Pre-Raphaelite Prints

Pre-Raphaelite Prints is the first book to be devoted solely to this vital chapter in the development of the Pre-Raphaelites. It discusses their etchings, reproductive engravings and book illustrations with full details for collectors, scholars and print dealers. When faced initially with the hostility of the art world, the primary Pre-Raphaelite artists Rossetti, Millais and Holman Hunt used the populist medium of the print as a means of gaining mass appeal for their paintings, and of spreading the Pre-Raphaelite message to a wider audience. Fully illustrated with reproductions of the most important works, this book shows how the innovative prints of Rossetti, Holman Hunt and Millais led to the Pre-Raphaelite ideal of densely drawn, jewel-like engravings of exquisite observation. Their prints became some of the most popular and treasured images of the Victorian period, and are still widely collected today.