,,the ,,art ,,of ,,illustration4 ,illustration3 ,,the ,,trumpeter4 7,,sir ,,john ,,gilbert1 ,r4,a47 7,drawn in pen and ink1 from his picture in the ,royal ,academy1 #ahhc47 ,size of drawing1 #e-a_/b by #d-c_/d in4 ,photo-zinc process4 ,the ,art of ,illustration4 ,,by ,,henry ,,blackburn1 ,editor of ,academy ,notes1 ,cantor ,lecturer on ,illustration1 c4 ,,with ,,ninety-,,five ,,illustrations4 ,,second ,,edition4 ,,london3 ,w4 ,h4 ,,allen ,,co41 ,,limited1 #ac1 ,,waterloo ,,place1 ,s4,w4 #ahif4 ,,printed ,,by ,,wyman ,,and ,,sons1 ,,limited1 ,,london1 ,w4,c4 ,,dedicated ,,to ,,sir ,,john ,,gilbert1 ,r4,a41 ,,one ,,of ,,the ,,principal ,,pioneers ,,of ,,book ,,and ,,newspaper ,,illustration4 ,illustration3 7,,pen-,,and-,,ink ,,drawing ,,from ,,his ,,picture1 ,,by ,,mr4 ,,charles ,,collins1 #ahib47 ,photo-zinc process4 ,,preface4 ,the object of this book is to explain the modern systems of ,book and ,newspaper ,illustration1 and especially the methods of drawing for what is commonly called process1 on which so many artists are now engaged4 ,there is almost a revolution in illustration at the present time1 and both old and young--teachers and scholars--are in want of a handbook for reference when turning to the new methods4 ,the illustrator of to-day is called upon suddenly to take the place of the wood engraver in interpreting tone into line1 and requires practical information which this book is intended to supply4 ,the most important branch of illustration treated of is line drawing1 as it is practically out of reach of competition by the photographer1 and is1 moreover1 the kind of drawing most easily reproduced and printed at the type press2 but wash drawing1 drawing upon grained papers1 and the modern appliances for reproduction1 are all treated of4 ,the best instructors in drawing for process are1 after all1 the painters of pictures who know so well how to express themselves in black and white1 and to whom ,i owe many obligations4 ,there is a wide distinction between their treatment of illustration and the so-called pen-and-ink artist4 ,the genius who strikes out a wonderful path of his own1 whose scratches and splashes appear in so many books and newspapers1 is of the butterfly order of being--a creation1 so to speak1 of the processes1 and is not to be emulated or imitated4 ,there is no reason but custom why1 in drawing for process1 a man's coat should be made to look like straw1 or the background 7if there be a background7 have the appearance of fireworks4 ,no ability on the part of the illustrator will make these things tolerable in the near future4 ,there is a reaction already1 and signs of a better and more sober treatment of illustration1 which only requires a better understanding of the requirements and limitations of the processes1 to make it equal to some of the best work of the past4 ,the modern illustrator has much to learn--more than he imagines--in drawing for the processes4 ,a study of examples by masters of line drawing--such as ,holbein1 ,menzell1 ,fortuny or ,sandys--or of the best work of the etchers1 will not tell the student of to-day exactly what he requires to know2 for they are nearly all misleading as to the principles upon which modern process work is based4 ,in painting we learn everything from the past--everything that it is best to know4 ,in engraving also1 we learn from the past the best way to interpret colour into line1 but in drawing for the processes there is practically no past to refer to2 at the same time the advance of the photographer into the domain of illustration renders it of vital importance to artists to put forth their best work in black and white1 and it throws great responsibility upon art teachers to give a good groundwork of education to the illustrator of the future4 ,in all this1 education--general education--will take a wider part4 ,the ,,illustrations have been selected to show the possibilities of process work in educated1 capable hands1 rather than any tours de force in drawing1 or exploits of genius4 ,they are all of modern work1 and are printed on the same sheets as the letterpress4 ,all the ,illustrations in this book have been reproduced by mechanical processes1 excepting nine 7marked on the list71 which are engraved on wood4 ,acknowledgments are due to the ,council of the ,society of ,arts for permission to reprint a portion of the ,cantor ,lectures on ,illustration from their ,journal2 to the ,editors of the ,national ,review and the ,nineteenth ,century1 for permission to reprint several pages from articles in those reviews2 to the ,editors and ,publishers who have lent illustrations2 and above all1 to the artists whose works adorn these pages4 ,h4 ,b4 #abc1 ,,victoria ,,street1 ,,westminster4 ,may1 #ahid4 ,,contents4 ,,page ,,chapter ,i4--,,introductory #a ,,chapter ,,ii4--,,elementary ,,illustration #ae ,diagrams--,daily ,illustrated ,newspapers--,pictorial v4 ,verbal ,description4 ,,chapter ,,iii4--,,artistic ,,illustrations #dj ,education of the ,illustrator--,line ,drawing for ,process--,sketching from ,life--,examples of ,line ,drawing4 ,,chapter ,,iv4--,,the ,,processes #ajb ,photo zinco--,gelatine ,process--,grained ,papers--,mechanical ,dots--,half-tone ,process--,wash ,drawing--,illustrations from ,photographs--,sketch1 ,graphic1 c4--,daniel ,vierge4 ,,chapter ,v4--,,wood ,,engraving #ahb ,,chapter ,,vi4--,,the ,,decorative ,,page #aig ,,chapter ,,vii4--,,author1 ,,illustrator1 ,,publisher #baa ,,students' ,,drawings #bbc ,,appendix #bcc ,,list ,,of ,,illustrations4 ,the copyright of all pictures sketched in this book is strictly reserved4 ,,page ,the ,trumpeter4 ,sir ,john ,gilbert1 ,r4,a4 7,process7 vi ,swans4 ,charles ,collins ix ,ashes of ,roses4 ,g4 ,h4 ,boughton1 ,a4,r4,a4 #e ,badminton in the ,studio4 ,r4 ,w4 ,macbeth1 ,a4,r4,a4 #f ,a ,son of ,pan4 ,william ,padgett #aa ,home by the ,ferry4 ,edward ,stott #ab ,man in ,chain ,armour4 ,lancelot ,speed #ad ,greeting4 ,the ,hon4 ,mrs4 ,boyle #ae ,diagrams 7#e7 #ai-cb ,view above ,blankenburg 7,wood7 #ch ,the ,curvature of the ,world's ,surface #ci ,tiresome ,dog4 ,e4 ,k4 ,johnson 7,process7 #dc ,frustrated4 ,walter ,hunt #dd ,on the ,riviera4 ,ellen ,montalba #df ,landscape with ,trees4 ,m4 ,r4 ,corbet #dg ,an ,odd ,volume4 ,h4 ,s4 ,marks1 ,r4,a4 #di ,a ,select ,committee4 ,h4 ,s4 ,marks1 ,r4,a4 #ej ,the ,rose ,queen4 ,g4 ,d4 ,leslie1 ,r4,a4 #eb ,finding of the ,infant ,st4 ,george4 ,c4 ,m4 ,gere #ef ,a ,ploughboy4 ,g4 ,clausen #ei1 #fa ,blowing ,bubbles4 ,c4 ,e4 ,wilson #fe ,cathedral1 from ,ox ,body ,lane4 ,h4 ,railton #fi ,by ,unfrequented ,ways4 ,w4 ,h4 ,gore #gj1 #ga ,adversity4 ,fred4 ,hall #gc1 #ge ,a ,willowy ,stream4 ,maud ,naftel #gf ,twins4 ,stanley ,berkeley #gi ,the ,dark ,island4 ,alfred ,east #hj ,a ,portrait4 ,t4 ,c4 ,gotch #hc ,sir ,john ,tenniel4 ,edwin ,ward #hg ,the ,rt4 ,hon4 ,john ,morley4 ,edwin ,ward #ij ,nothing venture1 nothing have4 ,e4 ,p4 ,sanguinetti #ib1 #ic ,on the ,terrace4 ,e4 ,a4 ,rowe #id ,for the ,squire4 ,sir ,john ,millais1 ,bart41 ,r4,a4 #ig ,the ,stopped ,key4 ,h4 ,s4 ,marks1 ,r4,a4 #ajj ,nymph and ,cupid4 ,henry ,holiday #aja ,illustration to ,the ,blue ,poetry ,book4 ,l4 ,speed #ajb ,a ,portrait4 ,t4 ,blake ,wirgman4 #ajc ,forget ,me ,not4 ,henry ,ryland #aje ,baby's ,own4 ,g4 ,hillyard ,swinstead #ajg ,a ,silent ,pool4 ,e4 ,w4 ,waite #ajh ,the ,miller's ,daughter4 ,e4 ,k4 ,johnson #aaa ,the ,end of the ,chapter4 ,w4 ,rainey4 #aab ,in the ,pas de ,calais4 ,j4 ,p4 ,beadle #aac ,golden ,days4 ,f4 ,stuart ,richardson #aad ,twilight4 ,hume ,nisbet #aae ,le ,dent du ,gant4 ,e4 ,t4 ,compton #aaf1 #aag ,landscape4 ,a4 ,m4 ,lindstrom #aai ,volendam4 ,c4 ,j4 ,watson #abc ,old ,woman and ,grandchild4 ,hugh ,cameron #abe ,an ,arrest4 ,melton ,prior #abg ,sunrise in the ,severn ,valley4 ,m4 ,r4 ,corbet #abi ,the ,adjutant's ,love ,story4 ,h4 ,r4 ,millar #aca ,illustrations from ,the ,blue ,poetry ,book4 ,l4 ,speed #acd1 #e1 #g ,seine ,boats4 ,louis ,grier #ach ,there is the ,priory4 ,w4 ,h4 ,wollen #aci ,from ,andersen's ,fairy ,tales4 ,j4 ,r4 ,weguelin #ada1 #adc ,two's company1 three's none4 ,h4 ,j4 ,walker #adg ,illustration from ,black and ,white4 ,c4 ,g4 ,manton #adi ,a ,sunny ,land4 ,george ,wetherbee #aej ,decorative ,design4 ,the late ,randolph ,caldecott #aea ,sketch in wash 7part of picture7 from ,sketch #aee ,the ,brook4 ,arnold ,helck #aeg ,from a ,photograph from ,life4 ,by ,mr4 ,h4 ,s4 ,mendelssohn 7,sketch7 #afa ,from a ,photograph from ,life4 ,by ,messrs4 ,cameron ,smith 7,studio7 #afe ,from a ,photograph from ,life 7,graphic7 7,wood7 #afi ,proud ,maisie4 ,lancelot ,speed 7,process7 #agc ,from ,pablo de ,segovia4 ,daniel ,vierge #agg ,drinking ,horn from ,eric ,bright ,eyes4 ,l4 ,speed #aha ,heading from ,grimm's ,household ,stories4 ,w4 ,crane 7,wood7 #ahb ,photograph from ,life4 ,the ,century ,magazine #ahg ,driving ,home the ,pigs4 ,john ,pedder 7,process7 #aic ,joan of ,arc's ,house at ,rouen4 ,samuel ,prout 7,wood7 #aie ,heading from ,grimm's ,household ,stories4 ,w4 ,crane #aig ,decorative ,page4 ,a4 ,j4 ,gaskin 7,process7 #aii ,decorative ,page from ,the ,six ,swans4 ,w4 ,crane 7,wood7 #bja ,title ,page of ,the ,hobby ,horse4 ,selwyn ,image #bje ,viking ,ship from ,eric ,bright ,eyes4 ,l4 ,speed 7,process7 #bjh ,scarlet ,poppies4 ,w4 ,j4 ,muckley #bji ,take ,care4 ,w4 ,b4 ,baird #bbb ,spanish ,woman4 ,ina ,bidder #bbe ,children ,reading4 ,estelle d',avigdor #bbg ,sketch from ,life4 ,g4 ,c4 ,marks #bbi ,bough of ,common ,furze4 ,william ,french #bca ,illustration ,,chapter ,i4 ,,introductory4 ,there are1 broadly speaking1 two kinds of engraving for illustration in books1 which are widely distinct--#a4 intaglio2 #b4 relievo4 ,the first comprises all engravings1 etchings1 and photogravures in which the lines are cut or indented by acid or other means1 into a steel or copper plate--a system employed1 with many variations of method1 from the time of ,mantegna1 ,albert ,drer1 ,holbein and ,rembrandt1 to the ,french and ,english etchers of the present day4 ,engravings thus produced are little used in modern book illustration1 as they cannot be printed easily on the same page as the letterpress2 these planches part1 as the ,french term them1 are costly to print and are suitable only for limited editions4 ,in the second1 or ordinary form of illustration1 the lines or pictures to be printed are left in relief2 the design being generally made on wood with a pencil1 and the parts not drawn upon cut away4 ,this was the rudimentary and almost universal form of book-illustration1 as practised in the fifteenth century1 as revived in ,england by ,bewick in the eighteenth1 and continued to the present day4 ,the blocks thus prepared can be printed rapidly on ordinary printing-presses1 and on the same page as the text4 ,during the past few years so many processes have been put forward for producing drawings in relief1 for printing with the type1 that it has become a business in itself to test and understand them4 ,the best known process is still wood engraving1 at least it is the best for the fac-simile reproduction of drawings1 as at present understood in ,england1 whether they be drawn direct upon the wood or transmitted by photography4 ,there is no process in relief which has the same certainty1 which gives the same colour and brightness1 and by which gradation of tone can be more truly rendered4 ,as to the relative value of the different photographic relief processes1 that can only be decided by experts4 ,speaking generally1 ,i may say that there are six or seven now in use1 each of which is1 ,i am informed1 the best1 and all of which are adapted for printing in the same manner as a wood-block4#a ,improvements in these processes are being made so rapidly that what was best yesterday will not be the best to-morrow1 and it is a subject which is still little understood4 ,in the present book it is proposed to speak principally of the more popular form of illustration 7relievo72 but the changes which are taking place in all forms of engraving and illustration render it necessary to say a few words first upon intaglio4 ,we have heard much of the painter-etchers1 and of the claims of the etchers to recognition as original artists2 and at the annual exhibition of the ,society of ,painter-,etchers in ,london1 we have seen examples in which the effects produced in black and white seemed more allied to the painter's art than to the engraver's4 ,but we are considering engraving as a means of interpreting the work of others1 rather than as an original art4 ,the influence of photography is felt in nearly every department of illustration4 ,the new photo-mechanical methods of engraving1 without the aid of the engraver1 have rendered drawing for fac-simile reproduction of more importance than ever2 and the wonderful invention called photogravure1 in which an engraving is made direct from an oil painting1 is almost superseding handwork4#b ,illustration3 ,no4 ,,ii4 ,ashes of ,roses1 by ,g4 ,h4 ,,boughton1 ,a4,r4,a4 ,this careful drawing1 from the painting by ,mr4 ,boughton1 in the ,royal ,academy1 reproduced by the ,dawson process1 is interesting for variety of treatment and indication of textures in pen and ink4 ,it is like the picture1 but it has also the individuality of the draughtsman1 as in line engraving4 ,size of drawing about #f-a_/b x #c-a_/b in4 ,illustration3 ,,badminton ,,in ,,the ,,studio4 7,,from ,,the ,,painting ,,by ,r4 ,w4 ,,macbeth1 ,a4,r4,a47 7,royal ,academy1 #ahia47 ,the art of line-engraving is disappearing in ,england1 giving way to the painter-etchers1 the dry-point etchers and the mezzotint engravers1 and1 finally1 to photogravure1 a method of engraving which is so extraordinary1 and so little understood 7although it has been in constant use for more than ten years71 that it may be worth while to explain1 in a few words1 the method as practised by ,messrs4 ,boussod1 ,valadon ,co41 successors to ,goupil1 of ,paris4 ,in the ,royal ,academy ,exhibition of #ahhb1 ,sir ,frederick ,leighton's picture called ,wedded will be remembered by many visitors4 ,this picture was purchased for ,australia1 and had to be sent from ,england within a few weeks of the closing of the exhibition4 ,there was no time to make an engraving1 or even an etching satisfactorily1 and so the picture was sent to ,messrs4 ,goupil1 who in a few weeks produced the photogravure1 as it is called1 which we see in the printsellers' windows to this day4 ,the operation is roughly as follows3--,first1 a photograph is taken direct from the picture2 then a carbon print is taken from the negative upon glass1 which rests upon the surface in delicate relief4 ,from this print a cast is taken in reverse in copper1 by placing the glass in a galvanic bath1 the deposit of copper upon the glass taking the impression of the picture as certainly as snow takes the pattern of the ground upon which it falls4 ,thus--omitting details1 and certain secrets of the process--it may be seen how modern science has superseded much of the engraver's work1 and how a mechanical process can produce in a few days that which formerly took years4 ,what the permanent art-estimate of photo-engraving may be1 as a substitute for hand-work1 is a question for the collectors of engravings and etchings4 ,in the meantime1 it is well that the public should know what a photogravure is1 as distinct from an engraving4 ,the system of mechanical engraving1 in the reproduction of pictures1 is spreading rapidly over the world2 but it should be observed that these reproductions are not uniformly successful4 ,one painter's method of handling lends itself more readily than that of another to mechanical engraving4 ,thus the work of the ,president of the ,royal ,academy would reproduce better than that of ,mr4 ,g4 ,f4 ,watts or ,mr4 ,orchardson4 ,that the actual marks of the brush1 the very texture of the painting1 can be transferred to copper and steel1 and multiplied ad infinitum by this beautiful process1 is a fact to which many ,english artists are keenly alive4 ,the process has its limits1 of course1 and photogravure has at present to be assisted to a considerable extent by the engraver4 ,but enough has been done in the last few years to prove that photography will henceforth take up the painter's handiwork as he leaves it1 and thus the importance of thoroughness and completeness on the part of the painter has to be more than ever insisted upon by the publishers of engravings4 ,a word may be useful here to explain that the coloured photogravures1 reproducing the washes of colour in a painting or water-colour drawing1 of which we see so many in ,paris1 are not coloured by hand in the ordinary way1 but are produced complete1 at one impression1 from the printing-press4 ,the colours are laid upon the plate1 one by one1 by the printer1 by a system of stencilling2 and thus an almost perfect fac-simile of a picture can be reproduced in pure colour1 if the original is simple and broad in treatment4 ,illustration3 ,no4 ,,iii4 ,a ,son of ,pan1 by ,,william ,,padgett4 ,example of outline drawing1 put in solidly with a brush4 ,if this had been done with pencil or autographic chalk1 much of the feeling and expression of the original would have been lost4 ,the drawing has suffered slightly in reproduction1 where 7as in the shadows on the neck and hands7 the lines were pale in the original4 ,size of drawing #aa-a_/b #f-a_/b in4 ,zinc process4 ,illustration3 ,,home ,,by ,,the ,,ferry4 7,,from ,,the ,,painting ,,by ,,edward ,,stott47 7,royal ,academy1 #ahia47 ,one other point of interest and importance to collectors of engravings and etchings should be mentioned4 ,within the last few years1 an invention for coating the surface of engraved plates with a film of steel 7which can be renewed as often as necessary7 renders the surface practically indestructible2 and it is now possible to print a thousand impressions from a copper plate without injury or loss of quality4 ,these modern inventions are no secrets1 they have been described repeatedly in technical journals and in lectures1 notably in those delivered during the past few years at the ,society of ,arts1 and published in the ,journal4 ,but the majority of the public1 and even many collectors of prints and etchings1 are ignorant of the number of copies which can now be taken without deterioration from one plate4 ,it is necessary to the art amateur that he should know something of these things1 if only to explain why it is that scratching on a copper plate has come so much into vogue in ,england lately1 and why there has been such a remarkable revival of the art of ,drer at the end of this century4 ,the reason for the movement will be better understood when it is explained that by the process just referred to1 of steeling the surface of plates1 the burr1 as it is called1 and the most delicate lines of the engraver are preserved intact for a much larger number of impressions than formerly4 ,the taste for etchings and the higher forms of the reproductive arts is still spreading rapidly1 but the fact remains that etchings and ditions de luxe do not reach one person in a thousand in any civilised community4 ,it is only by means of wood engravings1 and the cheaper and simpler forms of process illustration1 that the public is appealed to pictorially through the press4 ,illustration3 ,,line ,,process ,,block4 ,,footnotes3 #a ,all the illustrations in this book are produced by mechanical processes excepting those marked in the ,list of ,illustrations2 and all are printed simultaneously with the letterpress4 ,for description of processes1 see ,appendix4 #b ,one of the last and best examples of pure line-engraving was by ,m4 ,joubert1 from a painting by ,e4 ,j4 ,poynter1 ,r4,a41 called ,atalanta's ,race1 exhibited in the ,royal ,academy1 #ahgf4 ,the engraving of this picture was nearly three years in ,m4 ,joubert's hands--a tardy process in these days4 ,illustration3 ,,greeting4 7,,by ,,the ,,hon4 ,,mrs4 ,,boyle47 ,,chapter ,,ii4 ,,elementary ,,illustration4 ,the first object of an illustration1 the practical part1 is obviously1 to illustrate and elucidate the text--a matter often lost sight of4 ,the second is to be artistic1 and includes works of the imagination1 decoration1 ornament1 style4 ,in this chapter we shall consider the first1 the practical part4 ,nearly twenty years ago1 at a meeting of the ,society of ,arts in ,london1 the general question was discussed1 whether in the matter of illustrating books and newspapers we are really keeping pace with the times2 whether those whose business it is to provide the illustrations which are tossed from steam presses at the rate of several thousand copies an hour1 are doing the best work they can4 ,in illustrated newspapers1 it was argued1 there should be a clearer distinction between fact and fiction1 between news and pictures4 ,the exact words may be thought worth repeating now4#c ,in the production of illustrations we have arrived at great proficiency1 and from ,london are issued the best illustrated newspapers in the world4 ,but our artistic skill has led us into temptation1 and by degrees engendered a habit of making pictures when we ought to be recording facts4 ,we have thus1 through our cleverness1 created a fashion and a demand from the public for something which is often elaborately untrue4 ,would it1 then1 be too much to ask those who cater for 7and really create7 the public taste1 that they should give us one of two things1 or rather two things1 in our illustrated papers1 the real and the ideal-- #ast4 ,pictorial records of events in the simplest and truest manner possible2 #bnd4 ,pictures of the highest class that can be printed in a newspaper8 ,here are two methods of illustration which only require to be kept distinct1 each in its proper place1 and our interest in them would be doubled4 ,we ask first for a record of news and then for a picture gallery2 and to know1 to use a common phrase1 which is which4 ,at the time referred to1 drawing on the wood-block and engraving were almost universal--instantaneous photography was in its infancy1 process blocks1 that is to say1 mechanical engraving1 was very seldom employed1 and 7for popular purposes7 ,american engraving and printing was considered the best4 ,the system of producing illustrations in direct fac-simile of an artist's drawing1 suitable for printing at a type press without the aid of the wood engraver1 is of such value for cheap and simple forms of illustration1 and is1 moreover1 in such constant use1 that it seems wonderful at first sight that it should not be better understood in ,england4 ,but the cause is not far to seek4 ,we have not yet acquired the art of pictorial expression in black and white1 nor do many of our artists excel in illustration in the true sense of the word4 ,it has often been pointed out that through the pictorial system the mind receives impressions with the least effort and in the quickest way1 and that the graphic method is the true way of imparting knowledge4 ,are we then1 in the matter of giving information or in imparting knowledge through the medium of illustrations1 adopting the truest and simplest methods8 ,i venture to say that in the majority of cases we are doing nothing of the kind4 ,we have pictures in abundance which delight the eye1 which are artistically drawn and skilfully engraved1 but in which1 in nine cases out of ten1 there is more thought given to effect as a picture than to illustrating the text4 ,it has often been suggested that the art of printing is1 after all1 but a questionable blessing on account of the error and the evil disseminated by it4 ,without going into that question1 ,i think that we may find that the art of printing with movable type has led to some neglect of the art of expressing ourselves pictorially1 and that the apparently inexorable necessity of running every word and thought into uniform lines1 has cramped and limited our powers of expression1 and of communicating ideas to each other4 ,let us begin at the lowest step of the artistic ladder1 and consider some forms of illustration which are within the reach of nearly every writer for the press4 ,with the means now at command for reproducing any lines drawn or written1 in perfect fac-simile1 mounted on square blocks to range with the type1 and giving little or no trouble to the printer1 there is no question that we should more frequently see the hand work of the writer as well as of the artist appearing on the page4 ,for example3 it happens sometimes in a work of fiction1 or in the record of some accident or event1 that it is important to the clear understanding of the text1 to know the exact position of a house1 say at a street corner1 and also 7as in the case of a late trial for arson7 which way the wind blew on a particular evening4 ,words are powerless to explain the position beyond the possibility of doubt or misconstruction2 and yet words are1 and have been1 used for such purposes for hundreds of years1 because it is the custom4 ,illustration ,but if it were made plain that where words fail to express a meaning easily1 a few lines1 such as those above1 drawn in ink on ordinary paper1 may be substituted 7and1 if sent to the printer with the manuscript1 will appear in fac-simile on the proof with the printed page71 ,i think a new light may dawn on many minds1 and new methods of expression come into vogue4 ,this illustration 7which was written on the sheet of ,,ms47 is one example1 out of a hundred that might be given1 where a diagram should come to the aid of the verbal description1 now that the reproduction of lines for the press is no longer costly1 and the blocks can be printed1 if necessary1 on rapidly revolving cylinders1 which 7by duplicating7 can produce in a night #ajj1jjj copies of a newspaper4 ,before exploring some of the possibilities of illustration1 it may be interesting to glance at what has been done in this direction since the invention of producing blocks rapidly to print at the type press and the improvements in machinery4 ,in the spring of #ahgc a ,canadian company started a daily illustrated evening newspaper in ,new ,york1 called ,the ,daily ,graphic1 which was to eclipse all previous publications by the rapidity and excellence of its illustrations4 ,it started with an attempt to give a daily record of news1 and its conductors made every effort to bring about a system of rapid sketching and drawing in line4 ,but the public of ,new ,york in #ahgc 7as of ,london1 apparently1 in #ahic7 cared more for pictures1 and so by degrees the paper degenerated into a picture-sheet1 reproducing 7without leave7 engravings from the ,illustrated ,london ,news1 the ,graphic1 and other papers1 as they arrived from ,england4 ,the paper was lithographed1 and survived until #ahhi4 ,the report of the first year's working of the first daily illustrated newspaper in the world is worth recording4 ,the proprietors stated that although the paper was started in a year of great financial depression1 they have abundant reason to be satisfied with their success1 and further1 that they attribute it to an absence of all sensational news4767 ,the report ended with the following interesting paragraph3 ,pictorial records of crime1 executions1 scenes involving misery1 and the more unwholesome phases of social life1 are a positive detriment to a daily illustrated newspaper4 ,in fact1 the higher the tone and the better the taste appealed to1 the larger we have found our circulation to be4 ,the great art1 it would seem1 of conducting a daily illustrated newspaper is to know what to leave out--when1 in fact1 to have no illustrations at all6 ,in ,england the first systematic attempt at illustration in a daily newspaper was the insertion of a little map or weather chart in the ,times in #ahge1 and the ,pall ,mall ,gazette followed suit with a dial showing the direction of the wind1 and afterwards with other explanatory diagrams and sketches4 ,but1 in ,june1 #ahge1 the ,times and all other newspapers in ,england were far distanced by the ,new ,york ,tribune in reporting the result of a shooting match in ,dublin between an ,american ,rifle ,corps and some of our volunteers4 ,on the morning after the contest there were long verbal reports in the ,english papers1 describing the shooting and the results2 but in the pages of the ,new ,york ,tribune there appeared a series of targets with the shots of the successful competitors marked upon them1 communicated by telegraph and printed in the paper in ,america on the following morning4#d ,after this period we seem to have moved slowly1 only some very important geographical discovery1 or event1 extorting from the daily newspapers an explanatory plan or diagram4 ,but during the ,transit of ,venus1 on the #fth of ,december1 #ahhb1 a gleam of light was vouchsafed to the readers of the ,daily ,telegraph 7and possibly to other papers71 and that exciting astronomical event from which mankind was to obtain a clearer knowledge of the scale of the universe1 was understood and remembered better1 by three or four lines in the form of a diagram 7showing1 roughly1 the track of ,venus and its comparative size and distance from the sun7 printed in the newspaper on the day of the event4 ,maps and plans have appeared from time to time in all the daily newspapers1 but not systematically1 or their interest and usefulness would have been much greater4 ,many instances might be given of the use of diagrams in newspapers2 a little dial showing the direction of the wind1 is obviously better than words and figures1 but it is only lately that printing difficulties have been overcome1 and that the system can be widely extended4 ,it remains to be seen how far the ,daily ,graphic1 with experience and capital at command1 will aid in a system of illustration which is one day to become general4 ,thus far it would seem that the production of a large number of pictures 7more or less -propos7 is the popular thing to do4 ,we may be excused if we are disappointed in the result from a practical point of view2 for as the functions of a daily newspaper are prim facie to record facts1 it follows that if words fail to communicate the right meaning1 pictorial expression should come to the aid of the verbal1 no matter how crude or inartistic the result might appear4 ,let me give one or two examples1 out of many which come to mind4 #a4 ,the transmission of form by telegraph4 ,to realise the importance of this system in conveying news1 we have only to consider 7going back nearly forty years7 what interest would have been added to ,dr4 ,russell's letters from the ,crimea in the ,times newspaper1 if it had been considered possible1 then1 to have inserted1 here and there1 with the type1 a line or two pictorially giving 7e4g47 the outline of a hillside1 and the position of troops upon it4 ,it was possible to do this in #ahee1 but it is much more feasible now4 ,the transmission of form by telegraph is of the utmost importance to journalists and scientific men1 and1 as our electricians have not yet determined the best methods1 it may be interesting to point out the simplest and most rudimentary means at hand4 ,the method is well known in the army and is used for field purposes1 but hitherto newspapers have been strangely slow to avail themselves of it4 ,the diagram on the opposite page will explain a system which is capable of much development with and without the aid of photography4 ,if the reader will imagine this series of squares to represent a portable piece of open trellis-work1 which might be set up at a window or in the open field1 between the spectator and any object of interest at a distance--each square representing a number corresponding with a code in universal use--it will be obvious1 that by noticing the squares which the outline of a hill would cover1 and telegraphing the numbers of the squares1 something in the way of form and outline may be quickly communicated from the other side of the world4 ,illustration3 ,,code ,,for ,,transmitting ,,form ,,by ,,telegraph4 ,this is for rough-and-ready use in time of war1 when rapidity of communication is of the first importance2 but in time of peace a correspondent's letter continually requires elucidation4 ,next is an example1 which1 for want of better words1 ,i will call the shorthand of pictorial art4 ,a newspaper correspondent is in a boat on one of the ,italian lakes1 and wishes to describe the scene on a calm summer day4 ,this is how he proceeds-- ,illustration ,we are shut in by mountains1 he says1 but the blue lake seems as wide as the sea4 ,on a rocky promontory on the left hand the trees grow down to the water's edge and the banks are precipitous1 indicating the great depth of this part of the lake4 ,the water is as smooth as glass2 on its surface is one vessel1 a heavily-laden market boat with drooping sails1 floating slowly down 7and so on7--there is no need to repeat it all2 but when half a column of word-painting had been written 7and well-written7 the correspondent failed to present the picture clearly to the eye without these four explanatory lines 7no more7 which should of course have been sent with his letter4 ,this method of description requires certain aptitude and training2 but not much1 not more than many a journalist could acquire for himself with a little practice4 ,the director of the ,daily ,graphic is reported to have said that the ideal correspondent1 who can sketch as well as write1 is not yet born4 ,he takes perhaps a higher view of the artistic functions of a daily newspaper than we should be disposed to grant him2 by we ,i mean1 of course1 the public1 expecting news in the most graphic manner4 ,there are1 and will be1 many moments when we want information1 simply and solely1 and care little how1 or in what shape1 it comes4 ,this kind of information1 given pictorially1 has no pretension to be artistic1 but it is illustration in the true sense of the word1 and its value when rightly applied is great4 ,when the alterations at ,hyde ,park ,corner 7one of the most important of the ,london improvements of our day7 were first debated in ,parliament1 a daily newspaper1 as if moved by some sudden flash of intelligence1 printed a ground-plan of the proposed alterations with descriptive text2 and once or twice only1 during ,stanley's long absence in ,africa1 did we have sketches or plans printed with the letters to elucidate the text1 such as a sketch of the floating islands with their weird inhabitants1 at ,stanley's ,station on the ,congo river1 which appeared in a daily newspaper--instances of news presented to the reader in a better form than words4 ,the very thing that was wanted6 was the general exclamation1 as if there were some new discovery of the powers of description4 ,as the war correspondent's occupation does not appear likely to cease in our time1 it would seem worth while to make sure that he is fully equipped4 ,the method of writing employed by correspondents on the field of battle seems unnecessarily clumsy and prolix2 we hear of letters written actually under fire1 on a drum-head1 or in the saddle1 and on opening the packet as it arrives by the post we may find1 if we take the trouble to measure it1 that the point of the pen or pencil1 has travelled over a distance of a hundred feet6 ,this is the actual ascertained measurement1 taking into account all the ups and downs1 crosses and dashes1 as it arrives from abroad4 ,no wonder the typewriter is resorted to in journalism wherever possible4 ,a newspaper correspondent is sent suddenly to the seat of war1 or is stationed in some remote country to give the readers of a newspaper the benefit of his observations4 ,what is he doing in #ahid8 ,in the imperfect1 clumsy language which he possesses in common with every minister of state and public schoolboy1 he proceeds to describe what he sees in a hundred lines1 when with two or three strokes of the pen he might have expressed his meaning better pictorially4 ,i have used these words before1 but they apply with redoubled force at the present time4 ,the fact is1 that with the means now at command for reproducing any lines drawn or written1 the correspondent is not thoroughly equipped if he cannot send them as suggested1 by telegraph or by letter4 ,it is all a matter of education1 and the newspaper reporter of the future will not be considered complete unless he is able to express himself1 to some extent1 pictorially as well as verbally4 ,then1 and not till then1 will our complicated language be rescued from many obscurities1 by the aid of lines other than verbal4#e ,in nearly every city1 town1 or place there is some feature1 architectural or natural1 which gives character to it1 and it would add greatly to the interest of letters from abroad if they were headed with a little outline sketch1 or indication of the principal objects4 ,this is seldom done1 because the art of looking at things1 and the power of putting them down simply in a few lines1 has not been cultivated and is not given to many4 ,two things are principally necessary to attain this end-- ,illustration3 ,a ,,study ,,in ,,perspective4 7,,hume ,,nisbet47 ,a4 ,standpoint4 ,b4 ,point of ,sight4 ,c4 ,horizontal line4 ,d4 ,vanishing lines4 ,e4 ,point of distance4 ,f4 ,vanishing lines of distance4 ,g4 ,line of sight4 #a4 ,the education of hand and eye and a knowledge of perspective1 to be imparted to every schoolboy1 no matter what his profession or occupation is likely to be4 #b4 ,the education of the public to read aright this new language 7new to most people71 the shorthand of pictorial art4 ,the popular theory amongst editors and publishers is that the public would not care for information presented to them in this way--that they would not understand it and would not buy it4 ,sketches of the kind indicated have never been fairly tried in ,england2 but they are increasing in number every day1 and the time is not far distant when we shall look back upon the present system with considerable amusement and on a book or a newspaper which is not illustrated as an incomplete production4 ,the number of illustrations produced and consumed daily in the printing press is enormous2 but they are too much of one pattern1 and1 as a rule1 too elaborate4 ,in the illustration of books of all kinds there should be a more general use of diagrams and plans to elucidate the text4 ,no new building of importance should be described anywhere without an indication of the elevation1 if not also of the ground plan2 and1 as a rule1 no picture should be described without a sketch to indicate the composition4 ,in history words so often fail to give the correct locale that it seems wonderful we have no better method in common use4 ,the following rough plan will illustrate one of the simplest ways of making a description clear to the reader4 ,take the verbal one first3-- ,the young ,bretonne stood under the doorway of the house1 sheltered from the rain which came with the soft west wind4 ,from her point of vantage on the ',place' she commanded a view of the whole village1 and could see down the four streets of which it was principally composed4 ,illustration ,in this instance a writer was at some pains to describe 7and failed to describe in three pages7 the exact position of the streets near where the girl stood2 and it was a situation in which photography could hardly help him4 ,it may seem strange at first sight to occupy the pages of a book on art with diagrams and elementary outlines1 but it must be remembered that plans and diagrams are at the basis of a system of illustration which will one day become general4 ,the reason1 as already pointed out1 for drawing attention to the subject now1 is that it is only lately that systems have been perfected for reproducing lines on the printed page almost as rapidly as setting up the type4 ,thus a new era1 so to speak1 in the art of expressing ourselves pictorially as well as verbally has commenced3 the means of reproduction are to hand2 the blocks can be made1 if necessary1 in less than three hours1 and copies can be printed on revolving cylinders at the rate of #aj1jjj an hour4 ,the advance in scientific discovery by means of subtle instruments brings the surgeon sometimes to the knowledge of facts which1 in the interests of science1 he requires to demonstrate graphically1 objects which it would often be impossible to have photographed4 ,with a rudimentary knowledge of drawing and perspective1 the surgeon and the astronomer would both be better equipped4 ,at the ,university of ,pennsylvania1 in ,philadelphia1 where the majority of students are intended for the medical profession1 this subject is considered of high importance1 and the student in ,america is learning to express himself in a language that can be understood4 ,in architecture it is often necessary1 in order to understand the description of a building1 to indicate in a few lines not only the general plan and elevation1 but also its position in perspective in a landscape or street4 ,few architects can do this if called upon at a moment's notice in a ,parliamentary committee room4 ,and yet it is a necessary part of the language of an architect4#f ,these remarks apply with great force to books of travel1 where an author should be able to take part in the drawing of his illustrations1 at least to the extent of being able to explain his meaning and ensure topographical accuracy4 ,a curious experiment was made lately with some students in an ,art school1 to prove the fallacy of the accepted system of describing landscapes1 buildings1 and the like in words4 ,a page or two from one of the ,waverley novels 7a description of a castle and the heights of mountainous land1 with a river winding in the valley towards the sea1 and clusters of houses and trees on the right hand7 was read slowly and repeated before a number of students1 three of whom1 standing apart from each other by pre-arrangement1 proceeded to indicate on blackboards before an audience the leading lines of the picture as the words had presented it to their minds4 ,it is needless to say that the results1 highly skilful in one case1 were all different1 and all wrong2 and that in particular the horizon line of the sea 7so easy to indicate with any clue1 and so important to the composition7 was hopelessly out of place4 ,thus we describe day by day1 and the pictures formed in the mind are erroneous1 for the imagination of the reader is at work at once1 and requires simple guidance4 ,the exhibition was1 ,i need hardly say1 highly stimulating and suggestive4 ,many arguments might be used for the substitution of pictorial for verbal methods of expression1 which apply to books as well as periodicals4 ,two may be mentioned of a purely topical kind4 #a4 ,in ,june1 #ahic1 when the strife of political parties ran high in ,england1 and anything like a rapprochement between their leaders seemed impossible1 ,mr4 ,gladstone and ,mr4 ,balfour were seen in apparently friendly conversation behind the ,speaker's chair in the ,house of ,commons4 ,a newspaper reporter in one of the galleries1 observing the interesting situation1 does not say in so many words1 that ,mr4 ,g4 was seen talking to ,mr4 ,b41 but makes1 or has made for him1 a sketch 7without caricature7 of the two figures standing talking together1 and writes under it1 ,amenities behind the ,speaker's chair4 ,here it will be seen that the subject is approached with more delicacy1 and the position indicated with greater force through the pictorial method4 #b4 ,the second modern instance of the power--the eloquence1 so to speak1 of the pictorial method--appeared in the pages of ,punch on the occasion of the visit of the ,russian sailors to ,paris in ,october1 #ahic4 ,a rollicking1 dancing ,russian bear1 with the words ,vive la ,rpublique wound round his head1 hit the situation as no words could have done1 especially when exposed for sale in the kiosques of the ,paris boulevards4 ,the picture required no translation into the languages of ,europe4 ,it may be said that there is nothing new here--that the political cartoon is everywhere--that it has existed always1 that it flourished in ,athens and ,rome1 that all history teems with it1 that it comes down to us on ,english soil through ,gillray1 ,rowlandson1 ,hogarth1 ,blake1 and many distinguished names4 ,i draw attention to these things because the town is laden with newspapers and illustrated sheets4 ,the tendency of the time seems to be to read less and less1 and to depend more upon pictorial records of events4 ,there are underlying reasons for this on which we must not dwell2 the point of importance to illustrators is the fact that there is an insatiable demand for pictures which tell us something quickly and accurately1 in a language which every nation can understand4 ,another example of the use of pictorial expression to aid the verbal4 ,a traveller in the ,harz ,mountains finds himself on the ,zeigenkop1 near ,blankenberg1 on a clear summer's day1 and thus describes it in words3-- ,we are now on the heights above ,blankenberg1 a promontory #a1cfj feet above the plains1 with an almost uninterrupted view of distant country looking northward and eastward4 ,the plateau of mountains on which we have been travelling here ends abruptly4 ,it is the end of the upper world1 but the plains seem illimitable4 ,there is nothing between us and our homes in ,berlin--nothing to impede the view which it is almost impossible to describe in words4 ,the setting sun has pierced the veil of mist1 and a map of ,northern ,germany seems unrolled before us1 distant cities coming into view one by one4 ,first1 we see ,halberstadt with its spires1 then ,magdeburg1 then another city1 and another4 ,we have been so occupied with the distant prospect1 and with the objects of interest which give character to it1 that we had almost overlooked the charming composition and suggestive lines of this wonderful view4 ,there is an ancient castle on the heights1 the town of ,blankenberg at our feet1 a strange wall of perpendicular rocks in the middle distance2 there are the curves of the valleys1 flat pastures1 undulating woods1 and roads winding away across the plains4 ,the central point of interest is the church spire with its cluster of houses spreading upwards towards the chteau1 with its massive terraces fringed with trees1 c41 c4 ,this was all very well in word-painting1 but what a veil is lifted from the reader's eyes by some such sketch as the one below4 ,illustration3 ,,view ,,above ,,blankenberg1 ,,harz ,,mountains4 ,it should be mentioned that three photographic prints joined together would hardly have given the picture1 owing to the vast extent of this inland view1 and the varying atmospheric effects4 ,the last instance ,i can give here is an engraving from ,cassell's ,popular ,educator1 where a picture is used to demonstrate the curvature of the world's surface2 thus imprinting1 for once1 and for always1 on the young reader's mind a fact which words fail to describe adequately4 ,illustration3 ,,the ,,curvature ,,of ,,the ,,worlds ,,surface4 ,this is ,the ,art of ,illustration in the true sense of the word4 ,,footnotes3 #c ,the quotations are from a paper by the present writer1 read before the ,society of ,arts in ,march1 #ahge4 #d ,this system of reporting rifle contests is now almost universal in ,england4 #e ,it seems strange that enterprising newspapers1 with capital at command1 such as the ,new ,york ,herald1 ,daily ,telegraph1 and ,pall ,mall ,gazette1 should not have developed so obvious a method of transmitting information4 ,the ,pall ,mall ,gazette has been the most active in this direction1 but might do much more4 #f ,it has been well said that if a building can be described in words1 it is not worth describing at all6 ,,chapter ,,iii4 ,,artistic ,,illustrations4 ,in referring now to more artistic illustrations1 we should notice first1 some of the changes which have taken place 7since the meeting referred to in the last chapter71 and1 bridging over a distance of nearly twenty years1 consider the work of the illustrator1 the photographer1 and the maker of process blocks1 as presented in books and newspapers in #ahid2 speaking principally of topical illustrations1 on which so many thousand people are now engaged4 ,it may seem strange at first sight to include newspapers in a chapter on art illustrations1 but the fact is that the weekly newspapers1 with their new appliances for printing1 and in consequence of the cheapness of good paper1 are now competing with books and magazines in the production of illustrations which a few years ago were only to be found in books4 ,the illustrated newspaper is one of the great employers of labour in this field and distributor of the work of the artist in black and white1 and in this connection must by no means be ignored4 ,the ,post-office carries a volume of #afd pages 7each #bb by #af inches71 weighing from two to three pounds1 for a half-penny4 ,it is called a weekly newspaper1 but it contains1 sometimes1 #ajj illustrations1 and competes seriously with the production of illustrated books4 ,further on we shall see how the illustrations of one number of a weekly newspaper are produced--what part the original artist has in it1 what part the engraver and the photographer4 ,these are things with which all students should be acquainted4 ,the first stage of illustration1 where little more than a plan or elevation of a building is aimed at 7as suggested in the last chapter71 and where an author1 with little artistic knowledge1 is yet enabled to explain himself1 is comparatively easy2 it is when we approach the hazardous domain of art that the real difficulties begin4 ,as matters stand at present1 it is scarcely too much to say that the majority of art students and the younger school of draughtsmen in this country are all abroad in the matter of drawing for the press1 lacking1 not industry1 not capacity1 but method4 ,that they do good work in abundance is not denied1 but it is not exactly the kind of work required--in short1 they are not taught at the outset the value of a line4 ,that greater skill and certainty of drawing can be attained by our younger draughtsmen is unquestionable1 and1 bearing in mind that nearly every book and newspaper in the future will be illustrated1 the importance of study in this direction is much greater than may appear at first sight4 ,illustration3 ,no4 ,,iv4 ,tiresome ,dog1 by ,e4 ,k4 ,,johnson4 ,this example of pen-and-ink work has been reproduced by the gelatine relief process4 ,the drawing1 which has been greatly reduced in reproduction1 was made by ,mr4 ,johnson for an ,illustrated ,catalogue of the ,royal ,water-,colour ,society1 of which he is a member4 ,it is instructive as showing the possibilities and limitations of relief process-work in good hands4 ,the gradation of tone is all obtained in pure black1 or dotted lines4 ,mr4 ,dawson has aided the effect by rouletting on the block on the more delicate parts2 but most of the examples in this book are untouched by the engraver4 7,see ,appendix47 ,illustration3 ,,frustrated4 7,,from ,,the ,,painting ,,by ,,walter ,,hunt47 7,royal ,academy1 #ahia47 ,referring to the evident want of training amongst our younger draughtsmen1 the question was put very bluntly in the ,athenum some years ago1 thus3-- ,why is not drawing in line with pen and ink taught in our own ,government schools of art8 ,the present system in schools seems to render the art of drawing of as little use to the student as possible1 for he has no sooner mastered the preliminary stage of drawing in outline from the flat with a lead pencil1 than he has chalk put into his hand1 a material which he will seldom or never use in turning his knowledge of drawing to practical account4 ,the readier method of pen and ink would be of great service as a preparatory stage to wood drawing1 but unfortunately drawing is taught in most cases as though the student intended only to become a painter4 ,since these lines were written1 efforts have been made in some schools of art to give special training for illustrators1 and instruction is also given in wood engraving1 which every draughtsman should learn2 but up to the present time there has been no systematic teaching in drawing applicable to the various processes1 for the reason that the majority of art masters do not understand them4 ,illustration3 ,,on ,,the ,,riviera4 7,,ellen ,,montalba47 ,the art of expression in line1 or of expressing the effect of a picture or a landscape from ,nature in a few leading lines 7not necessarily outline7 is little understood in this country2 and if such study1 as the ,athenum pointed out1 is important for the wood draughtsman1 how much more so in drawing for reproduction by photo-mechanical means8 ,a few artists have the gift of expressing themselves in line1 but the majority are strangely ignorant of the principles of this art and of the simple fac-simile processes by which drawing can now be reproduced4 ,in the course of twenty years of editing the ,academy ,notes1 some strange facts have come to the writer's notice as to the powerlessness of some painters to express the motif of a picture in a few lines2 also as to how far we are behind our continental neighbours in this respect4 ,illustration3 ,a ,,light ,,of ,,laughing ,,flowers ,,along ,,the ,,grass ,,is ,,spread4 7,m4 ,,ridley ,,corbet47 ,illustration3 ,no4 ,v4 ,h4 ,s4 ,,marks4 ,an example of line drawing and the art of leaving out1 by the well-known ,royal ,academician4 ,mr4 ,marks and ,sir ,john ,gilbert 7see frontispiece7 were the first painters to explain the composition and leading lines of their pictures in the ,academy ,notes in #ahgf4 ,mr4 ,marks suggests light and shade and the character of his picture in a few skilful lines4 ,sir ,john ,gilbert's pen-and-ink drawing is also full of force and individuality4 ,these drawings reproduce well by any of the processes4 ,illustration3 ,a ,,select ,,committee4 7,,from ,,the ,,painting ,,by ,h4 ,s4 ,,marks1 ,r4,a47 7,royal ,academy1 #ahia47 ,it is interesting to note here the firmness of line and clearness of reproduction by the common process block2 the result being more satisfactory than many drawings by professional illustrators4 ,the reason is not far to seek2 the painter knows his picture and how to give the effect of it in black and white1 in a few lines2 and1 in the case of ,mr4 ,corbet and ,miss ,montalba1 they have made themselves acquainted with the best way of drawing for the ,press4 ,there are many other methods than pen-and-ink which draughtsmen use1--pencil1 chalk1 wash1 grained paper1 c1 but first as to line drawing1 because it is the only means by which certain results can be obtained1 and it is the one which1 for practical reasons1 should be first mastered4 ,line drawings are now reproduced on zinc blocks fitted for the type press at a cost of less than sixpence the square inch for large blocks2 the processes of reproduction will be explained further on4 ,it cannot be sufficiently borne in mind--,i am speaking now to students who are not intimate with the subject--that to produce with pure black lines the quality and effect of lines in which there is some gradation of tone1 is no easy matter1 especially to those accustomed to the wood engraver as the interpreter of their work4 ,sir ,john ,tenniel1 ,m4 du ,maurier1 and ,mr4 ,sambourne1 not to mention others on the ,punch staff1 have been accustomed to draw for wood engraving1 and would probably still prefer this method to any other4 ,illustration3 ,,the ,,rose ,,queen4 7,g4 ,d4 ,,leslie1 ,r4,a47 7,from ,academy ,notes1 #ahic47 ,but the young illustrator has to learn the newer methods1 and how to get his effects through direct photo-engraving4 ,what may be done by process is demonstrated in the line drawings interspersed through these pages1 also in the illustrations which are appearing every day in our newspapers1 magazines1 and books--especially those which are well printed and on good paper4 ,mr4 ,george ,leslie's pretty line drawing from his picture1 on the opposite page1 is full of suggestion for illustrative purposes4 ,but let us glance first at the ordinary hand-book teaching1 and see how far it is useful to the illustrator of to-day4 ,the rules laid down as to the methods of line work1 the direction of lines for the expression of certain textures1 cross-hatching1 c41 are1 if followed too closely1 apt to lead to hardness and mannerism in the young artist1 which he will with difficulty shake off4 ,on these points1 ,mr4 ,robertson1 the well-known painter and etcher1 writing seven years ago1 says well3-- ,the mental properties of every line drawn with pen and ink should be original and personal 444 this strong point is sure to be attained unconsciously1 if an artist's work is simple and sincere1 and not the imitation of another man's style4#g ,when the question arises as to what examples a beginner should copy who wishes to practise the art of pen-and-ink drawing1 the difficulty will be to select from the great and varied stores of material that are everywhere to his hand4 ,all steel and copper-plate engravings that have been executed in line1 and all wood engravings1 are within the possible range of pen-and-ink drawing4 ,i hold1 however1 that much time should not be occupied in the imitatative copying of prints3 only1 indeed1 so much as enables the student to learn with what arrangement of lines the different textures and qualities of objects may be best rendered4 ,there are1 roughly1 two methods of obtaining effect with a pen--one by few lines1 laid slowly1 and the other by many lines1 drawn with rapidity4 ,if the intention is to see what effect may be obtained with comparatively few lines deliberately drawn1 we may refer to the woodcuts after ,albert ,drer and ,holbein1 and the line engraving of ,marc ,antonio4 ,the engraved plates by ,drer furnish excellent examples of work1 with more and finer lines than his woodcuts but many of the latter were not done by his hand4 ,some of the etchings of ,rembrandt are examples of what may be fairly reproduced in pen and ink1 but in them we find the effect to depend upon innumerable lines in all directions4 ,in the matter of landscape the etched plates by ,claude and ,ruysdael are good examples for study1 and in animal life the work of ,paul ,potter and ,dujardin4 ,thus1 for style1 for mastery of effect and management of line1 we must go back to the old masters2 to work produced generally in a reposeful life1 to which the younger generation are strangers4 ,but the mere copying of other men's lines is of little avail without mastering the principles of the art of line drawing4 ,the skilful copies1 the fac-similes of engravings and etchings drawn in pen and ink1 which are the admiration of the young artist's friends1 are of little or no value in deciding the aptitude of the student4 ,the following words are worth placing on the walls of every art school3-- ,proficiency in copying engravings in fac-simile1 far from suggesting promise of distinction in the profession of art1 plainly marks a tendency to mechanical pursuits1 and is not likely to be acquired by anyone with much instinctive feeling for the arts of design4 ,there is much truth and insight in this remark4 ,illustration3 ,,the ,,finding ,,of ,,the ,,infant ,,st4 ,,george4 7,,charles ,m4 ,,gere47 7,from his painting in the ,new ,gallery1 #ahic47 ,in line work1 as now understood1 we are going back1 in a measure1 to the point of view of the missal writer and the illuminator1 who1 with no thought of the possibilities of reproduction1 produced many of his decorative pages by management of line alone 7,i refer to the parts of his work in which the effect was produced by black and white74 ,no amount of patience1 thought1 and labour was spared for this one copy4 ,what would he have said if told that in centuries to come this line work would be revived in its integrity1 with the possibility of the artist's own lines being reproduced #ajj1jjj times1 at the rate of several thousand an hour4 ,and what would he have thought if told that1 out of thousands of students in centuries to come1 a few1 a very few only1 could produce a decorative page2 and that few could be brought to realise that a work which was to be repeated1 say a thousand times1 was worthy of as much attention as his ancestors gave to a single copy6 ,on the principle that everything worth doing is worth doing well1 and on the assumption that the processes in common use--,i purposely omit mention here of the older systems of drawing on transfer paper1 and drawing on waxed plates1 without the aid of photography1 which have been dealt with in previous books--are worth all the care and artistic knowledge which can be bestowed upon them1 we would press1 upon young artists especially1 the importance of study and experiment in this direction4 ,as there is no question that the handwork of the artist can be seen more clearly through mechanical engraving than through wood engraving1 it behoves him to do his best4 ,and as we are substituting process blocks for wood engraving in every direction1 so we should take over some of the patience and care which were formerly given to book illustrations4 ,we cannot live1 easily1 in the cloistered silence of the past1 but we can emulate the deliberate and thoughtful work of ,mantegna1 of ,holbein1 of ,albert ,drer1 and the great men of the past1 who1 if they were alive to-day1 would undoubtedly have preferred drawing for process to the labour of etching and engraving2 and1 if their work were to be reproduced by others1 they would have perceived1 what it does not require much insight in us to realise1 that the individuality of the artist is better preserved1 by making his own lines4 ,to do this successfully in these days1 the artist must give his best and most deliberate 7instead of his hurried and careless7 drawings to the processes2 founding his style1 to a limited extent it may be1 on old work1 but preserving his own individuality4 ,but we must not slavishly copy sketches by the old masters1 which were never intended for reproduction4 ,we may learn from the study of them the power of line to express character1 action1 and effect1 we may learn composition sometimes1 but not often from a sketch4 ,illustration3 ,a ,,ploughboy4 7,g4 ,,clausen47 ,as to copying the work of living artists1 it should be remembered that the manner and the method of a line drawing is each artist's property1 and the repetition of it by others is injurious to him4 ,it would be an easy method indeed if the young artist1 fresh from the schools1 could1 in a few weeks1 imitate the mannerism1 say of ,sir ,john ,gilbert1 whose style is founded upon the labour of #ej years4 ,there is no such royal road4 ,illustration3 ,no4 ,,vi4 ,a ,ploughboy1 by ,,george ,,clausen4 ,an excellent example of sketching in line4 ,the original drawing was #g-c_/d #e-c_/d in4 ,i have reproduced ,mr4 ,clausen's artistic sketch of his picture in two sizes in order to compare results4 ,the small block on page #ei 7printed in ,grosvenor ,notes1 #ahhh7 appears to be the most suitable reduction for this drawing4 ,the results are worth comparing by anyone studying process work4 ,the first block was made by the gelatine process2 the one opposite by the ordinary zinc process4 7,see ,appendix47 ,to return to illustration4 ,the education of the illustrator in these days means much more than mere art training4 ,the tendency of editors of magazines and newspapers is to employ those who can write as well as draw4 ,this may not be a very hopeful sign from an art point of view1 but it is a condition of things which we have to face4 ,much as we may desire to see a good artist and a good raconteur in one man1 the combination will always be rare2 those editors who seek for it are often tempted to accept inferior art for the sake of the story4 ,i mention this as one of the influences affecting the quality of illustrations of an ephemeral or topical kind1 which should not be overlooked4 ,in sketches of society the education and standing of the artist has much to do with his success4 ,m4 du ,maurier's work in ,punch may be taken as an example of what ,i mean1 combining excellent art with knowledge of society4 ,his clever followers and imitators lack something which cannot be learned in an art school4 ,it should be understood that1 in drawing for reproduction by any of the mechanical processes 7either in wash or in line1 but especially the latter71 there is more strain on the artist than when his work was engraved on wood1 and the knowledge of this has left drawing for process principally in the hands of the younger men4 ,they will be older by the end of the century1 but not as old then as some of our best and experienced illustrators who keep to wood engraving4 ,illustration3 ,no4 ,,vii4 ,blowing ,bubbles1 by ,c4 ,e4 ,,wilson4 ,this is an excellent example of drawing--and of treatment of textures and surfaces--for process reproduction4 ,the few pen touches on the drapery have come out with great fidelity1 the double lines marking the paving stones being the only part giving any trouble to the maker of the gelatine relief block4 ,the skilful management of the parts in light shows again the art of leaving out4 ,i am touching now upon a difficult and delicate part of the subject1 and must endeavour to make my meaning clear4 ,the illustrations in ,punch have1 until lately1 all been engraved on wood 7the elder artists on the staff not taking kindly to the processes71 and the style and manner of line we see in its pages is due in great measure to the influence of the wood engraver4#h ,this refers to fac-simile work1 but the engraver1 as we know1 also interprets wash into clean lines1 helps out the timid and often unsteady draughtsman1 and in little matters puts his drawing right4 ,the wood engraver was apprenticed to his art1 and after long and laborious teaching1 mastered the mechanical difficulties4 ,if he had the artistic sense he soon developed into a master-engraver and illustrator1 and from crude and often weak and inartistic drawings produced illustrations full of tone1 quality1 and beauty4 ,from very slight material handed to him by the publisher1 the wood engraver would evolve 7from his inner consciousness1 so to speak7 an elaborate and graceful series of illustrations1 drawn on the wood block by artists in his own employ1 who had special training1 and knew exactly how to produce the effects required4 ,the system often involved much care and research for details of costume1 architecture1 and the like1 and1 if not very high art1 was at least well paid for1 and appreciated by the public4 ,i am speaking of the average illustrated book1 say of twenty years ago1 when it was not an uncommon thing to spend #ejj or #fjj on the engravings4 ,let us hope that the highest kind of wood engraving will always find a home in ,england4 ,nobody knows--nobody ever will know--how much the engraver has done for the artist in years past4 ,for good or evil1--it may be said2 but ,i am thinking now only of the good1 of occasions when the engraver has had to interpret the artist's meaning1 and sometimes1 it must be confessed1 to come to the rescue and perfect imperfect work4 ,illustration3 ,no4 ,,viii4 ,illustration to ,dreamland in ,history1 by ,dr4 ,gloucester4 7,london3 ,isbister ,co47 ,drawn by ,,herbert ,,railton4 ,example of brilliancy and simplicity of treatment in line drawing for process4 ,there is no illustration in this book which shows better the scope and variety of common process work4 ,mr4 ,railton has studied his process1 and brought to it a knowledge of architecture and sense of the picturesque4 ,this illustration is reduced considerably from the original drawing4 ,the artist who draws for reproduction by chemical and mechanical means is thrown upon his own resources4 ,he cannot say to the acid1 ,make these lines a little sharper1 or to the sun's rays1 ,give a little more light2 and so--as we cannot often have good wood engraving1 as it is not always cheap enough or rapid enough for our needs--we draw on paper what we want reproduced1 and resort to one of the photographic processes described in this book4 ,illustration3 ,,by ,,unfrequented ,,ways4 7,w4 ,h4 ,,gore47 ,i do not think the modern illustrator realises how much depends upon him in taking the place1 so to speak1 of the wood engraver4 ,the interpretation of tone into line fitted for the type press1 to which the wood engraver gave a lifetime1 will devolve more and more upon him4 ,we cannot keep this too continually in mind1 for in spite of the limitations in mechanically-produced blocks 7as compared with wood engraving7 in obtaining delicate effects of tone in line1 much can be done in which the engraver has no part4 ,illustration3 ,,the ,,lowing ,,herd ,,winds ,,slowly ,o',,er ,,the ,,lea4 7,w ,h4 ,,gore47 ,i purposely place these two pen-and-ink drawings by ,mr4 ,gore side by side1 to show what delicacy of line and tone may be obtained on a relief block by proper treatment4 ,one could hardly point to better examples of pure line4 ,they were drawn on ordinary cardboard 7the one above1 #d-a_/d #i-c_/d in47 and reproduced by the gelatine relief process4 ,all this1 it will be observed1 points to a more delicate and intelligent use of the process block than is generally allowed1 to something1 in short very different to the thin sketchy outlines and scribbles which are considered the proper style for the pen-and-ink artist4 ,but the values are scarcely ever considered in this connection4 ,mr4 ,hamerton makes a curious error in his ,graphic ,arts1 where he advocates the use of the black blot in pen drawing1 arguing that as we use liberally white paper to express air and various degrees of light1 so we may use masses of solid black to represent many gradations of darkness4 ,a little reflection will convince anyone that this is no argument at all4 ,mr4 ,ruskin's advice in his ,elements of ,drawing1 as to how to lay flat tints by means of pure black lines 7although written many years ago1 and before mechanical processes of reproduction were in vogue7 is singularly applicable and useful to the student of to-day2 especially where he reminds him that1 if you cannot gradate well with pure black lines1 you will never do so with pale ones4 ,to gradate well with pure black lines is1 so to speak1 the whole art and mystery of drawing for the photo-zinc process1 of which one ,london firm alone turns out more than a thousand blocks a week4 ,as to the amount of reduction that a drawing will bear in reproduction1 it cannot be sufficiently widely known1 that in spite of rules laid down1 there is no rule about it4 ,illustration3 ,,adversity4 7,,fred4 ,,hall47 ,it is interesting to compare this reproduction with the larger one overleaf4 ,there is no limit to the experiments which may be made in reduction1 if pursued on scientific principles4 ,illustration3 ,no4 ,,ix4 ,adversity1 by ,,fred4 ,,hall4 ,this fine drawing was made in pen and ink by ,mr4 ,hall1 from his picture in the ,royal ,academy1 #ahhi4 ,size of original #ad-a_/b #aa-a_/b in4 ,reproduced by gelatine blocks4 ,the feeling in line is conspicuous in both blocks1 but many painters might prefer the smaller4 ,illustration3 ,a ,,willowy ,,stream4 7,,from ,,the ,,painting ,,by ,,maud ,,naftel47 7,new ,gallery1 #ahhi47 ,mr4 ,emery ,walker1 of the firm of ,walker and ,boutall1 who has had great experience in the reproduction of illustrations and designs from old books and manuscripts1 will tell you that very often there is no reduction of the original2 and he will show reproductions in photo-relief of engravings and drawings of the same size as the originals1 the character of the paper1 and the colour of the printing also1 so closely imitated that experts can hardly distinguish one from the other4 ,on the other hand1 the value of reduction1 for certain styles of drawing especially1 can hardly be over-estimated4 ,the last drawing was reduced to less than half the length of the original1 and is1 ,i think1 one of the best results yet attained by the ,dawson relief process4 ,again1 ,i say1 there is no rule about it4 ,in the course of years1 and in the reduction to various scales of thousands of drawings by different artists1 to print at the type press1 my experience is that every drawing has its scale1 to which it is best reduced4 ,in these pages will be found examples of drawings reduced to one-sixtieth the area of the original1 whilst others have not been reduced at all4 ,illustration3 ,no4 ,x4 ,twins1 by ,,stanley ,,berkley4 ,sketch in pen and ink 7size #h-a_/d #e-a_/b in47 from ,mr4 ,berkley's picture in the ,grosvenor ,gallery in #ahhd4 ,a good example of breadth and expression in line1 the values being well indicated4 ,mr4 ,berkley1 knowing animal life well1 and knowing his picture1 is able to give expression to almost every touch4 ,here the common zinc process answers well4 ,illustration3 ,,the ,,dark ,,island4 7,,from ,,the ,,painting ,,by ,,alfred ,,east47 7,royal ,academy1 #ahhe47 ,there is much instruction in these drawings by painters1 instruction of a kind1 not to be obtained elsewhere4 ,the broad distinction between a sketch from ,nature and a drawing made in a sketchy manner cannot be too often pointed out1 and such drawings as those by ,mr4 ,g4 ,clausen 7p4 #ei71 ,fred4 ,hall 7p4 #gc71 ,stanley ,berkley 7p4 #gi71 ,t4 ,c4 ,gotch 7p4 #hc71 and others1 help to explain the difference4 ,these are all reproduced easily on process blocks4#i ,as to sketching in line from life1 ready for reproduction on a process block1 it is necessary to say a few words here4 ,the system is1 ,i know1 followed by a few illustrators for newspapers 7and by a few geniuses like ,mr4 ,joseph ,pennell1 ,raven ,hill1 and ,phil4 ,may1 who have their own methods71 and who1 by incessant practice1 have become proficient4 ,they have special ability for this kind of work1 and their manner and style is their capital and attraction4 ,illustration3 ,no4 ,,xi4 ,a ,portrait1 by ,t4 ,c4 ,,gotch4 ,pen-and-ink drawing 7size #g-a_/b #f-a_/b in472 from his picture in the ,exhibition of the ,new ,english ,art ,club1 #ahhi4 ,mr4 ,gotch is well known for his painting of children2 but he has also the instinct for line drawing1 and a touch which reproduces well without any help from the maker of the zinc block4 ,the absence of outline1 and the modelling suggested by vertical lines1 also the treatment of background1 should be noticed4 ,this background lights up when opposed to white and vice-versa4 ,but to attempt to teach rapid sketching in pen and ink is beginning at the wrong end1 and is fatal to good art2 it is like teaching the principles of pyrotechnics whilst fireworks are going off4 ,and yet we hear of prizes given for rapid sketches to be reproduced by the processes4 ,indeed1 ,i believe this is the wrong road2 the baneful result of living in high-pressure times4 ,it is difficult to imagine any artist of the past consenting to such a system of education4 ,sketching from life is1 of course1 necessary to the student 7especially when making illustrations by wash drawings1 of which ,i shall speak presently71 but for line work it should be done first in pencil1 or whatever medium is easiest at the moment4 ,the lines for reproduction require thinking about1 thinking what to leave out1 how to interpret the grey of a pencil1 or the tints of a brush sketch in the fewest lines4 ,thus1 and thus only1 the student learns the art of leaving out1 the value of a line4 ,the tendency of modern illustrators is to imitate somebody2 and in line drawing for the processes1 where the artist1 and not the engraver1 has to make the lines1 imitation of some man's method is almost inevitable4 ,illustration3 ,no4 ,,xii4 ,sir ,john ,tenniel1 by ,,edwin ,,ward4 ,example of another style of line drawing4 ,mr4 ,ward is a master of line1 as well as a skilful portrait painter4 ,he has lost nothing of the force and character of the original here1 by treating it in line4 ,mr4 ,ward has painted a series of small portraits of public men1 of which there is an example on p4 #ij4 ,size of pen-and-ink drawing #h-a_/b #e-a_/b in41 reproduced by common process4 ,let me quote an instance4 ,the style of the late ,charles ,keene is imitated in more than one journal at the present time1 the artists catching his method of line more easily than the higher qualities of his art1 his chiaroscuro1 his sense of values and atmospheric effect4 ,i say nothing of his pictorial sense and humour1 for they are beyond imitation4 ,it is the husk only we have presented to us4 ,as a matter of education and outlook for the younger generation of illustrators1 this imitation of other men's lines deserves our special consideration4 ,nothing is easier in line work than to copy from the daily press4 ,nothing is more prejudicial to good art1 or more fatal to progress4 ,and yet it is the habit of some instructors to hold up the methods 7and the tricks7 of one draughtsman to the admiration of students4 ,i read in an art periodical the other day1 a suggestion for the better understanding of the way to draw topical illustrations in pen and ink1 viz43 that examples of the work of ,daniel ,vierge1 ,rico1 ,abbey1 ,raven ,hill1 and other noted pen draughtsmen1 should be set as an exercise to students2 of course with explanation by a lecturer or teacher4 ,but this is a dangerous road for the average student to travel4 ,of all branches of art none leads so quickly to mannerism as line work1 and a particular manner when thus acquired is difficult to shake off4 ,illustration3 ,,the ,,rt4 ,,hon4 ,,john ,,morley1 ,m4,p4 7,,edwin ,,ward47 ,think of the consequences--,vierge with his garish lights1 his trick of black spots1 his mechanical shadows and neglect of chiaroscuro--all redeemed and tolerated in a genius for the dash and spirit and beauty of his lines--lines1 be it observed1 that reproduce with difficulty on relief blocks--imitated by countless students2 ,mr4 ,e4 ,a4 ,abbey1 the refined1 and delicate ,american draughtsman1 imitated for his method--the style and chic of it being his own1 and inimitable4 ,think of the crowd coming on--imitators of the imitators of ,rico--imitators of the imitators of ,charles ,keene6 ,it may be said generally1 that in order to obtain work as an illustrator--the practical point--there must be originality of thought and design4 ,there must be originality1 as well as care and thought bestowed on every drawing for the ,press4 ,the drawing of portraits in line from photographs gives employment to some illustrators1 as line blocks will print in newspapers much better than photographs4 ,but for newspaper printing they must be done with something of the precision of this portrait1 in which the whites are cut deep and where there are few broken lines4 ,it is the exception to get good printing in ,england1 under present conditions of haste and cheapening of production1 and therefore the best drawings for rapid reproduction are those that require the least touching on the part of the engraver1 as a touched-up process block is troublesome to the printer2 but it is difficult to impress this on the artistic mind4 ,illustration3 ,no4 ,,xiii4 ,nothing venture1 nothing have1 by ,e4 ,p4 ,,sanguinetti4 ,pen-and-ink drawing from the picture by ,e4 ,p4 ,sanguinetti1 exhibited at the ,nineteenth ,century ,art ,society's ,gallery1 #ahhh4 ,the large block is suitable for printing on common paper1 and by fast machines4 ,the little block is best adapted for bookwork1 and is interesting as showing the quality obtained by reduction4 ,it is an excellent example of drawing for process1 showing much ingenuity of line4 ,the tone and shadows on the ground equal the best fac-simile engraving4 7,size of original drawing1 from which both blocks were made1 #ae #aj in47 ,illustration3 ,,on ,,the ,,terrace4 7,e4 ,a4 ,,rowe47 ,from his water-colour in the ,new ,gallery1 #ahid4 ,size of ,pen ,drawing1 #e-c_/d x #g-a_/b in4 ,some people cannot draw firm clean lines at all1 and should not attempt them4 ,few allow sufficiently for the result of reduction1 and the necessary thickening of some lines4 ,the results are often a matter of touch and temperament4 ,some artists are naturally unfitted for line work2 the rules which would apply to one are almost useless to another4 ,again1 there is great inequality in the making of these cheap zinc blocks1 however well the drawings may be made2 they require more care and experience in developing than is generally supposed4 ,as line drawing is the basis of the best drawing for the press1 ,i have interspersed through these pages examples and achievements in this direction2 examples which in nearly every case are the result of knowledge and consideration of the requirements of process1 as an antidote to the sketchy1 careless methods so much in vogue4 ,here we may see--as has probably never been seen before in one volume--what harmonies and discords may be played on this instrument with one string4 ,one string--no messing about1 if the phrase may be excused--pure black lines on ,bristol board 7or paper of the same surface71 photographed on to a zinc plate1 the white parts etched away and the drawing made to stand in relief1 ready to print with the letterpress of a book2 every line and touch coming out a black one1 or rejected altogether by the process4 ,illustration3 ,no4 ,,xiv4 ,for the ,squire1 by ,,sir ,,john ,,millais1 ,,bart41 ,r4 ,a4 ,this is an example of drawing for process for rapid printing4 ,the accents of the picture are expressed firmly and in the fewest lines1 to give the effect of the picture in the simplest way4 ,sir ,john ,millais' picture1 which was exhibited in the ,grosvenor ,gallery in #ahhc1 was engraved in mezzotint1 and published by ,messrs4 ,thos4 ,agnew ,sons4 7,size of pen-and-ink drawing1 #g-a_/d #e-a_/b in47 ,it is suitable for much greater reduction4 ,drawings thus made1 upon ,bristol board or paper of similar surface1 with lamp black1 ,indian ink1 or any of the numerous inks now in use1 which dry with a dull1 not shiny1 surface1 will always reproduce well4 ,the pen should be of medium point1 or a brush may be used as a pen4 ,the lines should be clear and sharp1 and are capable of much variation in style and treatment1 as we see in these pages4 ,i purposely do not dwell here upon some special surfaces and papers by which different tones and effects may be produced by the line processes2 there is too much tendency already with the artist to be interested in the mechanical side4 ,i have not recommended the use of clay board1 for instance1 for the line draughtsman1 although it is much used for giving a crisp line to process work1 and has a useful surface for scraping out lights1 c4 ,the results are nearly always mechanical looking4#aj ,on the next page are two simple1 straightforward drawings1 which1 it will be observed1 are well suited to the method of reproduction for the type press4 ,the first is by ,mr4 ,h4 ,s4 ,marks1 ,r4 ,a4 7which ,i take from the pages of ,academy ,notes71 skilfully drawn upon ,bristol board1 about #g #e in4 ,here every line tells1 and none are superfluous2 the figure of the monk1 the texture of his dress1 the old stone doorway1 the creeper growing on the wall1 and the basket of provisions1 all form a picture1 the lines of which harmonise well with the type of a book4 ,illustration3 ,,the ,,stopped ,,key4 7,h4 ,s4 ,,marks1 ,r4 ,a47 ,in this deliberate1 careful drawing1 in which white paper plays by far the principal part1 the background and lighting of the picture are considered1 also the general balance of a decorative page4#aa ,illustration3 ,,nymph ,,and ,,cupid4 ,,small ,,bas-,,relief4 7,h4 ,,holiday47 7,from ,academy ,notes47 ,,footnotes3 #g ,no one artist can teach drawing in line without a tendency to mannerism1 especially in art classes4 #h ,one of the most accomplished of ,english painters told me the other day that when he first drew for illustration1 the wood engraver dictated the angle and style of cross-hatching1 c41 so as to fit the engraver's tools4 #i ,special interest attaches to the examples in this book from the fact that they have nearly all been drawn on different kinds of paper1 and with different materials2 and yet nearly all1 as will be seen1 have come out successfully1 and give the spirit of the original4 #aj ,for description of the various grained papers1 c41 see page #aac1 also ,appendix4 #aa ,the young pen-and-ink artist of to-day generally avoids backgrounds1 or renders them by a series of unmeaning scratches2 he does not consider enough the true lighting of a picture1 as we shall see further on4 ,the tendency of much modern black-and-white teaching is to ignore backgrounds4 ,,chapter ,,iv4 ,,photo-,,zinc ,,process4#ab ,in order to turn any of these drawings into blocks for the type press1 the first process is to have it photographed to the size required1 and to transfer a print of it on to a sensitized zinc plate4 ,this print1 or photographic image of the drawing lying upon the zinc plate1 is of greasy substance 7bichromate of potash and gelatine71 and is afterwards inked up with a roller2 the plate is then immersed in a bath of nitric acid and ether1 which cuts away the parts which were left white upon the paper1 and leaves the lines of the drawing in relief4 ,this biting in1 as it is called1 requires considerable experience and attention1 according to the nature of the drawing4 ,thus1 the lines are turned into metal in a few hours1 and the plate when mounted on wood to the height of type-letters1 is ready to be printed from1 if necessary1 at the rate of several thousands an hour4 ,illustration3 ,,portrait4 7,t4 ,,blake ,,wirgman47 7,from ,academy ,notes47 ,this portrait was exhibited in the ,royal ,academy in #ahhj4 ,i reproduce ,mr4 ,wirgman's sketch for the sake of his powerful treatment of line4 ,illustration3 ,no4 ,,xv4 ,forget-,me-,not1 by ,,henry ,,ryland4 7,from the ,english ,illustrated ,magazine47 ,an unusually fine example of reproduction in line1 by zinc process1 from a large pen-and-ink drawing4 ,it serves to show how clearly writing can be reproduced if done by a trained hand4 ,students should notice the variety of colour and delicacy of line1 also the brightness and evenness of the process block throughout4 ,this illustration suggests possibilities in producing decorative pages in modern books without the aid of printers' type1 which is worth consideration in art schools4 ,it requires1 of course1 knowledge of the figure and of design1 and a trained hand for process4 ,one obvious preparation for such work1 is an examination of decorative pages in the ,manuscript ,department of the ,british ,museum4 7,see ,appendix47 ,it would be difficult1 ,i think1 to show more clearly the scope and variety of line work by process than in the contrast between this and the two preceding illustrations4 ,each artist is an expert in black and white in his own way4 ,illustration3 ,,baby',s ,,own4 7,g4 ,,hillyard ,,swinstead47 7,from ,academy ,notes1 #ahij47 ,a wonderful and startling invention is here1 worthy of a land of enchantment1 which1 without labour1 with little more than a wave of the hand1 transfixes the artist's touch1 and turns it into concrete2 by which the most delicate and hasty strokes of the pen are not merely recorded in fac-simile for the eye to decipher1 but are brought out in sharp relief1 as bold and strong as if hewn out of a rock6 ,here is an argument for doing the best and truest work we can1 a process that renders indestructible--so indestructible that nothing short of cremation would get rid of it--every line that we put upon paper2 an argument for learning for purposes of illustration the touch and method best adapted for reproduction by the press4#ac ,illustration3 ,a ,,silent ,,pool4 7,,ed4 ,w4 ,,waite47 7,from ,academy ,notes1 #ahia47 ,,gelatine ,,process4 ,by this process a more delicate and sensitive method has been used to obtain a relief block4 ,the drawing is photographed to the required size 7as before71 and the negative laid upon a glass plate 7previously coated with a mixture of gelatine and bichromate of potash74 ,the part of this thin1 sensitive film not exposed to the light1 is absorbent1 and when immersed in water swells up4 ,the part exposed to the light 7i4e41 the lines of the drawing7 remains near the surface of the glass4 ,thus we have a sunk mould from which a metal cast can be taken1 leaving the lines in relief as in the zinc process4 ,in skilful hands this process admits of more delicate gradations1 and pale1 uncertain lines can be reproduced with tolerable fidelity4 ,the blocks take longer to make1 and are double the price of the photo-zinc process first described4 ,there is no process yet invented which gives better results from a pen-and-ink drawing for the type-press4 ,these blocks when completed have a copper surface4 ,the reproductions of pencil1 chalk1 or charcoal drawings by the zinc1 or biting-in processes are nearly always failures1 as we may see in some of the best artistic books and magazines to-day4 ,illustration3 ,no4 ,,xvi4 ,the ,miller's ,daughter1 by ,e4 ,k4 ,,johnson4 ,another very interesting example of ,mr4 ,e4 ,k4 ,johnson's drawing in pen and ink4 ,nearly every line has the value intended by the artist4 ,the drawing has been largely reduced1 and reproduced by the gelatine relief process4 ,illustration3 ,,the ,,end ,,of ,,the ,,chapter4 7,,from ,,the ,,painting ,,by ,w4 ,,rainey47 ,royal ,academy1 #ahhf4 7,reproduced by the old ,dawson process47 ,illustration3 ,,in ,,the ,,pas ,,de ,,calais4 7,,jas4 ,,prinsep ,,beadle47#ad ,,grained ,,papers4 ,for those who cannot draw easily with the pen1 there are several kinds of grained papers which render drawings suitable for reproduction4 ,the first is a paper with black lines imprinted upon it on a material suitable for scraping out to get lights1 and strengthening with pen or pencil to get solid blacks4 ,on some of these papers black lines are imprinted horizontally1 some vertically1 some diagonally1 some in dots1 and some with lines of several kinds1 one under the other1 so that the artist can get the tint required by scraping out4 ,drawings thus made can be reproduced in relief like line drawings1 taking care not to reduce a fine black grain too much or it will become spotty in reproduction4 ,illustration3 ,,golden ,,days4 7,f4 ,,stuart ,,richardson47 7,black-grained paper47 ,this drawing and the one opposite by ,mr4 ,hume ,nisbet show the skilful use of paper with vertical and horizontal black lines2 also1 in the latter drawing1 the different qualities of strength in the sky1 and the method of working over the grained paper in pen and ink4 ,illustration3 ,no4 ,,xvii4 ,,twilight4 7,,specimen ,,of ,,black-,,grained ,,paper47 7,from ,lessons in ,art1 by ,hume ,nisbet1 published by ,chatto ,windus47 ,illustration3 ,no4 ,,xviii4 ,le ,dent du ,gant1 by ,e4 ,t4 ,,compton4 ,another skilful use of the black-grained paper to represent snow1 glacier1 and drifting clouds4 ,the original tone of the paper may be seen in the sky and foreground4 ,the effect is obtained by scraping out the lighter parts on the paper and strengthening the dark with pen and pencil4 ,it is interesting to compare the two blocks made from the same drawing4 7,size of drawing #g-c_/d #d in47 ,illustration3 ,no4 ,,xix4 ,landscape1 by ,a4 ,m4 ,,lindstrom4 ,example of bold effect by scraping out on the black-lined paper1 and free use of autographic chalk4 ,this drawing shows1 ,i think1 the artistic limitations of this process in the hands of an experienced draughtsman4 ,the original drawing by ,mr4 ,lindstrom 7from his painting in the ,royal ,academy7 was the same size as the reproduction4 ,other papers largely used for illustration in the type press have a white grain1 a good specimen of which is on page #abc2 and there are variations of these white-grained papers1 of which what is known in ,france as allong paper is one of the best for rough sketches in books and newspapers4 ,the question may arise in many minds1 are these contrivances with their mechanical lines for producing effect1 worthy of the time and attention which has been bestowed upon them8 ,i think it is very doubtful if much work ought to be produced by means of the black-grained papers2 certainly1 in the hands of the unskilled1 the results would prove disastrous4 ,a painter may use them for sketches1 especially for landscape4 ,mr4 ,compton 7as on p4 #aaf7 can express very rapidly and effectively1 by scraping out the lights and strengthening the darks1 a snowdrift or the surface of a glacier4 ,in the drawing on page #abc1 ,mr4 ,c4 ,j4 ,watson has shown us how the grained paper can be played with1 in artistic hands1 to give the effect of a picture4 ,the difference1 artistically speaking1 between sketches made on black-grained and white-grained papers seems to me much in favour of the latter4 ,illustration3 ,no4 ,,xx4 ,volendam1 by ,c4 ,j4 ,,watson4 ,example of white-lined paper1 treated very skilfully and effectively--only the painter of the picture could have given so much breadth and truth of effect4 ,this white paper has a strong vertical grain which when drawn upon with autographic chalk has the same appearance as black-lined paper2 and is often taken for it4 7,size of drawing #f #d-a_/b in47 ,but at the best1 blocks made from drawings on these papers are apt to be unequal1 and do not print with the ease and certainty of pure line work2 they require good paper and careful printing1 which is not always to be obtained4 ,the artist who draws for the processes in this country must not expect 7excepting in very exceptional cases7 to have his work reproduced and printed as in ,america1 or even as well as in this book4 ,illustration3 ,,and ,,wee ,,peerie ,,winkie ,,payed ,,for ,a'4 7,,from ,,the ,,painting ,,by ,,hugh ,,cameron47 ,example of a good chalk drawing too largely reduced4 ,illustration3 ,no4 ,,xxi4 ,an ,arrest1 by ,,melton ,,prior4 ,this is a remarkable example of the reproduction of a pencil drawing4 ,it is seldom that the soft grey effect of a pencil drawing can be obtained on a half-tone relief block1 or the lights so successfully preserved4 ,this is only a portion of a picture by ,mr4 ,melton ,prior1 the well-known special artist1 for which ,i am indebted to the proprietors of ,sketch4 ,the reproduction is by ,carl ,hentschel4 ,the reproduction on the previous page owes its success not only to good process1 paper1 and printing1 but also to the firm1 decisive touch of an experienced illustrator like ,mr4 ,melton ,prior4 ,a pencil drawing in less skilful hands is apt to go to pieces on the press4 ,mr4 ,c4 ,g4 ,harper1 in his excellent book on ,english ,pen ,artists1 has treated of other ways in which drawings on prepared papers may be manipulated for the type press2 but not always with success4 ,in that interesting publication1 ,the ,studio1 there have appeared during the past year many valuable papers on this subject1 but in which the mechanism of illustration is perhaps too much insisted on4 ,some of the examples of mixed drawings1 and of chalk-and-pencil reproductions1 might well deter any artist from adopting such aids to illustration4 ,the fact is1 that the use of grained papers is1 at the best1 a makeshift and a degradation of the art of illustration1 if judged by the old standards4 ,it will be a bad day for the art of ,england when these mechanical appliances are put into the hands of young students in art schools4 ,for the purposes of ordinary illustrations we should keep to the simpler method of line4 ,all these contrivances require great care in printing1 and the blocks have often to be worked up by an engraver4 ,the material of the process blocks is unsuited to the purpose4 ,in a handbook to students of illustration this requires repeating on nearly every page4 ,as a contrast to the foregoing1 let us look at a sketch in pure line by the landscape painter1 ,mr4 ,m4 ,r4 ,corbet1 who1 with little more than a scribble of the pen1 can express the feeling of sunrise and the still air amongst the trees4 ,illustration3 ,,sunrise ,,in ,,the ,,severn ,,valley4 7,,matthew ,r4 ,,corbet47 ,,mechanical ,,dots4 ,amongst the modern inventions for helping the hurried or feeble illustrator1 is the system of laying on mechanical dots to give shadow and colour to a pure line drawing1 by process4 ,it is a practice always to be regretted2 whether applied to a necessarily hasty newspaper sketch1 or to one of ,daniel ,vierge's elaborately printed illustrations in the ,pablo de ,segovia4 ,one cannot condemn too strongly this system1 so freely used in continental illustrated sheets1 but which1 in the most skilful hands1 seems a degradation of the art of illustration4 ,these dots and lines1 used for shadow1 or tone1 are laid upon the plate by the maker of the block1 the artist indicating1 by a blue pencil mark1 the parts of a drawing to be so manipulated2 and as the illustrator has not seen the effect on his own line drawing1 the results are often a surprise to everyone concerned4 ,i wish these ingenious contrivances were more worthy of an artist's attention4 ,on the opposite page is an example taken from an ,english magazine1 by which it may be seen that all daylight has been taken ruthlessly from the principal figure1 and that it is no longer in tone with the rest of the picture1 as an open air sketch4 ,the system is tempting to the hurried illustrator2 he has only to draw in line 7or outline1 which is worse7 and then mark where the tint is to appear1 and the dots are laid on by the maker of the blocks4 ,illustration3 ,,the ,,adjutant',s ,,love ,,story4 7,h4 ,r4 ,,millar47 7,example of mechanical grain47 ,no4 ,,xxii4 ,in the illustration on the last page 7,i have chosen an example of fine-grain dots2 those used in newspapers and common prints are much more unsightly1 as everyone knows71 it is obvious that the artist's sketch is injured by this treatment1 that1 in fact1 the result is not artistic at all4 ,nothing but high pressure or incompetence on the part of the illustrator can excuse this mechanical addition to an incomplete drawing2 and it must be remembered that these inartistic results are not the fault of the process1 or of the process man4 ,but the system is growing in every direction1 to save time and trouble1 and is lowering the standard of topical illustrations4 ,and it is this system 7inter alia7 which is taught in technical schools1 where the knowledge of process is taking the place of wood engraving4 ,the question is again uppermost in the mind1 are such mechanical appliances 7dodges1 ,i venture to call them7 worthy the serious attention of artists2 and can any good arise by imparting such knowledge to youthful illustrators in technical schools8 ,wood engraving was a craft to be learned1 with a career for the apprentice4 ,there is no similar career for a lad by learning the processes2 and nothing but disappointment before him if he learns the mechanism before he is an educated and qualified artist4 ,mention should be made here 7although ,i do not wish to dwell upon it7 of drawing in line on prepared transfer paper with autographic ink1 which is transferred to zinc without the aid of photography1 a process very useful for rapid and common work2 but it is seldom used for good book illustration1 as it is irksome to the artist and not capable of very good results2 moreover1 the drawing has often to be minute1 as the reproduction will be the same size as the original4 ,it is one of the processes which ,i think the student of art had better not know much about4#ae ,that it is possible1 by the common processes1 to obtain strong effects almost equal to engraving1 may be seen in some process illustrations by ,mr4 ,lancelot ,speed1 in which many technical experiments have been made1 including the free use of white lining4 ,mr4 ,speed is very daring in his experiments1 and students may well puzzle over the means by which he obtains his effects by the line processes4 ,illustration ,the illustration opposite from ,andrew ,lang's ,blue ,poetry ,book1 shows a very ingenious treatment of the black-lined papers4 ,technically it is one of the best examples ,i know of1--the result of much study and experiment4 ,illustration3 ,from ,andrew ,lang's ,blue ,poetry ,book4 7,,lancelot ,,speed47 ,no4 ,,xxiii4 ,illustration3 ,no4 ,,xxiv4 ,the ,armada1 by ,,lancelot ,,speed4 ,this extraordinary example of line drawing for process was taken from ,andrew ,lang's ,blue ,poetry ,book1 published by ,messrs4 ,longmans4 ,in this illustration no wash has been used1 nor has there been any screening or engraving on the block4 ,the methods of lining are1 of course1 to a great extent the artist's own invention4 ,this illustration and the two preceding lead to the conclusion that there is yet much to learn in drawing for process by those who will study it4 ,the achievements of the makers of the blocks1 with difficult drawings to reproduce1 is quite another matter4 ,here all is easy for the reproducer1 the common zinc process only being employed1 and the required effects obtained without much worrying of the printer1 or of the maker of the blocks4 99 99 99 99 99 ,thus far all the illustrations in this book have been produced by the common line process4 ,illustration3 ,,seine ,,boats4 7,,from ,,the ,,painting ,,by ,,louis ,,grier47 ,,half-,,tone ,,process4 ,the next process to consider is the method of reproducing wash drawings and photographs on blocks suitable for printing at the type press1 commonly known as the ,meisenbach or half-tone process2 a most ingenious and valuable invention1 which1 in clever hands1 is capable of artistic results1 but which in common use has cast a gloom over illustrations in books and newspapers4 ,first1 as to the method of making the blocks4 ,as there are no lines in a wash drawing or in a photograph from nature1 it is necessary to obtain some kind of grain1 or interstices of white1 on the zinc plate1 as in a mezzotint2 so between the drawing or photograph to be reproduced and the camera1 glass screens1 covered with lines or dots1 are interposed1 varying in strength according to the light and shade required2 thus turning the image of the wash drawing practically into line1 with sufficient interstices of white for printing purposes4 ,illustration3 ,,there ,,is ,,the ,,priory6 ,thus1 all drawings in wash1 chalk1 pencil1 etc41 that will not reproduce by the direct line processes1 already referred to1 are treated for printing at the type press2 and thus the uniform1 monotonous dulness1 with which we are all familiar1 pervades the page4 ,the conditions of drawing for this process have to be carefully studied1 to prevent the meaningless smears and blotches 7the result generally of making too hasty sketches in wash7 which disfigure nearly every magazine and newspaper we take up4 ,there is no necessity for this degradation of illustration4 ,the artist who draws in wash with body colour1 or paints in oils in monochrome1 for this process1 soon learns that his high lights will be lost and his strongest effects neutralised1 under this effect of gauze2 and so for pictorial purposes he has to force his effect and exaggerate lights and shades2 avoiding too delicate gradations1 and in his different tones keeping1 so to speak1 to one octave instead of two4 ,thus1 also for this process1 to obtain brightness and cheap effect1 the illustrator of to-day often avoids backgrounds altogether4 ,in spite of the uncertainty of this system of reproduction1 it has great attractions for the skilful or the hurried illustrator4 ,illustration3 ,no4 ,,xxv4 ,helga rode without a saddle as if she had grown to her horse--at full speed4 7,hans ,andersen's ,fairy ,tales47 ,illustration3 ,no4 ,,xxvi4 ,the ,storks1 by ,j4 ,r4 ,,weguelin4 ,and high through the air came the first stork and the second stork2 a pretty child sat on the back of each4 ,example of half-tone process applied to a slight wash drawing4 ,the illustration is much relieved by vignetting and leaving out3 almost the only chance for effect that the artist has by the screened process4 ,it suggests1 as so many of the illustrations in this book do1 not the limits but the scope and possibilities of process work for books4 ,this and the preceding illustration by ,mr4 ,weguelin are taken from ,hans ,andersen's ,fairy ,tales 7,lawrence ,bullen1 #ahic74 ,that this half-tone process is susceptible of a variety of effects and results1 good and bad1 every reader must be aware4 ,the illustrations in this book1 from pages #ach to #afe1 are all practically by the same process of screening1 a slight difference only in the grain being discernible4 ,the wash drawing on page #aci suffers by the coarse grain on it1 but the values1 it will be seen1 are fairly well preserved4 ,the lights which are out of tone appear to have been taken out on the plate by the maker of the block1 a dangerous proceeding with figures on a small scale4 ,mr4 ,louis ,grier's clever sketch of his picture in wash1 at the head of this chapter1 gives the effect well4 ,mr4 ,weguelin's illustrations to ,hans ,andersen's ,fairy ,tales have been1 ,i understand1 a great success1 the public caring more for the spirit of poetry that breathes through them than for more finished drawings4 ,this is delightful1 and as it should be1 although1 technically1 the artist has not considered his process enough1 and from the educational point of view it has its dangers4 ,the process has been blamed roundly1 in one or two criticisms of ,mr4 ,weguelin's illustrations1 whereas the process used is the same as on pages #adi and #aeg4 ,however1 the effect on a wash drawing is not satisfactory in the best hands4 ,so uncertain and gloomy are the results that several well-known illustrators decline to use it as a substitute for wood engraving4 ,we shall have to improve considerably before wood engraving is abandoned4 ,we are improving every day1 and by this half-tone process numberless wash drawings and photographs from nature are now presented to the public in our daily prints4 ,great advances have been made lately in the screening of pencil drawings1 and in taking out the lights of a sketch 7as pointed out on page #abg71 and results have been obtained by careful draughtsmen during the last six months which a year ago would have been considered impossible4 ,these results have been obtained principally by good printing and paper--allowing of a fine grain on the block--but where the illustration has to be prepared for printing1 say #e1jjj an hour1 off rotary machines1 a coarser grain has to be used1 producing the ,berlin wool pattern effect on the page1 with which we are all familiar in newspapers4 ,let us now look at two examples of wash drawing by process1 lent by the proprietors of ,black and ,white4 ,illustration3 ,no4 ,,xxvii4 ,this is a good average example of what to expect by the half-tone process from a wash drawing4 ,that the result is tame and monotonous is no fault of the artist1 whose work could have been more brightly rendered by wood engraving4 ,that it is better to have this process than bad wood engraving is the opinion of nearly all illustrators of to-day4 ,the artist sees his own work1 at any rate1 if through a veil of fog and gloom which is meant for sunshine6 ,but the time is coming when the public will hardly rest content with such results as these4 ,illustration3 ,no4 ,,xxviii4 ,illustration from ,black and ,white1 by ,g4 ,g4 ,,manton4 ,this is a good example of wash drawing for process2 that is to say1 a good example from the process man's point of view4 ,here the artist has used his utmost endeavours to meet the process half-way2 he has been careful to use broad1 clear1 firm washes1 and has done them with certainty of hand1 the result of experience4 ,if1 in the endeavour to get strength1 and the best results out of a few tones1 the work lacks some artistic qualities1 it is almost a necessity4 ,mr4 ,manton has a peculiar method of lining1 or stippling1 over his wash work1 which lends itself admirably for reproduction2 but the practice can hardly be recommended to the attention of students4 ,it is as difficult to achieve artistic results by these means1 as in the combination of line and chalk in one drawing1 advocated by some experts4 ,at the same time1 ,mr4 ,manton's indication of surfaces and textures by process are both interesting and valuable4 ,illustration3 ,a ,,sunny ,,land4 7,,from ,,the ,,painting ,,by ,,george ,,wetherbee47 7,new ,gallery1 #ahia47 ,illustration3 ,,decorative ,,design ,,by ,,randolph ,,caldecott4 7,the above design1 from the ,memoir of ,r4 ,caldecott1 is lent by ,messrs4 ,sampson ,low ,co47 ,one of the many uses which artists may make of the half-tone process is suggested by the reproduction of one of ,mr4 ,caldecott's decorative designs1 drawn freely with a brush full of white1 on brown paper on a large scale 7sometimes two or even three feet long71 and reduced as above2 the reduction refining and improving the design4 ,this is a most legitimate and practical use of process for illustrating books1 architectural and others1 which in artistic hands might well be further developed4 ,of the illustrators who use this process in a more free-and-easy way we will now take an example1 cut out of the pages of ,sketch 7see overleaf1 p4 #aee74 ,here truths of light and shade are disregarded1 the figure stands out in unnatural darkness against white paper1 and flat mechanical shadows are cast upon nothing4 ,only sheer ability on the part of a few modern illustrators has saved these coarse ungainly sketches from universal condemnation4 ,but the splashes1 and spots1 and stains1 which are taking the place of more serious work in illustration1 have become a vogue in #ahid4 ,the sketch is made in two or three hours1 instead of a week2 the process is also much cheaper to the publisher than wood engraving1 and the public seems satisfied with a sketch where formerly a finished illustration was required1 if the subject be treated dramatically and in a lively manner4 ,if the sketch comes out an unsightly smear on the page1 it at least answers the purpose of topical illustration1 and apparently suits the times4 ,it is little short of a revolution in illustration1 of which we do not yet see the end4#af ,the bookstalls are laden with the daring achievements of ,phil ,may1 ,raven ,hill1 ,dudley ,hardy1 and others1 but it is not the object of this book to exhibit the works of genius1 either for emulation or imitation4 ,it is rather to suggest to the average student what he may legitimately attempt1 and to show him the possibilities of the process block in different hands4 ,it may be said1 without disparagement of the numerous clever and experienced illustrators of the day1 that they are only adapting themselves to the circumstances of the time4 ,there is a theory--the truth of which ,i do not question--that the reproductions of rapid sketches from the living model by the half-tone process have more vitality and freedom1 more feeling and artistic qualities than can be obtained by any other means4 ,but the young illustrator should hesitate before adapting these methods1 and should never have anything reproduced for publication which was drawn to time in art classes4 ,one thing cannot be repeated too often in this connection3 that the hastily produced blotches called illustrations1 which disfigure the pages of so many books and magazines1 are generally the result of want of care on the part of the artist rather than of the maker of the blocks4 ,illustration3 ,no4 ,,xxix4 ,this is part of a page illustration lent by the proprietors of ,sketch4 ,it does not do justice to the talent 7or the taste1 we will hope71 of the illustrator1 and is only inserted here to record the kind of work which is popular in #ahid4 7,perhaps in a second edition we may have other exploits of genius to record47 ,it should be noted that this and the illustration on p4 #adi are both reproduced by the same hal-ftone process1 the difference of result being altogether in the handling of the brush4 ,this sketch would have been intolerable in less artistic hands4 ,artists will doubtless find more feeling and expression in the broad washes and splashes before us1 than in the most careful stippling of ,mr4 ,manton4 ,students of wash drawing for process may take a middle course4 ,a word here on the influence of ,,process-,,block ,,makers on the young illustrator4 ,the process man1 the teacher and inciter to achievements by this or that process1 is not usually an artist in the true sense of the word4 ,he knows better than anyone else what lines he can reproduce1 and especially what kind of drawing is best adapted for his own process4 ,he will probably tell the young draughtsman what materials to use1 what amount of reduction his drawings will bear1 and other things of a purely technical not to say businesslike character4 ,let me not be understood to disparage the work of photo-engravers and others engaged on these processes2 on the contrary1 the amount of patience1 industry1 activity1 and anxious care bestowed upon the reproduction of drawings and paintings is astonishing1 and deserves our gratitude4#ag ,this work is a new industry of an important kind1 in which art and craft are bound up together4 ,the day has past when process work is to be looked down upon as only fit for the cheapest1 most inferior1 and inartistic results4 ,illustration3 ,,the ,,brook4 7,,from ,a ,,painting ,,by ,,arnold ,,helck47 ,,photographic ,,illustrations4 ,one result of hasty work in making drawings1 and the uncertainty of reproduction1 promises to be a very serious one to the illustrator1 as far as we can see ahead1 viz43 the gradual substitution of photographs from life for other forms of illustration4 ,the ,meisenbach reproduction of a photograph from life1 say a full length figure of an actress in some elaborate costume1 seems to answer the purpose of the editor of a newspaper to fill a page1 where formerly artists and engravers would have been employed4 ,one reason for this is that the details of the dress are so well rendered by photography on the block as to answer the purpose of a fashion plate1 an important matter in some weekly newspapers4 ,the result is generally unsatisfactory from an artist's point of view1 but the picture is often most skilfully composed and the values wonderfully rendered1 direct from the original4 ,in the case of the reproduction of photographs1 which we are now considering1 much may be done by working up a platinotype print before giving it out to be made into a block4 ,much depends here upon the artistic knowledge of editors and publishers1 who have it in their power to have produced good or bad illustrations from the same original4 ,the makers of the blocks being confined to time and price1 are practically powerless1 and seldom have an opportunity of obtaining the best results4 ,it should be mentioned that blocks made from wash drawings1 being shallower than those made from line drawings1 suffer more from bad printing and paper4 ,a good silver print 7whether from a photograph from life or from a picture71 full of delicate gradations and strong effects1 appears on the plate through the film of gauze1 dull1 flat1 and comparatively uninteresting2 but the expression of the original is given with more fidelity than could be done by any ordinary wood engraving4 ,this is the best that can be said for it1 it is a dull1 mechanical process1 requiring help from the maker of the blocks2 and so a system of touching on the negative 7before making the block7 to bring out the lights and accents of the picture is the common practice4 ,this is a hazardous business at the best1 especially when dealing with the copy of a painting4 ,i mention it to show where handwork in the half-tone process first comes in4 ,the block1 when made1 is also often touched up by an engraver in places1 especially where spotty or too dark2 and on this work many who were formerly wood-engravers now find employment4 ,there is no doubt that the makers of process blocks are the best instructors as to the results to be obtained by certain lines and combinations of lines2 but in the majority of cases they will tell the artist too much1 and lead him to take too much interest in the mechanical side of the business4 ,the illustrator's best protection against this tendency1 his whole armour and coat of mail1 is to be an artist first and an illustrator afterwards4 ,this is the sum of the matter4 ,perhaps some of the examples in this book may help us1 and lead to a more thorough testing of results by capable men4 ,,sketch4 ,it will be interesting here to consider the material of which one number of an illustrated paper 7,sketch7 is made up1 and how far the artist and wood engraver have part in it4 ,from an economic point of view it will be instructive4 ,i take this newspaper as an example1 because it is a typical and quite up-to-date publication1 vieing1 in circulation and importance1 with the ,illustrated ,london ,news1 both published by the same proprietors4 ,in one number there are upwards of #cj pages1 #aj being advertisements4 ,there are in all #aea illustrations1 of which #fc appear in the text part1 and #hh in the advertisement pages4 ,out of the text illustrations1 #bd only are from original drawings or sketches4 ,next are #bf photographs from life 7several being full pages71 and #ac reproductions from engravings1 etc41 reproduced by mechanical processes--in all #fc4 ,some of the pages reproduced from photographs are undeniably good1 and interesting to the public1 as is evidenced by the popularity of this paper alone4 ,in the advertisement portion are #hh illustrations 7including many small ones71 #he of which have been engraved on wood2 a number of them are electrotypes from old blocks1 but there are many new ones every week4 ,the reason for using wood engraving largely for advertisements is1 that wood blocks print more easily than process1 when mixed with the type1 and print better 7being cut deeper on the block7 where inferior paper and ink are employed4 ,but this class of wood engraving may be summed up in the words of one of the craft to me lately3--,it is not worth #b a week to anybody4 ,illustration3 ,no4 ,,xxx4 ,,miss ,,kate ,,rorke4 7,,from ,,sketch47 7,photographed from life by ,h4 ,s4 ,mendelssohn4 ,reproduced by half-tone process7 ,thus it will be seen that in the text part of this newspaper two-thirds of the illustrations are produced without the aid of artist or wood engraver6 ,to turn to one of the latest instances where the photographer is the illustrator4 ,a photographer1 ,mr4 ,burrows1 of ,camborne1 goes down a lead mine in ,cornwall with his apparatus1 and takes a series of views of the workings1 which could probably have been done by no other means4 ,under most difficult conditions he sets his camera1 and by the aid of the magnesium flash-light1 gives us groups of figures at work amidst gloomy and weird surroundings4 ,the results are exceptionally valuable as illustrations in the true meaning of the word1 on account of the clear and accurate definition of details4 ,the remarkable part1 artistically1 is the good colour and grouping of the figures4#ah ,another instance of the use of photography in illustration4 ,mr4 ,villiers1 the special artist of ,black and ,white1 made a startling statement lately4 ,he said that out of some #aej subjects which he took at the ,chicago ,exhibition1 not more than half-a-dozen were drawn by him2 all the rest being snap-shot photographs4 ,some were very good1 could hardly be better1 the result of many hours' waiting for the favourable grouping of figures4 ,that he would re-draw some of them with his clever pencil for a newspaper is possible1 but observe the part photography plays in the matter4 ,in ,america novels have been thus illustrated both in figure and landscape2 the weak point being the backgrounds to the figure subjects4 ,i draw attention to this movement because the neglect of composition1 of appropriate backgrounds1 and of the true lighting of the figures by so many young artists1 is throwing illustrations more and more into the hands of the photographer4 ,thus the rapid pen-and-ink artist1 and the sketcher in wash from an artificially lighted model in a crowded art school1 is hastening to his end4 ,illustration3 ,no4 ,,xxxi4 7,a ,photograph from life1 by ,messrs4 ,cameron ,smith4 ,reproduced by half-tone process47 ,the time is coming fast when cheap editions of popular novels will be illustrated--and many in the following way4 ,the artist1 instead of being called upon to draw1 will occupy himself in setting and composing pictures through the aid of models trained for the purpose1 and the ever-ready photographer4 ,the process man and the clever manipulator on the plates1 will do the rest1 producing pictures vignetted1 if desired1 as overleaf4 ,much more the makers of blocks can do--and will do--with the photographs now produced1 for they are earnest1 untiring1 ready to make sacrifices of time and money4 ,the cheap dramatic illustrations1 just referred to1 which artists' models in ,america know so well how to pose for1 may be found suitable from the commercial point of view for novels of the butterfly kind2 but they will seldom be of real artistic interest4 ,and here1 for the present1 we may draw the line between the illustrator and the photographer4 ,but the black and white man will obviously have to do his best in every branch of illustration to hold his own in the future4 ,it may be thought by some artists that these things are hardly worth consideration2 but we have only to watch the illustrations appearing week by week to see whither we are tending4#ai ,the last example of the photographer as illustrator1 which can be given here1 is where a photograph from life engraved on wood is published as a vignette illustration4#bj ,it is worth observing1 because it has been turned into line by the wood engraver1 and serves for printing purposes as a popular illustration4 ,the original might have been more artistically posed1 but it is pretty as a vignette1 and pleases the public4 7,see opposite page47 ,there are hundreds of such subjects now produced by the joint aid of the photographer and the process engraver4 ,it is not the artist and the wood engraver who are really working hand-in-hand in these days in the production of illustrations1 but the photographer and the maker of process blocks4 ,this is significant4 ,happily for us there is much that the photographer cannot do pictorially4 ,but the photographer is1 as ,i said1 marching on and on1 and the line of demarcation between handwork and photographic illustrations becomes less marked every day4 ,the photographer's daughter goes to an art school1 and her influence is shown annually in the exhibitions of the photographic societies4 ,illustration3 ,no4 ,,xxxii4 7,a ,photograph from life1 engraved on wood47 ,this influence and this movement is so strong--and vital to the artist--that it cannot be emphasised too much4 ,the photographer is ever in our midst1 correcting our drawing with facts and details which no human eye can see1 and no one mind can take in at once4 ,on the obligations of artists to photographers a book might be written4 ,the benefits are not1 as a rule1 unacknowledged2 nor are the bad influences of photography always noticed4 ,that is to say1 that before the days of photography1 the artist made himself acquainted with many things necessary to his art1 for which he now depends upon the photographic lens2 in short1 he uses his powers of observation less than he did a few years ago4 ,that the photographer leads him astray sometimes is another thing to remember4 ,the future of the illustrator being uppermost in our thoughts1 let us consider further the influences with which he is surrounded4 ,as to photography1 ,mr4 ,william ,small1 the well-known illustrator 7who always draws for wood engraving71 says3--it will never take good work out of a good artist's hands4 ,he speaks as an artist who has taken to illustration seriously and most successfully1 having devoted the best years of his life to its development4 ,the moral of it is1 that in whatever material or style newspaper illustrations are done1 to hold their own they must be of the best4 ,let them be as slight as you please1 if they be original and good4 ,in line work 7the best and surest for the processes7 photography can only be the servant of the artist1 not the competitor--and in this direction there is much employment to be looked for4 ,at present the influence is very much the other way2 we are casting off--ungratefully it would seem--the experience of the lifetime of the wood engraver1 and are setting in its place an art half developed1 half studied1 full of crudities and discords4 ,the illustrations which succeed in books and newspapers1 succeed for the most part from sheer ability on the part of the artist2 they are full of ability1 but1 as a rule1 are bad examples for students to copy4 ,time is money with these brilliant executants2 they have no time to study the value of a line1 nor the requirements of the processes1 and so a number of drawings are handed to the photo-engravers--which are often quite unfitted for mechanical reproduction--to be produced literally in a few hours4 ,it is an age of vivacity1 daring originality1 and reckless achievement in illustration4 ,take it up1 look at it1 and throw it down1 is the order of the day4 ,there is no reason but an economic one why the work done to look at should not be as good as the artist can afford to make it4 ,the manufacturer of paperhangings or printed cottons will produce only a limited quantity of one design1 no matter how beautiful1 and then go on to another4 ,so much the better for the designer1 who would not keep employment if he did not do his best1 no matter whether his work was to last for a day or for a year4 ,the life of a single number of an illustrated newspaper is a week1 and of an illustrated book about a year4 ,the young illustrators on the ,daily ,graphic--notably ,mr4 ,reginald ,cleaver--obtain the maximum of effect with the minimum of lines4 ,thus ,caldecott worked1 spending hours sometimes studying the art of leaving out4 ,charles ,keene's example may well be followed1 making drawing after drawing1 no matter how trivial the subject1 until he was satisfied that it was right4 ,either right or wrong1 he used to say2 'right enough' will not do for me4 ,illustration3 ,no4 ,,xxxiii4 ,,proud ,,mairie4 7,,lancelot ,,speed47 7,from ,the ,blue ,poetry ,book4 ,london3 ,longmans47 ,pen-and-ink drawing by line process4 ,another influence on modern illustration--for good or bad--is the electric light4 ,it enables the photographic operator to be independent of dark and foggy days1 and to put a search-light upon objects which otherwise could not be utilised4 ,so far good4 ,to the illustrator this aid is often a doubtful advantage4 ,the late ,charles ,keene 7with whom ,i have had many conversations on this subject7 predicted a general deterioration in the quality of illustrations from what he called unnatural and impossible effects1 and he made one or two illustrations in ,punch of figures seen under the then--7#aj or #ae years ago7--novel conditions of electric street lighting1 one of which represented a man who has been dining returning home through a street lighted up by electric lamps1 tucking up his trowsers to cross a black shadow which he takes for a stream4 ,charles ,keene's predictions have come true1 we see the glare of the magnesium light on many a page1 and the unthinking public is dazzled every week in the illustrated sheets with these unnatural and impossible effects4 ,thus it has come about that what was looked upon by ,charles ,keene as garish1 exaggerated1 and untrue in effect1 is accepted to-day by the majority of people as a lively and legitimate method of illustration4 ,,daniel ,,vierge4 ,one of the influences on the modern illustrator--a decidedly adverse influence on the unlearned--is the prominence which has lately been given to the art of ,daniel ,vierge4 ,there is probably no illustrator of to-day who has more originality1 style1 and versatility--in short more genius--than ,vierge1 and none whose work1 for practical reasons1 is more misleading to students4 ,as to his illustrations1 from the purely literary and imaginative side1 they are as attractive to the scholar as drawings by ,holbein or ,menzell are to the artist4 ,let us turn to the illustration on the next page1 from the ,pablo de ,segovia by ,quevedo2 an example selected by the editor1 or publisher1 of the book as a specimen page4 ,first1 as to the art of it4 ,nothing in its own way could be more fascinating in humour1 vivacity1 and character than this grotesque duel with long ladles at the entrance to an old ,spanish posada4 ,the sparkle and vivacity of the scene are inimitable2 the bounding figure haunts the memory with its diaphanous grace1 touched in by a master of expression in line4 ,in short1 we are in the presence of genius4 ,illustration3 ,no4 ,,xxxiv4 ,example of ,,daniel ,,vierge',s illustrations to ,pablo de ,segovia1 the ,spanish ,sharper1 by ,francisco de ,quevedo-,villegas1 first published in ,paris1 in #ahhb2 afterwards translated into ,english 7with an ,essay on ,quevedo1 by ,h4 ,e4 ,watts1 and comments on ,vierge's work by ,joseph ,pennell71 and published by ,mr4 ,t4 ,fisher ,unwin1 in #ahib4 ,vierge was born in #ahea1 and educated in ,madrid1 where he spent the early years of his life4 ,since #ahfi he has lived in ,paris1 and produced numerous illustrations for ,le ,monde ,illustr and ,la ,vie ,moderne1 and other works4 ,his fame was made in #ahhb by ,quevedo's ,pablo de ,segovia1 the illustrations to which he was unable to complete owing to illness and paralysis4 ,about twenty of these illustrations were drawn with the left hand1 owing to paralysis of the right side4 ,his career1 full of romantic interest1 suggests the future illustrator of ,don ,quixote4 ,these drawings were made upon white paper--,bristol board or drawing paper--with a pen and ,indian ink2 but ,vierge now uses a glass pen1 like an old stylus4 ,the drawings were then given to ,gillot1 the photo-engraver of ,paris1 who1 by means of photography and handwork1 produced metal blocks to be printed with the type4 ,but the whole effect is obviously untrue to nature1 and the tricks--of black spots1 of exaggerated shadows on the ground1 of scratchings 7and of carelessness1 which might be excused in a hasty sketch for ,la ,vie ,moderne7--are only too apparent4 ,in nearly every illustration in the ,pablo de ,segovia 7of which there are upwards of one hundred71 the artist has relied for brilliancy and effect on patches of black 7sometimes ludicrously exaggerated7 and other mannerisms1 which we accept from a genius1 but which the student had better not attempt to imitate4 ,to quote a criticism from the ,spectator1 ,there is almost no light and shade in ,vierge4 ,there is an ingenious effect of dazzle1 but there is no approach attempted to truth of tone1 shadows being quite capriciously used for decoration and supplied to figures that tell as light objects against the sky which throws the shadows4 ,and yet in these handsome pages there are gems of draughtsmanship and extraordinary tours de force in illustration4 ,in the reproduction of these drawings1 ,i think the maker of the blocks1 ,m4 ,gillot1 of ,paris1 would seem to have had a difficult task to perform4 ,the fact is1 that ,vierge's wonderful line drawings are sometimes as difficult to reproduce for the type press as those of ,holbein or ,menzell1 and could only be done satisfactorily by one of the intaglio processes1 such as that employed by the ,autotype ,company in ditions de luxe4 ,that ,vierge's drawings were worthy of this anyone who saw the originals when exhibited at ,barnard's ,inn would1 ,i think1 agree4 ,it is the duty of any writer or instructor in illustration1 to point out these things1 once for all4 ,that ,vierge could adapt himself to almost any process if he pleased1 is demonstrated repeatedly in the ,pablo de ,segovia1 where 7as on pages #fc and #fg of that book7 the brilliancy and colour of pure line by process has hardly ever been equalled4 ,that some of his illustrations are impossible to reproduce well1 and have been degraded in the process is also demonstrated on page #aii of the same book1 where a mechanical grain has been used to help out the drawing1 and the lines have had to be cut up and rouletted on the block to make them possible to print4 ,of the clever band of illustrators of to-day who owe much of their inspiration 7and some of their tricks of method7 to ,vierge1 it is not necessary to speak here2 we are in an atmosphere of genius in this chapter1 and geniuses are seldom safe guides to students of art4 ,speaking generally 7and these remarks refer to editors and publishers as well as draughtsmen71 the art of illustration as practised in ,england is far from satisfactory2 we are too much given to imitating the tricks and prettinesses of other nations1 and it is quite the exception to find either originality or individuality on the pages which are hurled from the modern printing press2 individuality as seen in the work of ,adolphe ,menzell1 and1 in a different spirit1 in that of ,gustave ,dor and ,vierge4 ,illustration ,,footnotes3 #ab ,the heading to this chapter was drawn in line and reproduced by photo-zinc process4 7,see page #acd47 #ac ,the mechanical processes1 neglected and despised by the majority of illustrators for many years1 have1 by a sudden freak of fashion1 apparently become so universal that1 it is estimated1 several thousand blocks are made in ,london alone every week4 #ad ,this excellent drawing was made on rough white paper with autographic chalk2 the print being much reduced in size4 ,it is seldom that such a good grey block can be obtained by this means4 #ae ,the young artist would be much better occupied in learning drawing on stone direct1 a branch of art which does not come into the scope of this book1 as it is seldom used in book illustration1 and cannot be printed at the type press4 ,drawing on stone is well worthy of study now1 for the art is being revived in ,england on account of the greater facilities for printing than formerly4 #af ,the evil of it is that we are becoming used to black blots in the pages of books and newspapers1 and take them as a matter of course2 just as we submit to the deformity of the outward man in the matter of clothing4 #ag ,on the opposite page is an excellent reproduction of a painting from a photograph by the half-tone process4 #ah ',mongst ,mines and ,miners1 by ,j4 ,c4 ,burrows and ,w4 ,thomas4 7,london3 ,simpkin1 ,marshall ,co47 #ai ,both ,mr4 ,cameron's and ,mr4 ,mendelssohn's photographs have had to be slightly cut down to fit these pages4 ,but as illustrations they are1 ,i think1 remarkable examples of the photographer's and the photo-engraver's art4 #bj ,from the ,graphic newspaper1 #bhth ,october1 #ahic4 ,illustration3 ,,from ,,grimm',s ,,household ,,stories4 7,,walter ,,crane47 ,,chapter ,v4 ,,wood ,,engravings4 ,to turn to a more practical side of book illustration4 ,the first principle of illustration is to illustrate1 and yet it is a fact that few illustrations in books or magazines are to be found in their proper places in the text4 ,it is seldom that the illustration 7so called7 is in artistic harmony with the rest of the page1 as it is found in old books4 ,one of the great charms of ,bewick's work is its individuality and expressive character4 ,here the artist and engraver were one1 and a system of illustration was founded in ,england a hundred years ago which we should do well not to forget4#ba ,we are fast losing sight of first principles and aiming rather at catching the eye and the public purse with a pretty page2 and in doing this we are but imitators4 ,in the ,english magazines it is strange to find a slavish1 almost childish imitation of the ,american system of illustration2 adopting1 for instance1 the plan of pictures turned over at the corners or overlapping each other with exaggerated black borders and other devices of the album of the last generation4 ,this is what we have come to in ,england in #ahid 7with excellent wood engravers still71 and the kind of art by which we shall be remembered at the end of the nineteenth century6 ,i am speaking of magazines like ,good ,words and ,cassell's ,magazine1 where wood engraving is still largely employed4 ,it may be as well to explain here that the reasons for employing the medium of wood engraving for elaborate illustrations which1 such as we see in ,american magazines1 were formerly only engraved on copper or steel1 are--7#a7 rapidity of production1 and 7#b7 the almost illimitable number of copies that can be produced from casts from wood blocks4 ,the broad distinction between the old and new methods of wood engraving is1 that in early days the lines were drawn clearly on the wood block and the part not drawn cut away by the engraver1 who endeavoured to make a perfect fac-simile of the artist's lines4 ,it is now a common custom to transfer a photograph from life on to the wood block 7see p4 #afg71 also to draw on the wood with a brush in tint1 and even to photograph a water-colour drawing on to the wood1 leaving the engraver to turn the tints into lines in his own way4 ,in the very earliest days of book illustration1 before movable type-letters were invented1 the illustration and the letters of the text were all engraved on the wood together1 and thus1 of necessity 7as in the old block books produced in ,holland and ,belgium in the fifteenth century71 there was character and individuality in every page2 the picture1 rough as it often was1 harmonising with the text in an unmistakable manner4 ,from an artistic point of view1 there was a better balance of parts and more harmony of effect than in the more elaborate illustrations of the present day4 ,the illustration was an illustration in the true sense of the word4 ,it interpreted something to the reader that words were incapable of doing2 and even when movable type was first introduced1 the simple character of the engravings harmonised well with the letters4 ,there is a broad line of demarcation1 indeed1 between these early wood engravings 7such1 for instance1 as the ,ars ,moriendi1 purchased for the ,british ,museum in #ahgb1 from the ,weigel collection at ,leipsic1 and recently reproduced by the ,holbein ,society7 and the last development of the art in the ,american magazines4 ,the movement is important1 because the ,americans1 with an energy and navet peculiar to them1 have set themselves the task of outstripping all nations in the beauty and quality of magazine illustrations4 ,that they have succeeded in obtaining delicate effects1 and what painters call colour1 through the medium of wood-engraving1 is well known1 and it is common to meet people in ,england asking1 ,have you seen the last number of ,harper's or the ,century ,magazine8 ,the fashion is to admire them1 and ,english publishers are easily found to devote time and capital to distributing ,american magazines 7which come to ,england free of duty71 to the prejudice of native productions4 ,the reason for the excellence 7which is freely admitted7 of ,american wood-engraving and printing is that1 in the first place1 more capital is employed upon the work4 ,the ,american wood-engraver is an artist in every sense of the word1 and his education is not considered complete without years of foreign study4 ,the ,american engraver is always en rapport with the artist--an important matter--working often1 as ,i have seen them at ,harper's1 the ,century ,magazine1 and ,scribner's in ,new ,york1 in the same studio1 side by side4 ,in ,england the artist1 as a rule1 does not have any direct communication with the wood engraver4 ,in ,america the publisher1 having a very large circulation for his works1 is able to bring the culture of ,europe and the capital of his own country to the aid of the wood-engraver1 spending sometimes five or six hundred pounds on the illustrations of a single number of a monthly magazine4 ,the result is an engraver's success of a very remarkable kind4 ,illustration3 ,,xxxv4 ,a ,portrait engraved on wood at the ,office of the ,,century ,,magazine4 ,example of portraiture from the ,century ,magazine4 ,it is interesting to note the achievements of the ,american engravers at a time when wood engraving in ,england is under a cloud4 ,this portrait was photographed from life and afterwards worked up by hand and most skilfully engraved in ,new ,york4 7,photograph from life1 engraved on wood4 ,from the ,century ,magazine47 ,a discussion of the merits of the various styles of wood engraving1 and of the different methods of drawing on wood1 such as that initiated by the late ,frederick ,walker1 ,a4 ,r4 ,a42 the styles of ,mr4 ,william ,small1 ,e4 ,a4 ,abbey1 ,alfred ,parsons1 etc4--does not come into the scope of this publication1 but it will be useful to refer to one or two opinions on the ,american system4 ,book illustration as an art1 as ,mr4 ,comyns ,carr pointed out in his lectures at the ,society of ,arts ten years ago1 is founded upon wood engraving1 and it is to wood engraving that we must look if we are to have any revival of the kind of beauty which early-printed books possess4 ,in the mass of work now produced1 there is very little trace of the principles upon which ,holbein laboured4 ,instead of proceeding by the simplest means1 our modern artist seems rather by preference to take the most difficult and complex way of expressing himself4 ,a wood engraving1 it is not unjust to say1 has become scarcely distinguishable from a steel engraving excepting by its inferiority4 ,mr4 ,hubert ,herkomer1 ,r4 ,a41 who has had a very wide experience in the graphic arts1 says3-- ,in modern times a body of engravers has been raised up who have brought the art of engraving on wood to such a degree of perfection1 that the most modern work1 especially that of the ,americans1 is done to show the skill of the engraver rather than the art of the draughtsman4 ,this1 ,i do not hesitate to say1 is a sign of decadence4 ,take up any number of the ,century or ,harper's magazines1 and you will see that effect is the one aim4 ,you marvel at the handling of the engraver1 and forget the artist4 ,correct1 or honest1 drawing is no longer wanted4 ,this kind of illustration is most pernicious to the student1 and will not last4444 ,america is a child full of promise in art--a child that is destined to be a great master2 so let us not imitate its youthful efforts or errors4 ,americans were the first to foster this style of art1 and they will be the first to correct it4 ,mr4 ,w4 ,j4 ,linton1 the well-known wood engraver1 expresses himself thus strongly on the modern system1 and his words come with great force from the other side of the ,atlantic3-- ,talent is misapplied when it is spent on endeavours to rival steel-line engraving or etching1 in following brush-marks1 in pretending to imitate crayon-work1 charcoal1 or lithography1 and in striving who shall scratch the greatest number of lines on a given space without thought of whether such multiplicity of lines adds anything to the expression of the picture or the beauty of the engraving4 ,how much of talent is here thrown away6 ,how much of force that should have helped towards growth is wasted in this slave's play for a prize not worth having--the fame of having well done the lowest thing in the engraver's art1 and having for that neglected the study of the highest6 ,for it is the lowest and the last thing about which an artist should concern himself1 this excessive fineness and minuteness of work4444 ,in engraving1 as in other branches of art1 the first thing is drawing1 the second drawing1 the third drawing4 ,this is the professional view1 ably expressed1 of a matter which has been exercising many minds of late2 and is worth quoting1 if only to show the folly of imitating a system acknowledged by experts to be founded on false principles4 ,but there is another view of the matter which should not be lost sight of4 ,whatever the opinion of the ,american system of illustration may be1 there is1 on the other side of the ,atlantic1 an amount of energy1 enterprise1 cultivation of hand and eye1 delicacy of manipulation1 and individual industry1 cleverly organised to provide a wide continent with a better art than anything yet attempted in any country4 ,some fine engravings1 which the ,americans have lately been distributing amongst the people1 such1 for instance1 as the portraits 7engraved from photographs from life7 which have appeared in ,harper's and the ,century magazines1 only reach the cultivated few in ,europe in expensive books4 ,it is worth considering what the ultimate art effect of this widespread distribution will be4 ,the prairie flower holds in her hand a better magazine1 as regards illustrations1 than anything published in ,england at the same price2 and a taste for delicate and refined illustration is being fostered amongst a variety of people on the western continent1 learned and unlearned4 ,that there is a want of sincerity in the movement1 that things are not exactly what they seem1 that something much better might be done1 may be admitted2 but it will be well for our illustrators and art providers to remember that the ,americans are advancing upon us with the power of capital and ever-increasing knowledge and cultivation4 ,in the ,century magazine1 ten years ago1 there was an article on ,the ,pupils of ,bewick1 with illustrations admirably reproduced from proofs of early wood engravings1 by photo-engraving4 ,this is noteworthy1 as showing that the knowledge of styles is disseminated everywhere in ,america2 and also1 how easy it is to reproduce engravings by process1 and how important to have a clear copyright law on this subject4 ,of the ,english wood engravers1 and of the present state of the profession in ,england much has been written4 ,i believe the fact remains that commercial wood engraving is still relied on by many editors and publishers1 as it prints with more ease and certainty than any of the process blocks4 ,that there are those in ,england 7like ,mr4 ,biscombe ,gardner and others1 whose work ,i am unable to reproduce here71 that believe in wood engraving still as a vital art1 capable of the highest results1 ,i am also well aware4 ,but at the moment of writing it is difficult to get many publishers to expend capital upon it for ordinary illustrations4 ,on the next page is an example of good wood engraving4 ,illustration3 ,,driving ,,home ,,the ,,pigs4 7,,john ,,pedder47 7,academy ,notes1 #ahia47 ,illustration3 ,no4 ,,xxxvi4 ,joan of ,arc's ,house at ,rouen1 by the late ,,samuel ,,prout4 ,engraved on wood by ,mr4 ,j4 ,d4 ,cooper1 from a water-colour drawing by ,samuel ,prout4 ,the original drawing1 made with a reed pen and flat washes of colour1 was photographed on to the wood block1 and the engraver interpreted the various tints into line4 ,the method is interesting1 and the tones obtained in line show the resources of the engraver's art1 an art rather carelessly set aside in these days4 ,this engraving is from ,normandy ,picturesque4 7,london3 ,sampson ,low ,co47 ,,footnote3 #ba ,in ,the ,life and ,works of ,thomas ,bewick1 by ,d4 ,c4 ,thomson2 in ,the ,portfolio1 ,the ,art ,journal1 ,the ,magazine of ,art1 and in ,good ,words1 ,bewick's merits as artist and engraver have been exhaustively discussed4 ,illustration3 ,,design ,,by ,,walter ,,crane4 ,,chapter ,,vi4 ,,the ,,decorative ,,page4 ,to turn next to the more decorative side of modern illustration1 where design and the ensemble of a printed page are more considered1 it is pleasant to be able to draw attention to the work of an art school1 where an educated and intelligent mind seems to have been the presiding genius2 where the illustrators1 whilst they are fully imbued with the spirit of the past1 have taken pains to adapt their methods to modern requirements4 ,i refer to the ,birmingham ,municipal ,school of ,art4 ,illustration3 ,no4 ,,xxxvii4 ,decorative ,page1 by ,a4 ,j4 ,,gaskin4 7,from ,hans ,andersen's ,fairy ,tales4 ,london3 ,george ,allen47 ,this is a good example of the appropriate decoration of a page without any illustration in the ordinary sense of the word4 ,the treatment of ornament harmonises well with old-faced type letter4 ,the original was drawn in pen and ink1 about the same size as the reproduction4 ,the ground is excellent in colour1 almost equal to a wood engraving4 ,this is another example of the possibilities of process1 rightly handled1 and also of effect produced without reduction of the drawing4 ,whilst using wood engraving freely1 the illustrators of ,birmingham 7notably ,mr4 ,gaskin71 are showing what can be done in line drawing by the relief processes1 to produce colour and ornament which harmonise well with the letterpress of a book4 ,this seems an important step in the right direction1 and if the work emanating from this school were less1 apparently1 confined to an archaic style1 to heavy outline and medival ornament 7,i speak from what ,i see1 not knowing the school personally71 there are possibilities for an extended popularity for those who have worked under its influence4#bb ,the examples of decorative pages by experienced illustrators like ,mr4 ,walter ,crane and others1 will serve to remind us of what some artists are doing4 ,but the band of illustrators who consider design is much smaller than it should be1 and than it will be in the near future4 ,a study of the past1 if it be only in the pages of medival books1 will greatly aid the student of design4 ,in the ,appendix ,i have mentioned a few fine examples of decorative pages1 with and without illustrations1 which may be usefully studied at the ,british ,museum4 ,illustration3 ,no4 ,,xxxviii4 ,in all these pages1 it will be observed1 what is called colour in black and white is preserved throughout2 showing that a page can be thoroughly decorative without illustrations to the text4 ,closely criticised1 some of the old block designs may appear crude and capable of more skilful treatment1 but the pages1 as a rule1 show the artistic sense--unmistakably1 mysteriously1 wonderfully4 ,in these and similar pages1 such1 for instance1 as ,le ,mer des ,histoires1 produced in ,paris by ,pierre le ,rouge in #adhh 7also in the ,british ,museum71 the harmony of line drawing with the printed letters is interesting and instructive4 7,see ,appendix47 ,it is in the production of the decorative page that wood engraving asserts its supremacy still in some quarters1 as may be seen in the beautiful books produced in ,england during the past few years by ,mr4 ,william ,morris1 where artist1 wood engraver1 typefounder1 papermaker1 printer1 and bookbinder work under the guiding spirit 7when not the actual handwork7 of the author4 ,they are interesting to us rather as exotics2 an attempt to reproduce the exact work of the past under modern conditions1 conditions which render the price within reach only of a few1 but they are at least a protest against the modern shams with which we are all familiar4 ,the nineteenth-century author's love for the literature of his past has led him to imitate not only the style1 but the outward aspect of old books2 and by a series of frauds 7to which his publisher has lent himself only too readily7 to produce something which appears to be what it is not4 ,the genuine outcome of medival thought and style--of patience and leisure--seems to be treated at the end of the nineteenth century as a fashion to be imitated in books1 such as are to be seen under glass cases in the ,british ,museum4 ,it is to be feared that the twentieth-century reader1 looking back1 will see few traces worth preserving1 either of originality or of individuality in the work of the present4 ,what are the facts8 ,the typefounder of to-day takes down a ,venetian writing-master's copybook of the fifteenth century1 and1 imitating exactly the thick downward strokes of the reed pen1 forms a set of movable type1 called in printer's language old face2 a style of letter much in vogue in #ahid1 but the style and character of which belongs altogether to the past4 ,thus1 with such aids1 the man of letters of to-day--living in a whirl of movement and discovery--clothes himself in the handwriting of the ,venetian scholar as deliberately as the ,norwegian dons a bear-skin4 ,illustration3 ,no4 ,,xxxix4 ,,design ,,for ,,the ,,title ,,page ,,of ,,the ,,hobby-,,horse4 7,,selwyn ,,image47 7,this is a reduction by process from a large quarto wood engraving47 ,the next step is to present in his book a series of so-called engravings1 which are not engravings but reproductions by process of old prints4 ,the advance of science in producing photo-relief blocks from steel and other intaglio plates for the type printing press1 at a small cost per square inch1 is not only taking from the artistic value of the modern dition de luxe1 but also from its interest and genuineness4 ,the next step is to manufacture rough-edged1 coarse-textured paper1 purporting to be carefully hand-made4 ,the rough edge1 which was a necessity when every sheet of paper was finished by hand labour1 is now imitated successfully by machinery1 and is handled lovingly by the bookworm of to-day1 regardless of the fact that these roughened sheets can be bought by the pound in ,drury-lane4 ,the worst1 and last fraud 7,i can call it no less7 that can be referred to here is1 that the clothing--the skin of vellum--that appropriately encloses our modern dition de luxe is made from pulp1 rags1 and other dbris4 ,that the gold illuminations on the cover are no longer real gold1 and that the handsomely bound book1 with its fair margins1 cracks in half with a bang1 when first opened1 are other matters connected with the discoveries of science1 and the substitution of machinery for hand labour1 which we owe to modern enterprise and invention4#bc ,looking at the decorative pages in most books1 and remembering the achievements of the past1 one is inclined to ask--,is the setting-out of a page one of the lost arts1 like the designing of a coin8 ,what harmony of style do we see in an ordinary book8 ,how many authors or illustrators of books show that they care for the look of a printed page8 ,the fact is1 that the modern author shirks his responsibilities1 following the practice of the greatest writers of our day4 ,there are so many facilities--as they are called--for producing books that the author takes little interest in the matter4 ,mr4 ,ruskin1 delicate draughtsman as he is known to be1 has contributed little to the ensemble or appearance of the pages that flow from the printing press of ,mr4 ,allen1 at ,orpington4 ,his books are well printed in the modern manner1 but judged by examples of the past1 a deadly monotony pervades the page2 the master's noblest thoughts are printed exactly like his weakest1 and are all drawn out in lines together as in the making of macaroni6 ,mr4 ,hamerton1 artist as well as author1 is content to describe the beauty of forest trees1 ferns and flowers1 the variety of underwood and the like 7nearly every word1 in an article in the ,portfolio1 referring to some picturesque form or graceful line71 without indicating the varieties pictorially on the printed page4 ,the late ,lord ,tennyson and other poets have been content for years to sell their song by the line1 little heeding1 apparently1 in what guise it was given to the world4 ,in these days the monotony of uniformity seems to pervade the pages1 alike of great and small1 and a letter from a friend is now often printed by a machine6 ,illustration ,illustration3 ,no4 ,,xl4 ,,scarlet ,,poppies4 7,w4 ,j4 ,,muckley47 ,this beautiful piece of pen work by ,mr4 ,muckley 7from his picture in the ,royal ,academy1 #ahhe7 was too delicate in the finer passages to reproduce well by any relief process 7the pale lines having come out black72 but as an example of breadth1 and indication of surfaces in pen and ink1 it could hardly be surpassed4 ,,footnotes3 #bb ,i mention this school as a representative one2 there are many others where design and wood engraving are studied under the same roof with success in #ahid4 #bc ,mr4 ,cobden ,sanderson's lecture on ,,bookbinding1 read before the ,arts and ,crafts ,society1 is well worth the attention of book lovers4 ,,chapter ,,vii4 ,,author1 ,,illustrator1 ,,and ,,publisher4 ,let us now consider shortly the ,author1 the ,illustrator1 and the ,publisher1 and their influence on the appearance and production of a book4 ,if it be impossible in these days 7and1 in spite of the efforts of ,mr4 ,william ,morris and others1 it seems to be impossible7 to produce a genuine book in all its details1 it seems worth considering in what way the author can stamp it with his own individuality2 also to what extent he is justified in making use of modern appliances4 ,how far1 then1 may the author be said to be responsible for the state of things just quoted8 ,theoretically1 he is the man of taste and culture par excellence2 he is1 or should be1 in most cases1 the arbiter1 the dictator to his publisher1 the chooser of style4 ,the book is his1 and it is his business to decide in what form his ideas should become concrete2 the publisher aiding his judgment with experience1 governing the finance1 and carrying out details4 ,how comes it then that1 with the present facilities for reproducing anything that the hand can put upon paper1 the latter-day nineteenth-century author is so much in the hands of others as to the appearance of his book8 ,it is because the so-called educated man has not been taught to use his hands as the missal-writers and authors of medival times taught themselves to use theirs4 ,the modern author1 who is1 say1 fifty years old1 was born in an age of advanced civilisation1 when the only method of expression for the young was one--pothooks and hangers4 ,the child of ten years old1 whose eye was mentally forming pictures1 taking in unconsciously the facts of perspective and the like1 had a pencil tied with string to his two first fingers until he had mastered the ups and downs1 crosses and dashes1 of modern handwriting1 which has been accepted by the great1 as well as the little1 ones of the earth1 as the best medium of communication between intelligent beings2 and so1 regardless of style1 character1 or picturesqueness1 he scribbles away6 ,so much for our generally straggling style of penmanship4 ,there is no doubt that the author of the future will have to come more into personal contact with the artist than he has been in the habit of doing1 and that the distinction ,i referred to in the first chapter1 between illustrations which are to be 7#a7 records of facts1 and 7#b7 works of art1 will have to be more clearly drawn4 ,amongst the needs in the community of book producers is one that ,i only touch upon because it affects the illustrator3--,that there should be an expert in every publishing house to determine 7#a7 whether a drawing is suitable for publication2 and 7#b7 by what means it should be reproduced4 ,the resources of an establishment will not always admit of such an arrangement2 but the editors and publishers who are informed on these matters can easily be distinguished by the quality of their publications4 ,by the substitution of process blocks for wood engravings in books1 publishers are deprived to a great extent of the fostering care of the master wood engraver1 to which they have been accustomed4 ,amongst the influences affecting the illustrator1 none1 ,i venture to say1 are more prejudicial than the acceptance by editors and publishers of inartistic drawings4 ,it would be difficult1 ,i think1 to point to a period when so much bad work was produced as at present4 ,the causes have already been pointed out1 the beautiful processes for the reproduction of drawings are scarcely understood by the majority of artists1 publishers1 authors1 or critics4 ,it is the misuse of the processes in these hurrying days1 which is dragging our national reputation in the mire and perplexing the student4 ,the modern publisher1 it may be said without offence1 understands the manufacture and the commerce of a book better than the art in it4 ,and how should it be otherwise8 ,the best books that were ever produced1 from an artistic point of view1 were inspired and designed by students of art and letters1 men removed from the commercial scramble of life1 and to whom an advertisement was a thing unknown6 ,the ordinary art education of a publisher1 and the multitude of affairs requiring his attention1 unfit him generally1 for the task of deciding whether an illustration is good or bad1 or how far--when he cheapens the production of his book by using photographic illustrations 7snap-shots from nature7--he is justified in calling them art4 ,the deterioration in the character of book illustration in ,england is a serious matter1 and public attention may well be drawn to it4 ,here we look for the active co-operation of the author4 ,the far-reaching spread of education--especially technical art education--is tending to bring together1 as they were never brought before in this century1 the author and the illustrator4 ,the author of a book will give more attention to the appearance of his pages1 to the decorative character of type and ornament1 whilst the average artist will be better educated from a literary point of view2 and1 to use a ,french word for which there is no equivalent1 will be more en rapport with both author and publisher4 ,for the illustrator by profession there seems no artistic leisure2 no time to do anything properly in this connection4 ,it is a poor career1 ,blackburn1 said a well-known newspaper illustrator to me lately 7an artist of distinction and success in his profession who has practised it for twenty years71 you seldom give satisfaction--not even to yourself4 ,it is an ideal career1 says another1 a younger man1 who is content with the more slap-dash methods in vogue to-day--and with the income he receives for them4 ,referring again to the question in the ,athenum1 ,why is not drawing for the press taught in our ,government schools of art8 ,i think the principal reasons why the art of illustration by the processes is not generally taught in art schools are-- 7#a7 drawing for reproduction requires more personal teaching than is possible in art classes in public schools2 7#b7 the art masters throughout the country1 with very few exceptions1 do not understand the new processes--which is not to be wondered at4 ,it is not the fault of the masters in our schools of art that students are taught in most cases as if they were to become painters1 when the only possible career for the majority is that of illustration1 or design4 ,the masters are1 for the most part1 well and worthily occupied in giving a good groundwork of knowledge to every student1 as to drawing for the press4 ,there is no question that the best preparation for this work is the best general art teaching that can be obtained4 ,the student must have drawn from the antique and from life2 he must have learned composition and design2 have studied from nature the relative values of light and shade1 arial perspective and the like2 in short1 have followed the routine study for a painter whose first aim should be to be a master of monochrome4 ,in the more technical parts1 which the young illustrator by process will require to know1 he needs personal help4 ,he will have a multitude of questions to ask somebody as to the reasons for what he is doing2 for what style of process work he is by touch and temperament best fitted1 and so on4 ,all this has to be considered if we are to keep a good standard of art teaching for illustration4 ,the fact that a pen-and-ink drawing which looks well scarcely ever reproduces well1 must always be remembered4 ,many drawings for process1 commended in art schools for good draughtsmanship or design1 will not reproduce as expected1 for want of exact knowledge of the requirements of process2 whereas a drawing by a trained hand will often look better in the reproduction4 ,these remarks refer especially to ornament and design1 to architectural drawings and the like4 ,the topical illustrator and sketcher in weekly prints has1 of course1 more licence1 and it matters less what becomes of his lines in their rapid transit through the press4 ,still the illustrator1 of whatever rank or style1 has a right to complain if his drawing is reproduced on a scale not intended by him1 or by a process for which it is not fitted1 or if printed badly1 and with bad materials4 ,but the sketchy style of illustration seems to be a little overdone at present1 and--being tolerable only when allied to great ability--remains consequently in the hands of a few4 ,there is plenty of talent in this country which is wasted for want of control4 ,it plays about us like summer lightning when we want the precision and accuracy of the telegraph4 ,the art of colour printing 7whether it be by the intaglio processes1 or by chromo-lithography1 or on relief blocks7 has arrived at such proficiency and has become such an important industry that it should be mentioned here4 ,by its means1 a beautiful child-face1 by ,millais1 is scattered over the world by hundreds of thousands2 and the reputation of a young artist1 like ,kate ,greenaway1 made and established4 ,the latter owes much of her prestige and success to the colour-printer4 ,admitting the grace1 taste1 and invention of ,kate ,greenaway as an illustrator1 there is little doubt that1 without the wood engraver and the example and sympathetic aid of such artists as ,h4 ,s4 ,marks1 ,r4,a41 ,walter ,crane1 and the late ,randolph ,caldecott1 she would never have received the praise bestowed upon her by ,m4 ,ernest ,chesneau1 or ,mr4 ,ruskin4 ,these things show how intimately the arts of reproduction affect reputations1 and how important it is that more sympathy and communication should exist between all producers4 ,in the mass of illustrated publications issuing from the press the expert can discern clearly where this sympathy and knowledge exist1 and where ability1 on the part of the artist1 has been allied to practical knowledge of the requirements of illustration4 ,the business of many will be to contribute1 in some form1 to the making of pictures and designs to be multiplied in the press2 and1 in order to learn the technique and obtain employment1 some of the most promising pupils have to fall into the ways of the producers of cheap illustrations1 ,christmas cards1 and the like4 ,on the other hand1 a knowledge of the mechanical processes for reproducing drawings 7as it is being pressed forward in technical schools7 is leading to disastrous consequences1 as may be seen on every railway bookstall in the kingdom4 ,in the book of the future we hope to see less of the lath and plaster style of illustration1 produced from careless wash drawings by the cheap processes2 fewer of the blots upon the page1 which the modern reader seems to take as a matter of course4 ,in books1 as in periodicals1 the illustrator by process will have to divest himself1 as far as possible1 of that tendency to scratchiness and exaggeration that injures so many process illustrations4 ,in short1 he must be more careful1 and give more thought to the meaning of his lines and washes1 and to the adequate expression of textures4 ,there is a great deal yet to learn1 for neither artists nor writers have mastered the subject4 ,few of our best illustrators have the time or the inclination to take to the new methods1 and1 as regards criticism1 it is hardly to be expected that a reviewer who has a pile of illustrated books to pronounce upon1 should know the reason of the failures that he sees before him4 ,thus the public is often misled by those who should be its guides as to the value and importance of the new systems of illustration4#bd ,in conclusion1 let us remember that everyone who cultivates a taste for artistic beauty in books1 be he author1 artist1 or artificer1 may do something towards relieving the monotony and confusion in style1 which pervades the outward aspect of so many books4 ,it is a far cry from the work of the missal writer in a monastery to the pages of a modern book1 but the taste and feeling which was shown in the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries in the production of books1 exists in the nineteenth1 under difficult conditions4 ,in the book of the future the author will help personally1 more than he has ever done1 as ,i have already suggested4 ,the subject is not half-ventilated yet1 nor can ,i touch upon it further1 but the day is not far distant when the power of the hand of the author will be tested to the utmost1 and lines of all kinds will appear in the text4 ,there is really no limit to what may be done with modern appliances1 if only the idea is seized with intelligence4 ,two questions1 however1 remain unanswered--7#a7 ,whether1 as a matter of language and history1 we are communicating information to each other much better than the ancients did in cuneiform inscriptions1 on stones and monuments4 7#b7 ,whether1 as a matter of illustrative art1 we are making the best use of modern appliances4 ,let us1 then1 cultivate more systematically the art of drawing for the press1 and treat it as a worthy profession4 ,let it not be said again1 as it was to me lately by one who has devoted half a lifetime to these things1 ,the processes of reproduction are to hand1 but where are our artists8 ,let it not be said that the chariot-wheels of the press move too fast for us--that chemistry and the sun's rays have been utilised too soon--that1 in short1 the processes of reproduction have been perfected before their time6 ,i think not1 and that an art--the art of pictorial expression--which has existed for ages and is now best understood by the ,japanese1 may be cultivated amongst us to a more practical end4 ,illustration3 ,,take ,,care4 7,w4 ,b4 ,,baird47 7,royal ,academy1 #ahia47 ,,footnote3 #bd ,there seems but one rule of criticism in this connection4 ,if a book illustration comes out coarsely and 7as is often the case7 a mere smudge1 the process is blamed1 when the drawing or photograph may have been quite unsuitable for the process employed4 ,,students' ,,drawings4 ,the following four examples of drawing from life1 by students at ,victoria ,street1 fresh from art schools1 are interesting as tentative work4 ,the object has been to test their powers and adaptability for line work2 avoiding outline in the experiment as much as possible4 ,nos4 #a1 #c1 and #d1 it will be observed1 evade backgrounds altogether--the too ready solution of a difficult problem in line4 ,these drawings were made direct from life1 in line2 a system not to be recommended1 excepting as an experiment of powers4 ,examples of students' wash drawings1 c41 will appear in future editions of this book4 ,illustration3 ,no4 ,,xli4 ,spanish ,woman4 ,a ,study from ,life4 ,by ,,ina ,,bidder4 ,this is a clever sketch with pen and ink and brush1 and drawn with a bold free hand1 reproduced on an 7untouched7 process block4 ,it shows originality of treatment and courage on the part of the student2 also the value of great reduction to give strength and effect4 7,size of drawing1 #af #aa-a_/b in47 ,illustration3 ,no4 ,,xlii4 ,sketch from ,life1 by ,,estelle ,d',,avigdor4 ,this student was the winner in a prize competition lately in ,the ,studio4 ,she has undoubted ability1 but not clearly in the direction of line drawing4 ,after considerable success in painting1 this student writes3 ,i still find the pen a difficult instrument to wield4 ,in this sketch we see the influence of ,aubrey ,beardsley and others of the dense-black1 reckless school of modern illustrators4 7,size of drawing1 #aj #f-c_/d in47 ,zinc process4 ,illustration3 ,no4 ,,xliii4 ,sketch from ,life1 by ,g4 ,c4 ,,marks4 ,this pen-and-ink drawing is interesting for colour1 especially in the hair2 it would have been better modelled if drawn first in pencil or chalk4 ,this student has an obvious aptitude for line work2 the touch is very good for a beginner4 7,size of drawing1 #aj-a_/b #h in47 ,zinc process4 ,illustration3 ,no4 ,,xliv4 ,bough of ,common ,furze1 by ,,william ,,french4 ,a most careful study from nature in pen and ink4 7,size of original drawing1 #ad #aa-a_/b in47 ,reproduced by zinc process4 ,this artist learned the method of line work for process in a month4 ,,cantor ,,lectures4 ,the ,,illustrations in this ,volume are1 for the most part1 reproductions of drawings which--for purposes of study and comparison--are shown by ,mr4 ,blackburn at his ,lectures in ,art ,schools1 enlarged to a scale of #ae to #bj ft4 ,students who may be unable to attend these lectures can see some of the original drawings on application 7by letter7 to ,the ,secretary1 at ,mr4 ,,henry ,,blackburn',s ,,studio1 #abc1 ,victoria ,street1 ,westminster4 ,,appendix4 #a4 ,,photo-,,zinc ,,process4--#b4 ,,gelatine ,,process4--#c4 ,,half-,,tone4--#d4 ,,intaglio ,,processes4--#e4 ,,drawing ,,materials4--#f4 ,,books ,,for ,,students4--#g4 ,,decorative ,,pages4--#h4 ,,list ,,of ,,photo-,,engravers4 ,,photo-,,zinc ,,process4 ,,for ,,the ,,reproduction ,,of ,,line ,,drawings ,,in ,,relief1 ,,suitable ,,for ,,printing ,,at ,,the ,,type ,,press4 ,,description ,,of ,,the ,,process4--,the first stage is to have the drawing photographed to the size required1 and to transfer a print of it on to a sensitized zinc plate4 ,this print1 or photographic image of the drawing lying upon the zinc plate1 is of greasy substance 7bichromate of potash and gelatine71 and is afterwards inked up with a roller2 the plate is then immersed in a bath of nitric acid and ether1 which cuts away the parts which were left white upon the paper1 and leaves the lines of the drawing in relief4 ,this biting in1 as it is called1 requires considerable experience and attention1 according to the nature of the drawing4 ,thus1 the lines are turned into metal in a few hours1 and the plate1 when mounted on wood to the height of type-letters1 is ready to be printed from1 if necessary1 at the rate of several thousands an hour4 ,,the ,,cost of these blocks averages #f;d4 the square inch where a number are made at one time1 the minimum price being #e_/-4 ,small book illustrations by this process1 by firms who make a specialty of producing single illustrations1 are often charged #i;d4 the square inch1 with a minimum of #g_/f2 but the cost should never be more than this for a single block by the zinc process4 ,,gelatine ,,process4 ,,for ,,the ,,reproduction ,,of ,,drawings ,,in ,,line ,,in ,,relief1 ,,suitable ,,for ,,printing ,,at ,,the ,,type ,,press4 ,this is a more delicate and sensitive method of obtaining a relief block4 ,it is called the gelatine1 or ,gillot process4 ,the drawing is photographed to the required size 7as before71 and the negative laid upon a glass plate 7previously coated with a mixture of gelatine and bichromate of potash74 ,the part of this thin1 sensitive film not exposed to the light is absorbent1 and when immersed in water swells up4 ,the part exposed to the light1 i4e41 the lines of the drawing1 remains near the surface of the glass4 ,thus we have a sunk mould from which a metal cast can be taken1 leaving the lines in relief as in the zinc process4 ,in skilful hands this process admits of more delicate gradations1 and pale1 uncertain lines can be reproduced with tolerable fidelity4 ,there is no process yet invented which gives better results from a pen-and-ink drawing for the type press4 ,reproductions of pencil1 chalk1 and charcoal are also possible by this process2 but they are not suited for it1 and there is generally too much working up by hand on the block to suit rapid printing4 ,these blocks when completed have a copper surface4 ,the blocks take longer to make1 and are about double the price of the photo-zinc process4 ,,the ,,cost varies from #i;d4 to #a_/f the square inch4 ,m4 ,gillot1 in ,paris1 may be said to be the inventor or perfector of this process1 now used by many photo engravers in ,london1 notably by ,mr4 ,alfred ,dawson1 of ,hogarth ,works1 ,chiswick4 ,,half-,,tone ,,process4 ,,for ,,the ,,reproduction ,,of ,,wash ,,drawings1 ,,photographs1 ,,etc41 ,,by ,,the ,,screened ,,photo-,,zinc ,,relief ,,process4 ,this method of making the blocks is more complicated4 ,as there are no lines in a wash drawing1 or in a photograph from nature1 or in a painting1 it is necessary to obtain some kind of grain1 or interstices of white1 on the zinc plate1 as in a mezzotint2 so between the drawing or photograph to be reproduced and the camera1 glass screens covered with lines or dots1 are interposed1 varying in strength according to the light and shade required2 thus turning the image of the wash drawing or photograph practically into line1 with sufficient interstices of white for printing purposes4 ,the coarseness or fineness of grain on these blocks varies according to circumstances4 ,thus1 for rapid printing on cylinder machines1 with inferior paper and ink1 a wider grain and a deeper cut block is necessary4 ,the examples in this book may be said to show these process blocks at their best1 with good average printing4 ,the results from wash drawings1 as already pointed out1 are uncertain1 and generally gloomy and mechanical-looking4 ,the reproductions of pencil1 chalk1 or charcoal drawings by this process are generally unsatisfactory1 even when printed under good conditions4 ,the blocks are shallow as compared with the zinc line process1 and are double the cost4 ,,intaglio ,,processes4 ,,photogravure1 ,,autotype1 ,,dallastype1 ,,etc4 ,,photogravure4--,first1 a photographic negative is taken direct from the picture to be reproduced1 and from this an autotype carbon print is taken and transferred on to glass or silvered copper1 instead of on the paper used in making carbon prints for sale4 ,this picture is in delicate relief1 and forms the mould1 upon which copper is electrically deposited4 ,after being made conductive1 the carbon mould is placed in a galvanic bath1 the deposit of copper upon it taking the impression perfectly4 ,another method is to transfer the same mould upon pure1 clean copper1 and then operate with a powerful biting solution1 which is resisted more or less according to the varying thickness of carbon mould to be penetrated4 ,thus the parts to be left smoothest are thick of carbon1 and the parts to be dark are bare1 so that the mordant may act unresisted4 ,this1 it will be perceived1 is the opposite way to the process above given1 and is therefore worked from a transparency1 or photographic positive1 instead of a negative4 ,this is the ,klick and ,fox ,talbot method1 and is very commonly in use at present4 ,the process of photogravure is well known1 as employed by ,messrs4 ,boussod1 ,valadon1 ,co4 7,goupil71 of ,paris1 and is adapted for the reproduction of wash drawings1 paintings1 also drawings where the lines are pale and uncertain1 pencil1 chalk1 etc42 the greys and gradations of pencil being wonderfully interpreted4 ,in ,london the intaglio processes are used by many of the firms mentioned on page #bdj4 ,they are now much used for the reproduction of photographic portraits in books1 taking place of the copperplate engraving4 ,,the ,,cost of these plates is1 roughly1 #e_/- the square inch4 ,the makers of these plates generally supply paper1 and print1 charging by the #ajj copies4 ,but engravings thus produced are comparatively little used in modern book illustration1 as they cannot be printed simultaneously with the letter-press of a book2 they are suitable only for limited editions and ditions de luxe4 ,,drawing ,,materials ,,for ,,reproduction4 #a4--;,,for ,,drawings ,,in ,,line4--,for general use1 liquid ,indian ink and ,bristol board2 or hard paper of similar surface4 ,clay board1 the surface of which can easily be removed with a scraper1 is useful for some purposes1 but the pen touch on clay board is apt to become mechanical4 #b4--;,,for ,,drawings ,,in ,,pencil ,,and ,,chalk1 grained papers are used 7see p4 #aac and following74 ,these papers are made of various textures1 with black or white lines and dots vertical1 horizontal1 and diagonal4 ,as a matter of fact1 grained papers are little used in book and newspaper illustration in this country1 and unless artistically treated the results are very unsatisfactory4 ,they are most suitable for landscape work and sketches of effect4 #c4--;,,for ,,wash ,,drawings4--,prepared boards for wash drawings1 varying in surface and texture according to the scale of the drawing1 the brush handling of the artist1 and the nature of the work to be reproduced4 ,these must be decided by the teacher4 ,lamp black and opaque white are commonly used4 ,a combination of line and wash is generally to be avoided4 ,the materials for drawing for reproduction are to be obtained from the following amongst other artists' colourmen4 ,a4 ,,ackerman1 #aia1 ,regent ,street1 ,w4 ,j4 ,,barnard ,,son1 #ai1 ,berners ,street1 ,w4 ,,cornelissen ,,son1 #bb1 ,great ,queen ,street1 ,w4,c4 ,,lechertier1 ,,barbe1 ,co41 #fj1 ,regent ,street1 ,w4 ,,jas4 ,,newman1 #bd1 ,soho ,square1 ,w4 ,,reeves ,,sons1 #aac1 ,cheapside1 ,e4,c4 ,,chas4 ,,roberson ,,co41 #ii1 ,long ,acre1 ,w4,c4 ,,geo4 ,,rowney ,,co41 #fd1 ,oxford ,street1 ,w4 ,,winsor ,,newton1 #cg1 ,rathbone ,place1 ,w4 ,,percy ,,young1 #acg1 ,gower ,street1 ,w4,c4 ,,books ,,for ,,students4 ,the following will be found useful3-- #a4--,the ,graphic ,arts1 by ,p4 ,g4 ,,hamerton 7,london3 ,macmillan ,co474 #b4--,pen and ,pencil ,artists1 by ,,joseph ,,pennell 7,london3 ,macmillan ,co474 #c4--;,english ,pen ,artists of ,to-,day1 by ,j4 ,g4 ,,harper 7,london3 ,rivington1 ,percival ,co474 ,the value and comprehensive character of ,mr4 ,hamerton's book is well known1 but it reaches into branches of the art of illustration far beyond the scope of this book4 ,of the second it may be said that ,mr4 ,joseph ,pennell's book is most valuable to students of black and white1 with the caution that many of the illustrations in it were not drawn for reproduction1 and would not reproduce well by the processes we have been considering4 ,the third volume seems more practical for elementary and technical teaching4 ,it is to be regretted that these books are so costly as to be out of the reach of most of us2 but they can be seen in the library of the ,south ,kensington ,museum4 ,mr4 ,hamerton's ,drawing and ,engraving1 a ,brief ,exposition of ,technical ,principles and ,practice 7,london3 ,adam and ,charles ,black1 #ahib71 ,the ,photographic ,reproduction of ,drawings1 by ,col4 ,j4 ,waterhouse 7,kegan1 ,paul1 ,co41 #ahij71 ,lessons in ,art1 by ,hume ,nisbet 7,chatto ,windus1 #ahia71 are portable and useful books1 full of technical information4 ,sir ,henry ,trueman ,wood's ,modern ,methods of ,illustrating ,books1 and ,mr4 ,h4 ,r4 ,robertson's ,pen and ,ink ,drawing 7,winsor ,newton7 are both excellent little manuals1 but their dates are #ahhf4 ,,decorative ,,pages4 7,,from ,,old ,,mss4 ,,and ,,books ,,to ,,be ,,seen ,,in ,,the ,,british ,,museum47 7,reprinted from the ,cantor ,lectures47 #a4 ,example of early ,venetian writing1 from a copybook of the #aeth century1 written with a reed pen4 ,note the clearness and picturesqueness of the page2 also the similarity to the type letters used to-day--what are called 'old face1' and of much 7good and bad7 letter in modern books4 #b4 ,a beautiful example of ,gothic writing and ornament1 from a ,french illuminated manuscript in the ,british ,museum2 date #adhj4 ,here the decorative character and general balance of the page is delightful to modern eyes4 #c4 ,fac-simile of a printed page1 from ,polydore ,vergil's ,history of ,england1 produced in ,basle1 in #aeef4 ,the style of type is again familiar to us in books published in #ahid2 but the setting out of the page1 the treatment of ornament 7with little figures introduced1 but subservient to the general effect71 is not familiar1 because it is seldom that we see a modern decorative page4 ,the printer of the past had a sense of beauty1 and of the fitness of things apparently denied to all but a few to-day4 #d4 ,an illuminated printed page1 #aeba1 with engraved borders1 after designs by ,holbein2 figures again subordinate to the general effect4 #e4 ,examples of ,italian1 #adth century2 ornament1 initial1 and letters forming a brilliant and harmonious combination4 ,,illustrations of the above and other decorative pages 7which could not be reproduced in this book7 are shown at the lectures on a large scale4 ,of the many modern books on decoration and ornament1 the handbooks by ,mr4 ,lewis ,foreman ,day 7,london3 ,batsford7 are recommended to students of the decorative page2 also ,english ,book ,plates1 by ,egerton ,castle 7,g4 ,bell ,sons74 ,,list ,,of ,,process ,,block ,,makers4 ,from a long list of photo-engravers1 the following are mentioned from personal knowledge of their work3-- ,,relief ,,blocks4 ,,andr ,,sleigh1 ,bushey1 ,herts4 ,,the ,,art ,,reproduction ,,company1 ,clairville ,grove1 ,south ,kensington4 ,,mr4 ,,dallas1 #e1 ,furnival ,street1 ,e4,c4 ,a4 ,c4 ,,dawson1 ,hogarth ,works1 ,chiswick4 ,,dellagana ,,co41 ,gayton ,road1 ,hampstead1 ,n4,w4 ,,direct ,,photographic ,,company1 #ch1 ,farringdon ,street1 ,e4,c4 ,,hare ,,sons1 ,,ltd41 ,bride ,court1 ,fleet ,street4 ,,carl ,,hentschel1 #ahb1 ,fleet ,street1 ,e4,c4 ,,chas4 ,,geard 7,agent for ,krakow71 ,mac,lean's ,bldgs41 ,new ,st4 ,sq41 ,e4,c4 ,,meisenbach ,,co41 ,ltd41 ,wolfington ,road1 ,west ,norwood1 ,s4,e4 ,,john ,,swain ,,son1 #eh1 ,farringdon ,street1 ,e4,c4 ,,swan ,,electric ,,light ,,co41 #aad1 ,charing ,cross ,road1 ,w4,c4 ,,typographic ,,etching ,,co41 #c1 ,ludgate ,circus ,buildings1 ,e4,c4 ,,walker ,,boutall1 ,clifford's ,inn1 ,fleet ,street1 ,e4,c4 ,,waterlow ,,sons1 ,ltd41 ,london ,wall1 ,e4,c4 ,,vincent ,,hahn1 #cd1 ,barbican1 ,e4,c4 ,,intaglio4 ,several of the firms mentioned above are makers of ,intaglio plates2 some are also wood-engravers1 photo-lithographers1 etc42 and agents for ,french1 ,german1 and ,austrian photo-engravers4 ,amongst leading firms who make ,intaglio plates are ,messrs4 ,boussod1 ,valadon1 ,co4 7,london and ,paris72 and ,messrs4 ,angerer ,gschl1 of ,vienna4 ,the ,autotype ,company's admirable reproductions of photographs and drawings should also be mentioned in this connection4 ,black and ,white4 ,,notice4--,,mr4 ,,henry ,,blackburn',s ,,studio is open five days a week for the ,study and ,practice of ,,drawing ,,for ,,the ,,press with ,technical ,assistants4 ,students join at any time4 99 99 99 99 99 ,private ,instruction and by ,correspondence4 #abc1 ,,victoria ,,street1 ,,westminster 7near ,army ,navy stores74 ,,opinions ,,of ,,the ,,press ,on the ,first ,edition4 ',the ,art of ,illustration' is a brightly written account1 by a man who has had large experience of the ways in which books and newspapers are illustrated nowadays4444 ,as a collection of typical illustrations by artists of the day1 ,mr4 ,blackburn's book is very attractive4--,the ,times4 ,mr4 ,blackburn explains the processes--line1 half-tone1 and so forth--exemplifying each by the drawings of artists more or less skilled in the modern work of illustration4 ,they are well chosen as a whole1 to show the possibilities of process work in trained hands4--,saturday ,review4 ,we thoroughly commend this book to all whom it may concern4--,athenum4 ,mr4 ,henry ,blackburn1 perhaps our greatest expert on the subject of the book illustrator's art1 has written a most interesting volume1 which no young black-and-white artist can very well afford to do without4 ,nearly a hundred splendid and instructive illustrations4--,black and ,white4 ,the author's purpose in this book is to show how drawing for the press may be best adapted to its purpose4444 ,many of ,mr4 ,blackburn's instructions are technical1 but all are beautifully illustrated by choice reproductions from some of the best black-and-white work of the time4--,daily ,news4 ,mr4 ,blackburn's interesting and practical manual is designed1 in the first instance1 for the guidance of students who intend to become illustrators in black-and-white1 but for the general reader it contains a large quantity of readable and attractive matter4--,the ,literary ,world4 ,we must express our admiration for the contents of ',the ,art of ,illustration1' and its fund of technical information4--,bookseller4 ,the book is full of interest1 containing close upon a hundred varied examples of illustrations of the day4 ,a work of unquestionable value4--,publishers' ,circular4 ,mr4 ,blackburn knows from experience what is best for the processes2 his volume is illustrated with nearly one hundred drawings1 most of them good examples of what is being done4 ',the ,art of ,illustration' is an entirely safe guide4--,art ,journal4 ,mr4 ,henry ,blackburn has written an able book on ',the ,art of ,illustration1' which1 it is not overpraise to say1 should be in the hands of every artist who draws for reproduction4--,the ,gentlewoman4 ',the ,art of ,illustration' is perhaps the most satisfactory work of art of its kind that has yet been published4--,sunday ,times4 ,a very clear exposition of the various methods of reproduction4--,guardian4 ,mr4 ,blackburn sails his book under the flag of ,sir ,john ,gilbert1 and justly expounds the all-importance of line4--,national ,observer4 ',the ,art of ,illustration' contains a vast amount of valuable artistic information1 and should be on every student's bookshelf4--,court ,circular4 ,mr4 ,henry ,blackburn is a well-known authority on the technical aspects of painting and design1 and this circumstance lends value to his exposition of ',the ,art of ,illustration4'444 ,he writes with admirable clearness and force4--,leeds ,mercury4 ,the excellent series of reproductions in this book show 7inter alia7 the variety of effects to be obtained by the common zinc process4 ,mr4 ,blackburn's book will prove of great value to the student and interest to the general reader4--,manchester ,guardian4 ,this volume is full of good criticism1 and takes a survey of the many processes by which books may be beautified4444 ,a charming and instructive volume4--,birmingham ,gazette4 ',the ,art of ,illustration' will have the deepest interest for artists and others concerned in the illustration of books4--,yorkshire ,post4 ,a very interesting quarto1 worth having for its typical illustrations4--,british ,architect4 ,mr4 ,blackburn's volume should be very welcome to artists1 editors1 and publishers4--,the ,artist4 ,a most useful book4--,studio4