The Fall of the Walls of Jericho, from "Dalziels' Bible Gallery"

Art Historical Context

This striking wood engraving captures the dramatic biblical moment when the walls of Jericho collapse at the sound of the Israelites’ trumpets, as recounted in the Book of Joshua. Crowds of soldiers, men, women, and horses surge forward amid the falling stones, conveying both the chaos of battle and the awe of divine intervention. Created in 1881 as part of Dalziels’ Bible Gallery—a landmark Victorian publishing project that paired leading artists with skilled engravers to illustrate Scripture—the print brought vivid, accessible imagery of sacred stories to a wide audience. The work reflects a close collaboration between designer Henry Hugh Armstead and the renowned Dalziel Brothers firm, who translated Armstead’s drawing into the precise lines of wood engraving on India paper. This demanding technique allowed for rich tonal contrasts and intricate detail, making it ideal for reproducing dramatic narrative scenes in book form. Published by Scribner and Welford and printed at the Camden Press, the engraving exemplifies the high standards of late-nineteenth-century British illustration. Now in the Metropolitan Museum’s collection of Drawings and Prints, the piece offers today’s viewers a window into how Victorians merged faith, art, and emerging print technology to retell ancient stories with fresh intensity.

About the Artist

Camden Press|Scribner and Welford|Dalziel Brothers|Henry Hugh Armstead (British|American|British) · 1857 |1800 |1839 –1893 |1899 |1893

British, London|New York, NY|British, active 1839–93