Portrait from:
http://n7.alamy.com/zooms/e028ab6c67d1406588bf90c2e455a585/the-late-mr-keeley-halswelle-artist-ri-and-arsa-d2wdyn.jpg
The wiki article about John Keeley
Haswelle and the ODNB
article offer quite a bit of information about his life and works. These detail
his work as a painter, and the influences on his art. Also there are numerous
reproductions of his paintings online. This blog gives more information about
his work as a book illustrator. So far, I have encountered five books for which
he provided illustrations. Two of the books were published by T. Nelson. The Lamplighter,
[1854], has a title page after Halswelle, and is
signed "Keeley Haswell [i.e. Halswelle] del; F. Borders Sc". The eight
plates within the text are signed "Keeley Haswell". In 1863, T.
Nelson published A.L.O.E’s The crown of
success. This work has four plates which are signed “K. H.” Two books with
Halswelle illustrations were published by Routledge, both authored by James
Grant, both with covers designs by John Leighton. Jack
Manly was published in 1861. The eight plates
are signed: "Keeley Halswelle" and "Dalziel [Brothers]". Dick
Rodney was published in 1863. The eight plates
are signed: "K. Halswelle [i.e. Keeley Halswelle]" and "Dalziel
[Brothers]". For these four books, Halswelle provided all of the
illustrations.
Pen and Pencil Pictures from the Poets was published in Edinburgh by William P. Nimmo, [1866].
Edinburgh: Ballantyne, Roberts, & Company, Printers. viii, 152p. There is a
copy in the British
Library (shelf mark 11651.f.7.) and a copy in
the de Beaumont collection, British Museum (P&D register number: 1992,0406.251).
These two copies are bound in green sand-grain cloth, with an elaborate
identical design blocked on the both covers, with a fine, separate design
blocked on the spine. 
My copy, reproduced here, has the same
design blocked on the covers and the spine as the BL and BM copies, but has
brown sand-grain cloth. All of the pages have single red rule borders. All of
the illustrations are part of the overall pagination, and are not separate
plates inserted into the text.
In the book’s ‘[List of ] Illustrations’,
there are thirty-five cited. The artists are given as: Keeley Haswelle[12
illustrations], John
MacWhirter [9 illustrations], W. Smith [2], George
Hay [4], John
Lawson [1], S. J. Groves [2], Hugh Cameron [b.1835-d.1918],
[4], Samuel Edmonston [1]. The engravers are: Pearson [i.e. probably George
Pearson], [3], Robert Paterson [13], James Mackenzie Corner [10], J. Adam [i.e.
possibly John Adam], [2], Frederick Borders [4], Thomas Bolton [3]. The
illustrations after Halswelle are:
Page 2 – “The spirit of poetry”;
engraved by Pearson
Page 6 – “The wedding procession”;
engraved by Pearson
Page10 - “At night”; engraved by R.
Paterson.
Page 14 – “The life-boat”; engraved by
R. Paterson.
Page 22 – “Evening star”; engraved by J.
M. Corner
Page 30 – “Evangeline”; engraved by
Pearson
Page 38 – “The wreck of the Hesperus”;
engraved by J. Adam
Page 44 – “Sonnet”; engraved by J. M.
Corner
Page 56 – “A serenade”; engraved by T.
Bolton
Page 60 – The Wanderer”; engraved by R/
Paterson
Page 92 – “Excelsior”; engraved by T.
Bolton
Page 138 – “Twilight”; engraved by T.
Bolton
All of these illustrations by Halswelle are available
to view on a Pinterest
board.
Edmund M B King
January 2018
