Much of Simon Brett’s wood engraving has been for reproduction as book illustrations, but separate editions, printed from the original wood blocks occur too.

The Ugly Beast was engraved to illustrate The Sailor and the Ugly Beast, one of the short stories by J C Bretherton, in the book The Road to Advent, published by Brett at his Paulinus Press, where the images were printed by off-set lithography. The sailor exhibits the beast for gain, but comes to realise that the only ugliness is the greed within himself. The sympathetic image recalls Pietro Longhi’s painting, Exhibition of a rhinoceros at Venice, c1751, in the National Gallery.

Impressions from the block itself were published by Merivale Press, on wove, in the original paper folder. Mint condition.