CREATION OF BIRDS 1885 Gustave Doré - John Milton ANTIQUE ENGRAVING

Original 9 7/8 inch x 7 7/8 inch Engraving titled THE CREATION OF BIRDS.

”The creation of wild fowl as described in “Paradise Lost” is here represented in a most exquisite engraving, soft with misty lights, with watery gleams, and with the soft suffusion of a vapoury brightness.”

Illustration by Gustave Doré (1832 - 1883). The most popular and successful French book illustrator of the middle of the 19th century. Doré became widely known for his illustrations to such books as Danté’s Inferno (1861), Don Quixote (1862), and the Bible (1866), and he helped to give European currency to the illustrated book of large format. He was so prolific that at one time he employed more than forty wood engravers. His work is characterized by an eclectic mix of Michelangelesque nudes, northern traditions of sublime landscape, and a highly spirited love of the grotesque and bizarre.

Engraved by Ad Ligny. Wood-engraver of book-illustrations, notably after Gustave Doré.

Paradise Lost is an epic poem in blank verse by the 17th-century English poet John Milton (1608–1674). The first version, published in 1667, consisted of ten books with over ten thousand lines of verse. A second edition followed in 1674, arranged into twelve books. It is considered by critics to be Milton's major work, and it helped solidify his reputation as one of the greatest English poets of his time.

Illustration for John Milton’s “Paradise Lost” published in 1667 and illustrated by Doré in 1866.

This edition from Cassell’s ‘Doré Gallery’ published in 1885.

Page size 12 1/4 inch x 9 1/8 inch

The engraving is in very good condition. Reverse side blank.