence -- America. Summary; A comprehensive account of Victorian illustrated books in Britain. The social conditions and history of Britain are reflected in the history of the literary illustration of the period. Subjects; Illustration of books — Great Britain — 19th century. Illustration of books, Victorian — Great Britain. Illustrated books — Great Britain — History — 19th century — Bibliography. Illustrations of books and periodicals. Illustrated books — History — 19th century. Illustrated books — Great Britain — 19th century — Bibliography. Illustration of books — Great Britain — 20th century. Illustration of books — United States. Illustrated books — 19th century. British illustrated books, 1837-1901. books — illustrated — British — 1837-1901. Books — British illustrations, history. Illustration - Great Britain. Book illustration — England. Illustration, British - 19th century. Victorian art. Illustrated books — British Isles — 19th century. Dates covered: 1850-1900. History of art & design styles: c 1800 to c 1900 ; Illustration & commercial art ; British & Irish history: c 1700 to c 1900. United Kingdom, Great Britain ; c 1800 to c 1900. ART / Graphic Arts.

287 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1971

About the author

Percy Horace Muir began his career as a bookseller in 1920. He joined the London antiquarian booksellers Elkin Mathews in 1930, and would remain with that firm until his death in Norfolk on November 24, 1979.

Muir was an influential figure among booksellers and book collectors around the world. As president of the Antiquarian Booksellers Association in Britain from 1945-1947, Muir chaired the first conference of the International League of Antiquarian Booksellers (ILAB) in 1947. He then served as president of the ILAB from 1950 until 1952. At the end of his term in this office, he was elected Life President of Honor.

Muir's publications include several bibliographies and contributions to bibliographical journals such as The Library. He composed numerous letters, essays, and addresses on book collecting, including the immensely popular Book Collecting as a Hobby: Letters to Everyman (1944) and its sequel in 1949. Muir was a founding member of the Editorial Board of Book Collector, and wrote many reviews for this journal. His Minding My Own Business (1956) was both a history of the firm Elkin Mathews and an autobiographical account of Muir's career from the early 1920s to World War II.