In the 19th century, the business of illustration and the bookshop economy changed significantly - its players, its processes and its audiences. The distinct figure of the publisher was born along with that of the illustrator, whose drawings, engraved on wood, brought to life the content of books and periodicals.

In this English-language edition of Philippe Kaenel's seminal Le Métier d'illustrateur readers learn about the European trade of illustration through three French illustrators - Rodolphe Töpffer, J.-J. Grandville and Gustave Doré. By comparing and contrasting the lives and professions of these individuals, this social history explores key themes in the development of illustrated printing, the economies of book making and the struggles between high art and popular culture.

A new contextualizing chapter for this English edition explains the current state of illustration studies today, before looking at the birth of illustration as a business in the 1800s. The author then devotes chapters to each of the key illustrators and their practices before analysing the transition from the illustrated book to the art book in relation to the economics of publishing, the history of image reproduction and the relationships between the various players in the book trade.

Featuring archival material previously unpublished in English, this book sheds light on this formative period in the development of illustration and is important reading for scholars of illustration, visual culture, curating, printing and art history.