Anthony R. (Anthony Reubens) Montalba

Born in Sweden in 1812, Anthony R. Montalba later became a naturalized British painter and was the head of the Montalba family, a group of artists closely associated with Venice in the nineteenth century.

For many readers, his lasting connection to books comes from Fairy Tales from All Nations (1849), a collection he edited and that was illustrated by Richard Doyle. That volume helped place him within the world of Victorian storytelling, where visual art and folklore often met on the page.

Although he is better known in art history than as a major literary figure, his name continues to surface through this distinctive blend of painting, editing, and old-world story collecting.