Millais’s Illustrations – John Everett Millais – 1866 | Pre-Raphaelite Woodcuts

Millais’s Illustrations: A Collection of Drawings on Wood showcases the woodcut engravings of John Everett Millais, one of the founding members of the Pre-Raphaelite art movement alongside William Holman Hunt and the Rossetti brothers. Issued during what is often described as the golden age of British illustration, this collection showcases Millais’s artistry in elevating wood-engraved imagery to a fine art. Though he is remembered primarily as a painter, Millais brought the precision and emotional depth that defined the Pre-Raphaelite style to his work on the printed page. This collection presents a selection of his woodcut illustrations that appeared in mid-19th-century periodicals such as Good Words and Once a Week, many of which were produced under the skilled hands of the Dalziel brothers and accompanied prose and poetry by authors like Alfred, Lord Tennyson. The subjects of the engravings are varied from intimate domestic moments to dramatic biblical and literary scenes, such as The Ten Virgins from his famed series on The Parables of Jesus.  

Bibliographic Details

• Title: Millais’s Illustrations: A Collection of Drawings on Wood
• Author: John Everett Millais
• Illustrator: John Everett Millais
• Publisher: Alexander Strahan, London and New York
• Edition: First Edition, 1866
• Binding: Decorative dark blue cloth
  • Binding sticker for Burn and Co.
• Format: Quarto (4to), single volume
• Size: ~ 12.5in x 10in (32 cm x 25.5 cm)
• Collation: vi, 80 leaves
• Illustrations: 80 numbered wood-engraved illustrations, plus vignette half-title
• Contents Include:
  • The Ten Virgins
  • The Finding of Moses
  • Mary Queen of Scots at Buxton
  • The Sleeping Palace
  • The Fair Jacobite

Condition:

Very Good. Decorative dark blue cloth binding remains sound with minor shelf wear and some soiling around the edges. Gilt cover design and lettering remain vibrant. Corners lightly bumped. Inner hinges and text block are secure. Pages very mildly age-toned but free of foxing.

Why Collect This?

• Compilation of Millais’s influential wood engravings
• Pre-Raphaelite art prints from the Golden Age of Victorian illustration
• Desirable for collectors of British art, Victorian literature, and illustrated periodicals

Item Number: # 31156