Who illustrated the 1831 edition of Frankenstein?

The 1831 edition of Frankenstein was illustrated by Theodor von Holst. His work included the edition’s engraved frontispiece and a vignette for the title page, making it the first illustrated edition of Mary Shelley’s novel.

Published by Henry Colburn and Richard Bentley as part of Bentley’s Standard Novels series, the 1831 edition was a revised, popular one-volume presentation of the story. Shelley added a substantial new introduction and altered many passages, including Victor’s characterization, Elizabeth’s background, and the novel’s treatment of scientific ideas.

Von Holst’s frontispiece depicts Victor recoiling from the living creature he has assembled. The image helped establish a visual language for Frankenstein before the famous twentieth-century film adaptations. John Martin, Henry Fuseli, and William Blake were important artists associated with Romantic or Gothic imagery, but they did not illustrate Shelley’s 1831 edition.