Illustrations and Ornamentation from The Faerie Queene

This anthology’s magnificent illustrations and decorations in the medieval style were created by famed artist Walter Crane in the 1890s to illustrate a sumptuous multivolume limited edition of The Faerie Queene, Edmund Spenser’s sixteenth-century allegorical epic poem. A tribute to Queen Elizabeth I, the poem celebrates holiness, temperance, chastity, friendship, and other virtues in verse tales of knightly adventure, courtly love, and acts of gallantry. Crane created these 352 magnificent illustrations and decorations in the rich nineteenth-century style of neo-medievalism made famous by William Morris and his Kelmscott Press, with which Crane was associated.

Crane’s designs have been meticulously reproduced here, including striking images of gallant knights in armor, demure maidens, fearsome dragons, unicorns, angels, and a host of decorative elements — all displayed in a rich variety of full-page plates, finely detailed borders, and exquisite vignettes. Also included are charming headpieces, tailpieces, decorative initials, and the exquisite typography that originally appeared within the borders and other areas.

Sure to delight any admirer of Crane’s dazzling style, this splendid archive, skillfully arranged by Carol Belanger Grafton, will also provide a wealth of inspiration and immediately usable graphics for artists and illustrators alike.