- Full title: Goblin Market and other Poems. With two designs by D. G. Rossetti
- Published: 1865 , London , Cambridge
- Formats: Book, Illustration, Image
- Creator: Christina Rossetti, Dante Gabriel*Rossetti [illustrator]
- Usage termsPublic Domain
- Shelfmark: 11660.aa.16.
- British Library: https://www.bl.uk/collection-items/second-edition-of-goblin-market-by-christina-rossetti-with-original-covers
- British Library Description:
The designs
Rossetti's brother, the Pre-Raphaelite artist Dante Gabriel Rossetti, created two designs to accompany Goblin Market and other poems. ‘Buy from us with a golden curl’ (frontispiece) and ‘Golden head by golden head’ (title page) both illustrate the title poem ‘Goblin Market’, and focus in particular on the relationship between the sisters Laura and Lizzie.
Completed between November and 16 December 1861, Rossetti’s original drawings were carved into woodcuts for printing by C J Faulkner and W J Linton. Additionally, D G Rossetti guided the design for the book’s binding, elements he believed played a central role in the way the book was approached and read.
Pre-Raphaelite style
D G Rossetti exhibits his distinctive style and treatment in these designs. The figures of Laura and Lizzie, for instance, echo the sensual Pre-Raphaelite woman who, with flowing hair, rounded limbs and displayed necks, dominate Rossetti’s oil paintings. Certainly, these illustrations have influenced those who have argued that the poem contains a sexual subtext.