The present volume is a mature fruit of the long-term collaboration between Alpha Bank and the Educational Foundation of the National Bank of Greece. Many professionals and amateurs, both internal and external collaborators, worked from 2008 to 2013 to identify, gather, document, and catalog the illustrative work of Dimitris Galanis.

The catalog is based on the books housed in the collections of Alpha Bank and MIET and the rich archival material from the Montmartre Museum, where Dimitris Galanis's archive is located. The contribution of collectors was also significant in the exhaustive presentation of the artist's illustrative work.

Our acknowledgments and debts are detailed, by name and by work, in the relevant section. We repeat them here overall, with the fear that, no matter how emphatically we name them, they will always fall short of the full recognition that such a work of silent toil, patience, and meticulous attention deserves.

Despite the inevitable shortcomings of an 'analytical catalog' (catalogue raisonne), the result is visibly impressive. It is undoubtedly the most comprehensive catalog to date of all the publications that this top artist has touched, sometimes merely to decorate, always with unmatched skill and taste, and at other times to outline and elaborate, with every detail, entire books that can stand on their own as complete works of art.

The Educational Foundation of the National Bank of Greece (MIET) and Alpha Bank, continuing their collaboration in the field of documenting the history of engraving and graphic arts in Greece, embarked on a joint research into Dimitris Galanis's work in book illustration. Until now, Galanis's work in illustrating all kinds of publications had remained untapped.

Primary material for the research comprised the illustrated books by the artist that belong to the rich collections of Alpha Bank and MIET. Additional documents from the Montmartre Museum in Paris were also utilized, where from 1910 to 1965, Galanis's house and studio were housed in a wing of the current museum, and where today all his personal archive is located.

Documents of particular interest related to the production of the publications were identified: sketches, layouts, engraving plates, correspondence, notes. The research began in 2008 in Athens and Paris, and by 2013, the cataloging of 152 titles had been completed, that is, the books, albums, and publications illustrated by the artist between 1904 and 1962.

The result of this research is the publication, undertaken by MIET, of an analytical catalog (catalogue raisonn?) titled Dimitris Galanis. The Illustrated Books, 1904-1962. The publication is complemented by three introductory texts: Irini Orati presents for the first time a detailed overview of Galanis's illustrative work, Angelos Drakoyiorgos approaches his caricature work from his early years in Paris, while Georgios D. Matthopoulos writes about the art of the book in Europe during this period.

On May 7, 2014, at the Cultural Center of MIET / Eynard Mansion, the opening of the exhibition of the same title will take place, where the publications of greatest interest will be selectively presented. The rich material of the exhibition mainly comes from the collections of Alpha Bank and MIET, while very significant unpublished material comes from the Montmartre Museum.

Finally, the exhibition is enriched with material (painting works, drawings, engravings, etc.) from private collections, museums, institutions, etc.