India-Proofs of Wood-Engravings by The Brothers Dalziel (BM 1913,0415.200 132)

Album with hand-written title page: 'India-Proofs of Wood-Engravings by The Brothers Dalziel. "The Pictorial World". 1879 to 1883. This Book was made up at the time the engravings shown in it were done.' Half-bound in brown leather and gilt; lettering on spine reads 'Wood-Engravings by the Brothers Dalziel. XXXIX. The Pictorial World. 1879 - 1883'. The album includes approximately 583 wood-engraved and process proofs, with some touched or annotated proofs. Throughout the album there are notes in Dalziel's hand that occasionally give brief information but extremely useful information, including about delivery dates and notes about printing techniques that were used. Note that the process prints are not by Dalziel (though their firm handled all these illustrations); some are by J Leitch, and then by Joseph Swain, who bought Leitch's photomechanical printmaking firm during these years.
This album is entirely made up of illustrations and titles for the magazine 'The Pictorial World'. They represent international and domestic politics, with striking images of Afghanistan after E G Dalziel, as well as images of collieries and Dublin riots. The magazine also includes light-hearted social entertainment, landscape, topography and fiction.
The album can be divided into the following sections:
Nos. 1-214: illustrations after various artists, October 1879 to July 1882. All were managed by Dalziel, and the wood-engraved illustrations were also engraved by the firm. However, this was before Dalziel became the owners of the magazine.
Nos. 215-459, 490-583: illustrations after various artists, August 1882 to December 1883. This was the period when Dalziel owned the firm, and wood-engraved illustration dominates here. The house-style changes completely; the magazine is re-launched with a new cover designed by John Leighton.

Nos. 460-489: large-scale colour-printed pictures for colour supplements. These include notes about the printing techniques used, in Dalziel's hand. The prints mix wood engraving or process line-blocks with colour aquatint and in one case lithography.