Buy from Us with a Golden Curl (frontispiece to "Goblin Market and other Poems" by Christina Rossetti)

Art Historical Context

Step into the enchanting world of Victorian poetry with *Buy from Us with a Curl*, a captivating wood engraving created in 1862 as theispiece for Christina Rossetti's *G Market and Other Poems*. Designed by Pre-Raphaelite master Dante Gabriel Rossetti—Christina's brother—and produced by the innovative firm Morris, Marshall, Faulkner & Co. (with contributions from Charles Joseph Faulkner), petite print (5 7/8 × 3 7/8 in.) vividly captures a pivotal moment from the titular poem. Goblin merchants tempt a young woman with luscious fruits, demanding a "golden curl" in exchange, evoking themes of temptation, sisterhood, and redemption that made Rossetti's work a sensation. Wood engraving, the chosen medium, allowed for exquisite detail and tonal depth, aligning perfectly with the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood's emphasis on naturalism, vivid color (here in black and white), and medieval-inspired narrative intensity. Dante Gabriel's design showcases his signature style: flowing hair, expressive faces, and intricate patterns of animals and foliage, blending sensuality with moral allegory. Tags of "Animals" and "Women" hint at the goblin figures—half-human, half-beast—surrounding the central female, amplifying the poem's fairy-tale menace. This artwork, now in the Metropolitan Museum of Art's Drawings and Prints department (gift of Walter L. Hildberg, 1937), bridges literature and visual art in the Pre-Raphaelite circle. It reflects the era's Arts and Crafts ethos through Morris's firm, celebrating handmade beauty amid industrial printing advances, and remains a touchstone for exploring 19th-century gender, desire, and fantasy.

About the Artist

Dante Gabriel Rossetti|Morris, Marshall, Faulkner and Co.|Christina Georgina Rossetti|Charles Joseph Faulkner · 1828–1882

British artist. Comment on works: Allegory