ABSTRACT
The collection of illustrations of the works of Raphael formed by Albert, the Prince Consort of Queen Victoria, is of considerable importance to the history of visual resources. It must be one of the first attempts to build up a complete collection of illustrations of the works of a single artist, and its arrangement represents a serious effort to order the works in a coherent and revealing system. Both these tasks remain among the enduring problems of all those entrusted with providing and conserving visual resources, so it may be of more than historical interest to examine how this collection, still regarded as one of the most vital sources of information on the great Umbrian artist, came to be put together.
