Picturesque Europe The British Isles Vol I c1883 Cassell Illustrated Victorian Edition
 
Published by Cassell & Company, Limited, London
Large Illustrated Edition – Steel and Wood Engravings by Eminent Artists
 
Publication Details
 
Picturesque Europe – The British Isles
Published by Cassell & Company, Limited, London (title page and spine), with the half-title page showing Cassell, Petter, & Galpin.
 
The spine bears the gilt title and the designation “I.”, indicating that this copy represents Volume I of the Picturesque Europe series.
 
This edition dates from the transitional publishing period (circa 1883) when Cassell changed from Cassell, Petter & Galpin (1858–1877), Cassell, Petter, Galpin & Company (1878 – 1883) to Cassell & Company, Limited (from 1883 onward). The mixed imprints suggest this copy was issued around 1883, at the time of the company’s name change.
 
Lavishly illustrated on steel and wood by the most eminent artists, this volume includes:
Steel-engraved frontispiece of Windsor Castle with tissue guard.
Ornamental illustrated title page.
Full-page steel engravings facing pages 56, 64, 80, 98, 111, 150, 158, 167, 210, 246, 280.
Numerous wood engravings throughout the text.
All plates and illustrations are present.
 
Binding and Exterior Condition
 
Bound in green cloth with gilt decorations, tooling, and titles to the front board and spine, and blind-stamped decorations on the rear board.
The cover is intact and robust, showing wear consistent with age:
Bumping and small rips to corners.
Rubbing along edges.
Small rips at top and bottom of spine.
Light surface marks.
 
Despite age-related wear, the binding remains sound and presentable.
 
No dust jacket present.
 
Interior Condition
 
Yellow pastedowns and endpapers with partial cracking at the hinges.
Ownership inscription in pen remnants on front free endpaper (“Adele Powell”).
Pages lightly tanned overall, with darker toning on endpapers.
Occasional light foxing or faint marks, not obscuring text or illustrations.
Some plates show minor edge stains, not affecting the image.
A few light creases or small corner folds, but no page rips.
The text block is tightly bound, and all xii + 288 pages are present.
 
Dimensions: 31.7 × 24.2 × 4 cm
Weight: approx. 1.87 kg
 
Artistic and Historical Context
 
Picturesque Europe was one of Cassell’s most celebrated 19th-century travel and landscape series, designed to capture the grandeur, architecture, and natural beauty of the British Isles through fine engravings. Each illustration was created by leading Victorian artists and engravers, combining artistry with cultural history.
This large-format illustrated volume exemplifies the height of late-Victorian book production, bridging the transition in Cassell’s publishing identity.
 
 
Rarity and Value
 
Picturesque Europe – The British Isles remains a sought-after collector’s volume, especially complete with all steel plates present and bound in gilt-decorated cloth.