Sir Edward Coley Burne-Jones - Sigurd the Crusader, engraved by the Dalziel Brothers published 1862

This is the first of two illustrations Burne-Jones contributed to the popular magazine 'Good Words'. The engravings for the magazine were produced by the Dalziel brothers, who were chiefly responsible for the improved quality of book illustration during the 1860s. Although Burne-Jones had no experience of making drawings for wood-cut printing, he was highly recommended to the Dalziels by Holman Hunt. 'He is perhaps the most remarkable of all the younger men of the profession for talent, and will, undeniably, in a few years fill the high position in general public favour which at present he holds in the professional world'. This design illustrates a poem by William Forsyth, a Scottish poet and journalist.