A history of book illustration

Robert Irwin writes an article describing the history of "The Arabian Nights" and how it acquired illustrations, and how those illustrations changed as the world changed. It is absolutely fascinating. For instance, 'Since Coster had no notion of the medieval Islamic world as something alien and strange, his engravings depicted the characters in the stories in European dress. King Shahriyar looks very comfortable in his western-style four-poster bed as he sits up listening to stories told by Sheherazade. The only concession to the exotic is that he has a loosely tied turban as an item of nightwear.' More...