The Parables of Our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ

In 1857, Millais agreed to provide the Dalziel Brothers with thirty drawings illustrating the New Testament "Parables of Our Lord." The leading London firm planned to transform these designs into wood engravings, and to produce a book whose subtle and beautifully designed imagery matched its moral appeal. The artist took six years to complete twenty designs and considered the process of illustrating each parable equal to the compositional complexities of a painting.
Recognizing the high quality of the resulting images, the Dalziels meticulously followed Millais's exacting instructions and published the set in this 1864 volume (twelve had appeared serially between 1862–63 in the periodicals "Good Words," "Once a Week," and "The Cornhill Magazine"). The Dalziels considered the prints among their best work and, although the volume was not a commercial success, it demonstrated Millais's genius as an illustrator.
This volume includes a half-title, title page, leaves (i-iv); leaves 1-47 including 20 interleaved woodcuts, leaf with printer's mark, gilt page edges, and a binding of elaborately gold-tooled red leather.