Richard Doyle 
An Old Fairy Tale – The Sleeping Beauty – Illustrated by Brothers Dalziel 

‘An Old Fairy Tale – The Sleeping Beauty’ is a 1865 poem by J. R. Planché and illustrated by The Brothers Dalziel. Based on the classic fairytale, it involves a beautiful princess, a sleeping enchantment, and a handsome prince. James Robinson Planché (1796 – 1880) was a British antiquary, dramatist, and officer of arms. Over a sixty-year period he produced, collaborated on, or adapted 176 plays over a variety of genres farce, extravaganza, comedy, burletta, opera, and melodrama. The Brothers Dalziel were a prolific firm of Victorian engravers founded by Edward Dalziel and his brother George Dalziel in 1839. Their other two brothers, John Dalziel and Thomas Dalziel also joined the firm later; all four were the sons of Alexander Dalziel of Wooler. Together, they produced a large amount of illustrations with a variety of significant Victorian artists, including Arthur Boyd Houghton, John Gilbert, John Everett Millais, and john Tenniel. Some notable works they contributed to include Edward Lear’s ‘Book of Nonsense’ (1862) and Lewis Carroll’s ‘Alice in Wonderland’ and ‘Through the Looking-Glass’. Pook Press celebrates the great ‘Golden Age of Illustration’ in children’s literature – a period of unparalleled excellence in book illustration from the 1880s to the 1930s. The collection showcases classic fairy tales, children’s stories, and the work of some of the most celebrated artists, illustrators and authors.