Originally published in 1896, this survey of book illustration is both a comprehensive guide to many facets of early work in the field & important evidence of Victorian taste & the influences which shaped it. Crane begins by describing the artist s role in producing manuscripts

& early printed books up to the end of the 16th century, giving an account of Italian, French & German work. He then moves to the beginning of modern illustration — which he dates from the work of Blake, & takes in most of the major Victorian exponents of the art, including Rossetti, Selwyn Image, Laurence Housman & Howard Pyle. Over 100 drawings

CRANE,WALTER. OF THE DECORATIVE ILLUSTRATIONS OF BOOKS OLD AND NEW. London: George Bell 1896. 4to (6 1/4 x 9 1/4″), 335p., printed wraps, uncut and unopened, slight cover soil else Fine. FIRST EDITION. LIMITED TO ONLY 130 NUMBERED COPIES PRINTED ON TALL JAPANESE VELLUM. 1st ed. Beginning with the German, Flemish, French and Italian Schools of the XVth Century and ending with the “Modern” illustrators, five centuries of book design are analyzed by Crane. It is profusely illustrated with 100’s of in-text and full page reproductions of works by leading illustrators including Howard Pyle, William Morris, Charles Robinson, Will Bradley, Anning Bell, Batten, Beardsley and more. The high quality of the paper enhances the beauty of the illustrations. See Ray: Illus. and Book in England #249

See The Project Gutenberg EBook of Of the Decorative Illustration of Books Old and New, by Walter Crane

http://www.gutenberg.org/files/40250/40250-h/40250-h.htm