Edited by John Cherry

Mythical Beasts

US$95

Illustrated by Neil Packer

Introduced By John Cherry

A fascinating history of the creatures that populate myths and folklore, John Cherry’s Mythical Beasts is beautifully reimagined as a Folio edition illustrated with archive images and Neil Packer’s striking new motifs and binding design.

Mythical Beasts

US$95
Book Details
 
Presentation Box & BindingBound in printed and blocked cloth
Metallic printed slipcase
Metallic printed endpapers
Copper top edge
Ribbon marker
Printed 2-colour throughout in black and teal
Dimensions10 inches x 6¾ inches
FontSet in Centaur
Pages216 pages
AuthorEdited by John Cherry
Illustrated byNeil Packer
IllustrationTitle-page illustration and 5 part-title motifs
24 pages of colour plates
Publication Date12/05/2021
Editor's Notes
 
Mythical Beasts is a captivating and wondrous journey across the world, exploring the origins of unicorns, dragons, griffins, sphinxes and half-human creatures. This rich and colourful history spans Ancient Egypt, Africa, Mesopotamia and Imperial China, all the way to the work of Lewis Carroll and the fashionable and decorative sphinxes of the 1920s. Written by leading experts, the narrative draws on a wide variety of sources to illuminate the roles that mythical beasts have played in different cultures and show why they have retained their appeal through the ages. This new edition is printed in two colours throughout and is illustrated with 24 pages of beautiful researched images that bring together some of the world’s most incredible artistic interpretations of these beasts, from ceramics and sculpture to tapestries and oil paintings. The edition also includes newly commissioned artwork by Neil Packer; a beast to introduce each chapter and striking title-page, binding and slipcase illustrations.

About the book

A Lavishly Illustrated Edition

Written by experts in their fields and edited by former British Museum curator John Cherry, this extensive history illuminates the roles that mythical beasts have played across cultures and reveals why they have retained their appeal from antiquity to the present day. This beautiful new edition is illustrated with archive images from museums around the world: paintings such as Raphael’s The Lady with the Unicorn and Rubens’s Two Satyrs; a detail from a casket from Tutankhamun’s tomb; Arthur Rackham’s illustration Alice with the Gryphon and the Mock Turtle from Alice in Wonderland; and a page from the beautiful 17th-century Shahnameh (Book of Kings) by the Persian poet Firdausi, depicting a dramatic slaying of a dragon. Each chapter is headed by a newly commissioned illustration from Neil Packer, who has also crafted elaborate figures and intricate motifs for the binding and slipcase. Finally, a glossary provides an easy alphabetical reference to many more beasts from art and antiquity around the world.

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About the Book

A Lavishly Illustrated Edition

Written by experts in their fields and edited by former British Museum curator John Cherry, this extensive history illuminates the roles that mythical beasts have played across cultures and reveals why they have retained their appeal from antiquity to the present day. This beautiful new edition is illustrated with archive images from museums around the world: paintings such as Raphael’s The Lady with the Unicorn and Rubens’s Two Satyrs; a detail from a casket from Tutankhamun’s tomb; Arthur Rackham’s illustration Alice with the Gryphon and the Mock Turtle from Alice in Wonderland; and a page from the beautiful 17th-century Shahnameh (Book of Kings) by the Persian poet Firdausi, depicting a dramatic slaying of a dragon. Each chapter is headed by a newly commissioned illustration from Neil Packer, who has also crafted elaborate figures and intricate motifs for the binding and slipcase. Finally, a glossary provides an easy alphabetical reference to many more beasts from art and antiquity around the world.

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About the book

A Lavishly Illustrated Edition

Written by experts in their fields and edited by former British Museum curator John Cherry, this extensive history illuminates the roles that mythical beasts have played across cultures and reveals why they have retained their appeal from antiquity to the present day. This beautiful new edition is illustrated with archive images from museums around the world: paintings such as Raphael’s The Lady with the Unicorn and Rubens’s Two Satyrs; a detail from a casket from Tutankhamun’s tomb; Arthur Rackham’s illustration Alice with the Gryphon and the Mock Turtle from Alice in Wonderland; and a page from the beautiful 17th-century Shahnameh (Book of Kings) by the Persian poet Firdausi, depicting a dramatic slaying of a dragon. Each chapter is headed by a newly commissioned illustration from Neil Packer, who has also crafted elaborate figures and intricate motifs for the binding and slipcase. Finally, a glossary provides an easy alphabetical reference to many more beasts from art and antiquity around the world.

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About the illustrator

A Lavishly Illustrated Edition

Written by experts in their fields and edited by former British Museum curator John Cherry, this extensive history illuminates the roles that mythical beasts have played across cultures and reveals why they have retained their appeal from antiquity to the present day. This beautiful new edition is illustrated with archive images from museums around the world: paintings such as Raphael’s The Lady with the Unicorn and Rubens’s Two Satyrs; a detail from a casket from Tutankhamun’s tomb; Arthur Rackham’s illustration Alice with the Gryphon and the Mock Turtle from Alice in Wonderland; and a page from the beautiful 17th-century Shahnameh (Book of Kings) by the Persian poet Firdausi, depicting a dramatic slaying of a dragon. Each chapter is headed by a newly commissioned illustration from Neil Packer, who has also crafted elaborate figures and intricate motifs for the binding and slipcase. Finally, a glossary provides an easy alphabetical reference to many more beasts from art and antiquity around the world.

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About the Book

A Lavishly Illustrated Edition

Written by experts in their fields and edited by former British Museum curator John Cherry, this extensive history illuminates the roles that mythical beasts have played across cultures and reveals why they have retained their appeal from antiquity to the present day. This beautiful new edition is illustrated with archive images from museums around the world: paintings such as Raphael’s The Lady with the Unicorn and Rubens’s Two Satyrs; a detail from a casket from Tutankhamun’s tomb; Arthur Rackham’s illustration Alice with the Gryphon and the Mock Turtle from Alice in Wonderland; and a page from the beautiful 17th-century Shahnameh (Book of Kings) by the Persian poet Firdausi, depicting a dramatic slaying of a dragon. Each chapter is headed by a newly commissioned illustration from Neil Packer, who has also crafted elaborate figures and intricate motifs for the binding and slipcase. Finally, a glossary provides an easy alphabetical reference to many more beasts from art and antiquity around the world.

5 of 6

About the Book

A Lavishly Illustrated Edition

Written by experts in their fields and edited by former British Museum curator John Cherry, this extensive history illuminates the roles that mythical beasts have played across cultures and reveals why they have retained their appeal from antiquity to the present day. This beautiful new edition is illustrated with archive images from museums around the world: paintings such as Raphael’s The Lady with the Unicorn and Rubens’s Two Satyrs; a detail from a casket from Tutankhamun’s tomb; Arthur Rackham’s illustration Alice with the Gryphon and the Mock Turtle from Alice in Wonderland; and a page from the beautiful 17th-century Shahnameh (Book of Kings) by the Persian poet Firdausi, depicting a dramatic slaying of a dragon. Each chapter is headed by a newly commissioned illustration from Neil Packer, who has also crafted elaborate figures and intricate motifs for the binding and slipcase. Finally, a glossary provides an easy alphabetical reference to many more beasts from art and antiquity around the world.

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About the Author & Introducer

John Cherry was Deputy Keeper in the Department of Medieval and Later Antiquities at the British Museum. He has written many books on medieval art and architecture, including Medieval Decorative Art (1991), The Holy Thorn Reliquary (2010) and Medieval Goldsmiths (2011).