William Nicholson was still in his twenties when he started working on books for the publisher William Heinemann that combined a hugely powerful woodcut style with peerlessly precise observation and sly humour. An Alphabet brings together a collection of portraits, from A is an Artist to Z is a Zoologist whose liveliness is only increased by the calligraphic vigour of Nicholson's print style. A great classic of British book illustration, unavailable for decades. Published simultaneously with two other works The Square Book of Animals and The Book of Blokes.
