Headpiece (page 149) from The Fables of Aesop
Thomas Bewick
British, 1753–1828
1818
A small wood engraving headpiece by Thomas Bewick for the 1818 edition of Aesop’s Fables, designed to supply a vivid, compact illustration of the moral tale “The Cat and the Mice.”
An oval vignette framed by a decorative rectangle draws you into a cramped pantry where a cat hangs by its hind legs from a peg above jars and shelves, shown in crisp, densely hatched lines and exquisite miniature detail that reward close inspection.
Bewick’s finely cut wood engravings helped redefine nineteenth‑century book illustration—bringing naturalistic observation, narrative clarity, and technical precision to mass‑market books and influencing generations of printmakers and illustrators.
Medium
Wood engraving from an illustrated book with 323 wood engravings and one etching and engraving
Dimensions
composition: 2 5/16 × 3 1/8" (5.8 × 8 cm); page (irreg.): 8 1/4 × 5 5/16" (21 × 13.5 cm)
Classification
Department
Credit
The Louis E. Stern Collection
Accession
680.1964.138
Palette
Exhibitions
