Plans, Sections, Elevations and Details of the Alhambra (1836–45) was a landmark work, both in the history of architectural books and in the development of colour printing. Owen Jones (1809–74) and the French architect Jules Goury (1803–34) spent six months surveying the Nasrid palace in 1834 and Jones was to make a return visit to Granada three years later to undertake further research. From its conception to final printing Jones’ Alhambra project took over a decade to complete. This work represented a huge investment in time and, of course, money, but its successful completion was to establish the name of Owen Jones as an authority upon Moorish architecture and as a pioneer in the new technique of chromolithographic printing (Fig. 1). Jones is probably best remembered today for his encyclopaedic Grammar of Ornament (1856) but, since Michael Darby drew attention to Jones’ predilection for Islamic architectural design, the Alhambra has increasingly been seen as an important contribution to the nineteenth-century taste for the Oriental. Many questions remain, however, regarding the production of this book. Using the evidence of important unpublished letters, this article investigates the circumstances behind Jones’ unusual sidestep into the role of printer.