Joan Hassall was born in London, and studied at the Royal Academy Schools, London. Her first commissioned illustration was to engrave the title page of her brother Christopher’s books of poems Devil’s Dyke (1936). She subsequently illustrated works by Jane Austen, Trollope, Mrs Gaskell and Mary Russell Mitford. She made around 1500 prints and her works displayed skilled draughtsmanship, together with a delicate sensibility and a sound historical knowledge.

Out of the Wood: British Woodcuts and Wood Engravings 1890 - 1945, The British Council 1991

Further reading:
The Wood engravings of Joan Hassall, Oxford University Press, London 1960 (introduction by Ruari McLean)