The Woodpecking Factory: Victorian Illustrations by the Brothers Dalziel

Fascinating exhibition at the British Museum looking at the work of the Dalziel brothers who produced books and prints in the 19th century when wood engraving was the main technology for mass producing images with text.

In 1913 the archive of the companies 54,000 prints was acquired by the museum and there were some stunning works. The show looked at the technique of cutting a block. At the height of the firm they employed 36 engravers who were know as woodpeckers.

In a number of cases the books they produced were shown with the drawings for the prints or the print blocks. In many cases they commissioned artists to illustrate their books eg Rossetti illustrated Tennyson’s poems for them. I loved a Millais print with his annotations for corrections. Their work included the first edition of Barnaby Rudge and Alice in Wonderland and the show included an album of proofs from Alice.

The company went bankrupt in 1893 when photographs became economical enough to take over as the main type of illustrations in books and newspapers. 

Closes 4 September 2022

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