UC-NRLF mmnf -- B 3 TEi 3Qc^ ENRY Blackburn. 4HIIUU L1RRA.RV University of California. ( ;i Ki- OK Received . iqa . Accession No. ^(^'^y^V-^ . Class No. / THE ART OF ILLUSTRATION. XB' UHIVERSITT CALlFOS " Nir TKlMll.] IK." (SII; JOHN CILIIERT, K.A.) (Ora-,v; hi ,Wn ami ink, from hh /•kliirc in llu- Royal Academy, i83j.) [Size ofdr.-uving. 5J by a^\ in. Plioto-zinc process.] The Art of Illvistration, HENRY BLACKBURN, Editor of " Academy A'otes,^' Can/or Lecturer on Il/iisf ration, {^c. N I N ET Y- F I V E I LL U ST R AT I O N S. SECOND EDITION. W. H. ALLEN & CO., Limited, 13, WATERLOO PLACE, S.W. 1896. ^ c^^ TRINTED 1!Y \V Y.MAN AMI SON'S, LIMITED, LONDON, W.C. DEDICATKI.) TO SIR JOHN GILBERT, R.A. ONE OF THE PRlN'CTPAr. PIONEERS OF POOK AND NEWSPAPEi; I [, I. UST K AI 1 () N . S ;>()!. 5 DKAWING FKOM HIS PICTLKE, I;Y M [Photo-zinc process ] PREFACE. HE object of this book is to explain the modern systems of Book and News- [)a[)er IHustration, and especially the methods of drawing for what is com- monly called "process," on which so many artists are now engaged. There is almost a revolution in illustration at the present time, and both old antl young — teachers and scholars — arc in want of a handbook for reference when turning to the new methods. The illustrator of to-day is called upon suddenly to take the [jiacc; of the wood engraver in interpreting tone into line, X PREFACE. and requires practical information which this book is intended to supply. The most important branch of illustration treated of is line draxcing, as it is practically out of reach of competition b_\- the photographer, and is, moreo\-er, the kind of drawing' most easily reproduced and printed at the typ(t press ; but wash drawing, drawing upon grained papers, and the modern appliances for re|)roduction, are all treated of The; best instructors in drawing ior process are, after all, the painters of pictiires who know so well how to express themselves in black and white, and to whom 1 owe many obligations. There is a wide distinction between their treatment of "illustration" and the so-called "pen-and-ink" artist. The "genius" who strikes out a wonderful path ot his own, whose scratches and splashes appear in so many books and newspapers, is of the "butterlly" order of being -a creation, so to speak, of the processes, and is not to be emulated or imitated. There is no reason but custom why, in drawing for process, a man's coat should be made to look like straw, or the background (if there be a background) have the appearance of fireworks. No ability on the part of the illustrator will make these thinys tolerable in the near future. There is PREFACE. xi a reaction already, and signs of a bclicr and more sober treatment ot ilhistr:ui(in, which onl)- recjuires a better understaudiiig of the reijuireiuculs and Ihnitatmis of the proeesses, to make it equal to some of the best work of the past. The modern illustrator has much to learn — more than he imagines — in drawing for the processes. A study of examples by masters of line drawing — such as Holbein, INIenzell, Fortuny or Sandys — or of the best work of the etchers, will not tell the student of to-day exactl)' what he reejtiires to know; for the)- are nearly all misleading as to the principles upon which modern process work is based. In painting we learn everything from the past — everything that it is l)est to know. In engraving also, we learn from tlie past the best wa)- to interpret colour into line, but ii: drawing for the processes there is practically no "past " to refer to ; at the .same time the advance of the photographer into the domain of illustration renders it oi \ ital importance to artists to put forth their best work in black and white, and it throws great responsibility upon art teachers to give a good groundwork of education to tlie illustrator of the future. In all this, education- -geiiei'di ediiiiition will take a wider part. xii PREFACE. The Illustrations have been selected to show the possibiHties of "process" work in educated, capable hands, ratlier than any toitrs dc force in drawing, or exploits of genius. They are all of modern work, and are printed on the same sheets as the letterpress. All the Illustrations in this book have been reproduced by mechanical processes, excepting nine (marked on the list), which are engraved on wood. 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 Journal ; to the Editors of the A'ational Review and the Nineteenth Century, fur permission to reprint several pages from articles in those reviews ; to the Editors and Publishers who have lent illustrations; and above all, to the artists whose works adorn these pages. H. B. 123, Victoria .Street, Westminster. .Vr;i', I 894. CONTENTS. CHAPTER I.— Introductorv i CHAPrER II. — Elementary Illusikviion . . 15 Diagrams — Daily Illustrated Newspapers- i'lctorial :: Verbal Description. CHAl'Tl'^R III. — Artistic Ii,i.ustr.\tions ... 40 Education of the Illustrator — Line Drawing lor Process — Sketching fruin Life — Examples of Line Drawing. CHAPTER IV.— Thk Processes . . . . 102 " Photo zinco " — Gelatine Process — Grained Papers — Mechanical Dots — " Half-tone " Process — Wash Drawing — Illustrations from Photographs-- 5(v/c//, Grapliii\ &c. — Daniel Vierge. CHAPTER v.— Wood E.sgr.wing .... 182 CHAPTER VL—TuE DiuoK.vnvE P.uie . 197 CHAP I'ER VII. --Author, Ii.i.u.str.vior, cS: Puui.isher 2 1 1 Students' Drawings 223 Appendix 233 LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS. [T/ii copyyi^ht of all pictures skeUhed in this book is s'.viclly ycsei-vea.'\ "The Trumpeter.'' Sir John Gilbert, R.A Swans. Charles Collins "Ashes of Roses." G. H. Boughton, A.R " Badminton in the Studio." R. W. Macbeth, A.R "A Son of Pan." William Padgett . " Home by the P'crry.'' Edward Stott Man in Chain Armour. Lancelot Speed "Greeting." The Hon. iNIrs. Boyle . Diagrams (5) . View above Blankcnbuig ... The Curvature of the World's Surface Tiresome Dog. " E. K. Johnson Frustrated." Walter Hunt On the Riviera." Ellen Montalba . Landscape with Trees." ]\L R. Corbet An Odd Volume." H. S. Marks, R.A. A Select Committee." H. S. Marks, R The Rose Queen." G. D. Leslie, R.A. Finding of the Infant St. George." C. Vi. Gere A Ploughboy." G. Clausen . Blowing Bubbles." C. E. Wilson . Cathedral, from 0\ Body Lane." H. Railtun By Unfrequented Ways.'' ^V. H. Gore Adversity." Fred. Hall . A Willowy Stream." Maud Naftel . Twins." Stanley Berkeley {Process) \\ '4 15 ,. 19-32 ( ll'ood) ^i 30 43 44 46 47 49 ( Process') 56 59.^1 65 69 7o> 71 73> 75 76 79 ILLUSTRATIOSS. "The Dark Island." Alfred East . . . {Pn "A Portrait." T. C. Gotch . . . . , Sir John Tenniel. Edwin Ward . . . , The Rt. Hon. John Morley. Edwin Ward "Nothing venture, nothing have." E. P. Sanguinctti '■ On the Terrace." E. A. Rowe . . . . "For the Squire." Sir John Millais, Bart., R..\. "The Stopped Key." H. S. Marks, R.A. Nymph and Cupid. Henry Holiday Illustration to ''The Blue Poetry Book." L. Speed A Portrait. T. Blake Wirgman. . . . . " Forget Me Not." Henry Ryland . . . . " Baby's Own." G. Hillyard Swinstead "A Silent Pool." E. W. Waite . . . . "The Miller's Daughter." E. K. Johnson "The End of the Chapter." W. Rainey . " In the Pas de Calais." J. P. Beadle "Clolden Days." F. Stuart Richardson "Twilight." Hume Nisbet . . . . , " Le Dent du Geant." E. 'i'. Compion . . , Landscape. A. M. Lindstroni .... , Volendam. C. J. Watson ..... "Old Woman and Grandchild." Hugh Cameron , "An Arrest." Melton Prior .... , "Sunrise in the Severn Valley." M. R. Corbet "The Adjutant's Love Story." H. R. Millar . , Illustrations from " T/ie Blue Poetry Book.'' L. Speed "Seine Boats." Louis Grier . . . . . " There is the Priory." W. H. Wolien From '■'■ Andersen s Fairy Tales." J. R. Weguclni "Two's company, three's none." II. J. Walker . l\\vi%Ua.\.\on Uom" Black and IVliite." C. G. Manton " A Sunny Land." George Wetherbee Decorative Design. The late Randolph Caldecott Sketch in wash (part of picture) from "Sketek". "The Brook." .\rnold Helcke . . . . . ■ess) 80 S3 87 90 9-. 93 94 97 i°3 •°5 107 to8 116,1 19 '34, 141, [27 129 '3' 5-7 S 139 •43 '47 '49 157 ILL US TRA TIONS. From a Photograph from Life. By Mr. H. S. Mendelssohn {'^Sketch") . . {Proicss) i6i From a Photograph from Life. By Messrs. Cameron & Smith ("Studio") . . „ 165 From a Photograph from Life {'■^Graphic") . {Wood) 169 "Proud Maisie." Lancelot Speed . . . (Process) 173 Yrom '^ PaUo de Segovia." Daniel Vierge . . „ 177 Drinking Horn from ".£'w^;'/^/;/^j'M." L. Speed „ 181 Heading from '■'■Grimm s Household Stories." W. Crane ( Wood) 1S2 Photograph from Life. "'The Century Magazine" ,, 1S7 "Driving Home the Pigs." John Pedder . (/'fceess) 193 Joan of Arc's House at Rouen. Samuel Prout. (Wood) 195 ¥{edid\nghom"Grimm''s Household Sto>-ics." W.Crane ,, 197 Decorative Page. A. J. Gaskin . . . (Process) 199 Decorative Page from "Ty/iT &'.v &<:'(7//.f." W.Crane (Hood) 201 Title Page of '•' The Hobby Horse." Selwyn Image ,, 205 Viking Ship from " Z';vV j5;'4'-/;/ ^_)'«." L. Speed (Process) 208 " Scarlet Poppies." W. J. Muckley ... „ 209 "Take Care." W. B. Baird . Spanish Woman. Ina Bidder . Children Reading. Estelle d'Avigdor . . ,, 227 Sketch from Life. G. C. JiLirks . . . ., 229 Bou"h of Common Furze. William French CHAPTER I. INTRODUCTORY. jHERE are, broadly speaking, two kinds of engraving for illustration in books, which are widely distinct — i, intaglio; 2, relievo. The first comprises all engravings, etchings, and photogravures in which the lines are cut or indented by acid or other means, into a steel or copper plate — a system em[)loyed, with many variations of method, from the time of IMantegna, Albert Diirer, Holbein and Rembrandt, to the French and English etchers of the present day. Engravings thus produced are little used in modern book illustration, as they cannot be printed easily on the .same page; as the letterpress ; these planches a part, as the French term them, are costly to print and are suitable only for limited editions. In the second, or ordinary form of illustration, the linrs or [licturcs to lie jirinted arc left in relief; THE ART OF ILLUSTRATION. the design being generally made on wood with a pencil, and the parts not drawn upon cut away. This was the rudimentary and almost universal form of book-illustration, as practised in the fifteenth century, as revived in England by Bewick in the eighteenth, and continued to the present day. The blocks thus prepared can be printed rapidly on ordinary printing-presses, and on the same page as flic text. During the past few years so many processes have been put forward for producing drawings in relief, for printing witli the type, that it has become a business in itself to test and understand them. The best known process is still wood engraving, at least it is the best for the fac-simile reproduction of drawings, as at present understood in England, whether they be drawn direct upon the wood or transmitted by photography. There is no process in relief which has the same certainty, which gives the same colour and brightness, and by which gradation of tone can be more truly rendered. As to the relative value of the different photo- graphic relief processes, that can only be decided by experts. Speaking generally, I may say that there are six or seven now in use, each of which is, I am informed, the best, and all of which are adapted INTRODUCTORY. for printing in the same manner as a wood-block.* Improvements in these processes are being made so rapidly that what was best yesterday will not be the best to-morrow, and it is a subject which is still little understood. In the present book it is proposed to speak principally of the more popular form of illustration (relievo) ; but the changes which are taking place in all forms of engraving and illustration render it necessary to say a few words first upon intaglio. We have heard much of the "painter-etchers," and of the claims of the etchers to recognition as original artists ; and at the annual exhibition of the Society of Painter-Etchers in London, 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's. But we are considering engraving as a means of interpreting the work of others, rather than as an original art. The influence of photography is felt in nearly every department of illustration. The new photo- mechanical methods of engraving, riv'//^^;/// the aid of * All the illustrations in this book are produced by mechanical processes excepting those marked in the List of Illustrations ; and all are printed simultaneously with the letterpress. For description of processes, see Appendix. ( 4 ) No. II. ''Ashes of Roses^' by G. H. Boughton, A.R.A. This careful drawing, from the painting by Mr. Boughton, in the Royal Academy, reproduced by the Dawson process, is interesting for variety of treat- ment and indication of textures in pen and ink. It is like the picture, but it has also the individuality of the draughtsman, as in line engraving. Size of drawing about b\ x 3^ in. No. II. A.DMINTON IN THE STIDM.' (fKOM THE PAINTrNC {Royal Academy. 1891.) DV K. \V. MACI! A.K..^.) INTRODUCTORY. tlw engraver, have rendered drawing for fac-simile reproduction of more importance than ever; and the wonderful invention called photogravure, in which an engraving is made direct from an oil painting, is almost superseding handwork.* The art of line-engraving is disappearing in England, giving way to the " painter-etchers," the "dry-point" etchers and the "mezzotint engravers," and, finally, to phoiogravure, a method of engraving which is so extraordinary, and so little understood (although it has been in constant use for more than ten years), that it may be worth while to explain, in a few words, the method as practised by Messrs. Boussod, Valadon & Co., successors to Goupil, of Paris. In the Royal Academy Exhibition of 1SS2, Sir Frederick Leighton's picture called " Wedded " will be remembered by many visitors. This picture was purchased for Australia, and had to be sent from England within a few weeks of the closing of the exhibition. There was no time to make an * One of the last and best examples of pure line-engraving was by M. Joubert, from a painting by E. J. Poynter, R.A., called " Atalanta's Race," exhibited in the Royal Academy, 1876. The engraving of this picture was nearly three years in M. Joubert's hands — a tardy process in these days. THE ART OF ILLUSTRATION. engraving, or even an etching satisfactorily, and so the picture was sent to Messrs. Goupil, who in a few weel^-v ^^iW""-x-:^ ^l£^^a^.. No. IV. i^Ro)al Ac(uh'»iy, 1891.) LINE DRAWING. 45 a line. That greater skill and certainty of drawing can be attained by our younger draughtsmen is unquestionable, and, bearing in mind that nearly every book and nciuspapei- in tJie future will be illustrated, the importance of study in this direction is much greater than may appear at first sight. Referring to the evident want of training amongst our younger draughtsmen, the question was put very bluntly in the Athcmcuni some years ago, thus : — Why is not drawing in line with pen and ink taught in our own Government schools of art ? The present system in schools seems to render the art of drawing of as little use to the student as possible, for he has no sooner mastered the preliminary stage of drawing in outline from the flat with a lead pencil, than he has chalk put into his hand, a material which he will seldom or never use in turning his knowledge of drawing to practical account. The readier method of pen and ink would be of great service as a preparatory stage to wood drawing, but unfortunately drawing is taught in most cases as though the student intended only to become a painter. Since these lines were written, efforts have been made in some schools of art to give special training for illustrators, and instruction is also given in wood engraving, which every draughtsman should learn ; but up to the present time there has been no systematic teaching in drawing applicable to the various processes, for the reason that the majority of art masters do not understand them. 46 THE ART OF ILLUSTRATION. The art of expression in line, or of expressing the effect of a picture or a landscape from Nature in a few leading lines (not necessarily outline) is little understood in this country ; and if such study, as the Atlicnccuvi pointed out, is important for the a^^rlW- wood draughtsman, how much more so in drawing for reproduction by photo-mechanical means ? A few artists have the gift of expressing themselves in line, but the majority are strangely ignorant of LINE DRAWING. 47 the principles of this art and of the simple fac-simile processes by which drawing can now be reproduced. In the course of twenty years of editing the Academy Notes, some strange facts have come to the writer's ^ LIXE DRAWIXG. 89 method of line more easily than the hicjher qualities of his art, his chiaroscuro, his sense of values and atmospheric effect. I say nothing of his pictorial sense and humour, for they are beyond imitation. It is the husk only we have jiresented to us. As a matter of education and outlook for the younger generation of illustrators, this imitation of other men's lines deserves our special consideration. Nothing is easier in line work than to copy from the daily press. Nothing is more prejudicial to good art, or more fatal to progress. And yet it is the habit of some instructors to hold up the methods (and the tricks) of one draughtsman to the admiration of students. I read in an art periodical the other day, a suggestion for the better understanding of the way to draw topical illustrations in pen and ink, viz. : that e.\ami)les of the work of Daniel Vierge, Rico, Abbey, Raven Hill, and other noted pen draughtsmen, should be "set as an exercise to students; " of course with explanation by a lecturer or teacher. But this is a dangerous road for the average student to travel. Of all branches of art none leads so quickly to mannerism as line work, and a particular manner when thus acquired is ilithcult to shake oft. Think of the consequences — \'ierge with his garish THE ART OF ILLUSTRATIOX. lights, his trick of black spots, his mechanical shadows and neglect of chiaroscuro — all redeemed and tolerated in a genius for the dash and spirit HE RT. HON. JOHN MOR and beauty of his lines — lines, be it observed, that reproduce with difficulty on relief blocks — imitated by countless students; Mr. E. A. Abbey, the refined, and delicate American draughtsman, imitated •aNL*/t HSITY LINE DRAWISG. 9' for liis method — the style and chic of it being his own, and inimitable. Think of the crowd coming on — imitators of the imitators of Rico — ^ imitators of the imitators of Charles Keene ! It may be said generally, that in order to obtain work as an illustrator — the practical point — there must be originality of thought and design. There must be originality, as well as care and thought bestowed on every drawing for the Press. The drawing of portraits in line from photo- graphs gives employment to some illustrators, as line blocks will print in newspapers much better than photographs. But for newspaper printing they must be done with something of the precision of this portrait, in which the whites are cut deep and where there arc few broken lines. It is the exception to get good printing in England, under present conditions of haste and cheapening of production, and therefore the best drawings for rapid reproduction are those that require the least touching on the part of the engraver, as a touched-up process block is troublesome to the printer ; but it is difficult to impress this on the artistic mind. Some people cannot draw firm clean lines at all, and should not attempt them. Few allow sufficiently for 92 ) No. XIII. '■'Nofhiiigvatimr, no/hi/ig /laiT," by E-P.Sanguinltti. Pen-and-ink drawing from the picture by E. V. Sanguinetti, exhibited at the Nineteenth Century Art Society's Gallery, 1888. The large block is suitable for printing on common paper, and by fast machines. The little block is best adapted for bookwork, and is interesting as showing the quality obtained by reduction. It is an excellent example of drawing for process, showing much ingenuity of line. The tone and shadows on the ground equal the best fac-simile engraving. (Size of original drawing, from which both blocks were made, 15 x 10 in.) No. XIU. ( 94 ) < LINE DRAWING. 95 the result of reduction, and the necessary thickening- of some lines. The results are often a matter of touch and temperament. Some artists are naturally unfitted for line work ; the rules which would apply to one are almost useless to another. Again, there is great inequality in the making of these cheap zinc blocks, however well the drawings may be made ; they require more care and experience in developing than is generally supposed. As line drawing is the basis of the best drawing for the press, I have interspersed through these pages examples and achievements in this direction ; examples which in nearly every case are the result of knowledge and consideration of the requirements of process, as an antidote to the sketchy, careless methods so much in vogue. 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 string. One string — no " messing about," if the phrase may be excused — pure black lines on Bristol board (or paper of the same surface), photographed on to a zinc plate, the white parts etched away and the drawing made to stand in relief, ready to print with the letterpress of a book ; every line and touch coming out a black one, or rejected altogether by the process. No. XIV. " I'or Vie S(/!iin\" by Sir John Mii.i.ais, B.\RT., R..\. This is an example of drawing for process for rapid printing. The accents of the picture are e.Kpressed firmly and in the fewest lines, to give the effect of the picture in the simplest way. Sir John Millais' picture, which was exhibited in the Grosvenor Gallery in 1883, was engraved in mezzotint, and published by Messrs. Thos. Agnew & Sons. (Size of pen-and-ink drawing, 7] x 5! in.) It is suitable for much CTeater reduction. No. XIV, LINE DRAWING. 99 Drawinos thus made, upon Bristol board or paper of similar surface, with lamp black, Indian ink, or any of the numerous inks now in use, which dr)' with a dull, not shiny, surface, will always reproduce well. The pen should be of medium point, or a brush may be used as a pen. The lines should be clear and sharp, and are capable of much variation in style and treatment, as we see in these pages. I purposely do not dwell here upon some special surfaces and papers by which different tones and effects may be produced by the line processes ; there is too much tendency already with the artist to be interested in the mechanical side. I have not recommended the use of ''clay board," for instance, for the- line draughtsman, although it is much tised for giving a crisp line to jjrocess work, and has a useful surface for scraping out lights, &c. The results are nearly always mechanical looking.* On the next page are two simple, straightforward drawings, which, it will be observed, are well suited to the method of reproduction for the type press. The t^rst is by Mr. 11. S. Marks, R.A. (which I * For description of the various grained papers, &c., see ])Dge 1 1 3, also Appendix. THE ART OF ILLUSTRATION. take from the pages of Academy Notes), skilfully drawn upon Bristol board, about 7X5 in. Here every line tells, and none are superfluous; the figure of the monk, the texture of his dress, the old stone doorway, the creeper growing on "the STOrPF.D KEY." (ll the wall, and the basket of provisions, all form a picture, the lines of which harmonise well with the type of a book. In this deliberate, careful drawing, in which white paper plays by far the principal part, the LINE DRAWING. background and lighting of the picture are con- sidered, also the general balance of a decorative page.* * The young "pen-and-ink artist" of to-day generally avoids backgrounds, or renders them by a series of unmeaning scratches ; he does not consider enough the true " lighting of a picture," as we shall see further on. The tendency of much modern black-and-white teaching is to ignore backgrounds. BAS-BKl.IEF. (h. HOLIDAY.) Academy Notes. ") CH\PTER IV. THOTO - ZINC TROCESS.* In order to turn any of these drawings into blocks for the type press, the first process is to have it photographed to the size required, and to transfer a print of it on to a sensitized zinc plate. This print, or photographic image of the drawing lying upon the zinc plate, is of greasy substance (bichromate of potash and gelatine), and is afterwards inked up with a roller ; the plate is then immersed in a bath of nitric acid and ether, which cuts away the parts which were * The heading to this chapter was drawn in line and reproduced by photo-zinc process. (See page 134) T.INE r/WCESS. 103 left \vliit(; upon the paper, and leaves the lines of the drawing in relief This "biting in," as it is called, requires considerable experience and attention, according to the nature of the drawing. Thus, the lines are turned into metal in a few hours, and the plate when mounted on wood to the height of type- letters, is ready to be printed from, if necessary, at the rate of several thousands an hour. MT. (T. l.l.AkK VMKijM.,: {From ** Academy Notes.'*) [This portrait was exhibited in the Royal Academy in 1880. I reproduce Mr. Wirgman's sketch for the sake of his [lowerful treatment of line.] ( 104 ) No. XV. " Forget-Me-Not,'" by Henry Ryland. (From the "English Illustrated Magazine.'') An unusually fine example of reproduction in line, by zinc process, from a large pen-and-ink drawing. It serves to show how clearly writing can be reproduced if done by a trained hand. Students should notice the variety of " colour " and delicacy of line, also the brightness and evenness of the process block throughout. This illustration suggests possibilities in producing decorative pages in modern books without the aid of printers' type, which is worth consideration in art schools. It requires, of course, knowledge of th2 figure and of design, and a trained hand for process. One obvious preparation for such work, is an examina- tion of decorative pages in the Manuscript Department of the British Museum, (^i? Appendix) It would be difficult, I think, to show more clearly the scope and variety of line work by process than in the contrast between this and the two preceding illustrations. Each artist is an expert in black and white in his own way. e^ JpTQeCTlOC vet the tried tnt&nt Qf^ujoh. aCnun txsJhave meant vriyareai tTazxxU cocSiadtY ~5bent ^^ 3'o'r6ec -not -let ^oT^et -not ^et (johen fi.-rsC be^CL-n, She. (jc>ea-rfX.iJe j-e /^houx since uJieru t/OT^ei ■>7ct'(et the.£reat assays ahecrueL u}T~cng (rie.'Se.oi^nfuL iXiavs Sfhe pOJ-nfuL patxenae. u-n dLeioi(S 5firtfe^ noC then, thxne. ou^n appro\je.ci ., the lines of the drawing) remains near the surface of the glass. Thus we have a sunk mould from which a metal cast can be taken, leaving the lines in relief as in the zinc process. In skilful hands this process admits of more delicate gradaticms, and pale, uncertain lines can be reproduced with tolerable fidelit\'. The blocks take longer to make, and are double the jjrice of the photo-zinc process first described. There is no process yet invented which gives better results from a pen-and-ink drawing for the type-press. These blocks when completed have a copper surface. The reproductions of pencil, chalk, or charcoal draw- ings by the zinc, or " biting-in " processes are nearly always failures, as we may see in some of the best artistic books and magazines to-day. ( no ) No. XVI. " The Miller's Daughter^' by E. K. Johnson. Another very interesting example of Mr. E. K. Johnson's drawing in pen and ink. Nearly every line has the value intended by the artist. The drawing has been largely reduced, and reproduced by the gelatine relief process. "^ No. XV] . "THE END OF THE CifAI'TER." (FROM THE PAINTING UV w. KAIKEV.) [Roj'nl Acatieiii}', lSS6.] (Reproduced ty the old Da-.vson fyocess.) GRALXED PAPERS. "in the I'AS DE CALAIS." (jAF. PRINSEP BEADLE.)" GRAINED PAPERS. For tho.SC who cannot draw easily with the pen, there are several kinds of grained papers which render drawings suitable for reproduction. The first is a paper with black lines imprinted upon it on a material suitable for scraping out to get lights, and strengthening with pen or pencil to get solid blacks. On some of these papers black lines are * This excellent drawing was made on rough white paper with autographic chalk ; the print being much reduced in size. It is seldom that such a good grey block can be obtained by this means. 114 THE ART OF ILLUSTRATION. imprinted horizontally, some vertically, some diagonally, some in dots, and some with lines of several kinds, one under the other, so that the artist can get the tint required by scraping out. Drawings thus made can be reproduced in relief like line drawings, taking care not to reduce a fine black grain too much or it will become "spotty" in reproduction. This drawing and the one opposite by Mr. Hume Nisbet show the skilful use of paper with vertical and horizontal black lines ; also, in the latter draw- ing, the different qualities of strength in the sky, and the method of working over the grained paper in pen and ink. No. XV IT. *' TWILIGHT.** (SI'ECIMEN OF DI.ACK-r.RAINED rAPBR.) {From "Lessons in Att" hy Hume Nistet^/ubiishetf ly Chattel Windus,) ( 1 16 ) No. XVIII. "Z^ Dent dii Gcant^' by E. T. Compton. Another skilful use of the black -grained paper to represent snow, glacier, and drifting clouds. The original tone of the paper may be seen in the sky and foreground. ' LE DENT DU G^ANT." (frOM THE PAINTING BY E. T. COMPTON.) The effect is obtained by scraping out the lighter parts on the paper and strengthening the dark with pen and pencil. It is interesting to compare the two blocks made from the same drawing. (Size of drawing 74X4 in.) uS ) No. XIX. Landscape, by A. M. Lindstro.m. Example of bold effect by scraping out on the black-lined paper, and free use of autographic chalk This drawing shows, I think, the artistic limitations of this process in the hands of an experienced draughtsman. The original drawing by Mr- Lindstrom (from his painting in the Royal Academy) was the same size as the reproduction. No. XIX. CRArxr.l) PAPERS. I2t Other papers largely used ior illustration in the type press have a ivhite grain, a good specimen of which is on page 123 ; and there are variations of these white-grained papers, of which what is known in France as allonge paper is one of the best for rough sketches in books and newspapers. The question may arise in many minds, are these contrivances with their mechanical lines for pro- ducing effect, worthy of the time and attention which has been bestowed upon them ? 1 think it is very doubtful if much work ought to be producetl by means of the black-grained papers ; certainly, in the hands of the unskilled, the results would prove disastrous. A painter may use them for sketches, especially for landscape. Mr. Compton (as on p. i 1 6) can e.xpress very rapidly and effectively, by scrajjing out the lights and strengthening the darks, a snow- drift or the surface of a glacier. In the drawing on page 123, Mr. C. J. Watson has shown us how the grained paper can be played with, in artistic hands, to give the effect of a picture. The difference, artistically speaking, between sketches made on black-grained and white-grained papers seems to me much in favour of the latter. But at the best, blocks made from drawings on these papers are apt to be unequal, and do not ( 122 ) No. XX. "Vo/cndam,'' by C. J. Watson. Example of white-lined paper, treated very skilfully and effectively — only the painter of the picture could have given so much breadth and truth of effect. This 2vhiie pai)er has a strong vertical grain which when drawn upon with autographic chalk has the same appearance as black-lined pa[)er; and is often taken for it. (Size of drawing 6 x 4^ in.) n No. XX. GRAINED PAPERS. 125 print with the ease and certainty of pure line work ; thc;y require g-Qod paper and careful printing, which is not al\va)s to be obtained. The artist who " AND WEE PEERIE FOR A*," (from the I'AINTINC BV Ht'CH CAMERON.) Example 0/ a good chalk drawing too largely reduced. draws for the processes in this country must not expect (excepting in very exceptional cases) to have his work reproduced and printed as in America, or even as well as in this book. ( 126 No. XXI. "An Arrcsf," by jNIeltom Prior. This is a remarkable example of the reproduction of a pencil drawing. It is seldom that the soft grey efifecl of a pencil drawing can be obtained on a "half-tone" relief block, or the lights so successfully preserved. This is only a portion of a picture by Mr. Melton Trior, the well-known special aitist, for which I am indebted to the proprietors of Skctc/i. The reproduction is by Carl Hentschcl. ^iff No. XXI. 128 THE ART OF ILLUSTRATION. The reproduction on the previous page owes its success not only to good process, paper, and printing, but also to the firm, decisive touch of an experienced illustrator like Mr. Melton Prior. A pencil drawing in less skilful hands is apt to "go to pieces " on the press. Mr. C. G. Harper, in his excellent book on English Pen Artists, has treated of other ways in which drawings on prepared papers may be manipulated for the type press ; but not always with success. In that interesting publication, The Sttidio, there have appeared during the past year many valuable papers on this subject, but in which the mechanism of illustration is perhaps too much insisted on. Some of the examples of "mixed drawings," and of chalk-and-pencil reproductions, might well deter any artist from adopting such aids to illustration. The fact is, that the use of grained papers is, at the best, a makeshift and a degradation of the art of illustration, if judged by the old standards. 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 schools. For the purposes of ordinary illustrations we should keep to the simpler method of line. All LIKE PROCESS. these contrivances require great care in printing, and the blocks have often to be worked u[) by an engraver. T/ic viatcrial of the process blocks is iinsuitcd to the purpose. In a liandbook to students of illustration this requires repeating on nearly every page. As a contrast to the foregoing, let us look at a sketch in pure line by the landscape painter, Mr. M. R. Corbet, who, with little more than a scribble of the pen, can express the feeling of sunrise and the still air amonorst the trees. 4^ /, y U /^ "bUNKISE IN THB SEVERN VALLKY." (.MATTHEW R. COKBET.) THE ART OF ILLUSTRATION. MECHANICAL DOTS. Amongst the modern inventions for helping the hurried or feeble iUustrator, is the system of laying on mechanical dots to give shadow and colour to a pure line drawing, by process. It is a practice always to be regretted ; whether applied to a necessarily hasty newsjxiper sketch, or to one of Daniel Vierge's elaborately printed illustrations in the Pablo de Segovia. One cannot condemn too strongly this system, so freely used in continental illustrated sheets, but which, in the most skill ul hands, seems a degradation of the art of illustration. These dots and lines, used for shadow, or tone, are laid upon the plate by the maker of the block, the artist indicating, by a blue pencil mark, the parts of a drawing to be so manipulated ; and as the illustrator lias not seen the effect on his oivn line drawing, the results are often a surprise to everyone concerned. I wish these ingenious contrivances were more worthy of an artist's attention. On the opposite page is an example taken from an English magazine, by which it may be seen that all daylight has been taken ruthlessly from the principal figure, and that it is no longer in tone with the rest of the picture, as an open air sketch. ^■a'/"" '^H/* U:yL *'th:: adjutant's love story." (h. k. millak.) {^ExatiipU of nttchahiaxi gntiu.) No. XXII. 132 THE ART OF ILLUSTRATIOX. The system is tempting to the hurried ihustrator; he has only to draw in Hne (or outline, which is worse) and then mark where the tint is to appear, and the dots are laid on by the maker of the blocks. In the illustration on the last page (I have chosen an example of fine-grain dots ; those used in news- papers and common prints are much more unsightly, as everyone knows), it is obvious that the artist's sketch is injured by this treatment, that, in fact, the result is not artistic at all. Nothing but high pressure or incompetence on the jjart of the illustrator can excuse this mechanical addition to an incomplete drawing ; and it must be remembered that these inartistic results are not the fault of the process, or of the "process man." But the system is growing in every direction, to save time and trouble, and is lowering the standard of topical illustrations. And it is this system {Jiitcr alia) which is taught in technical schools, where the knowledge of process is taking the jjlace of wood enyravintr. The question is again uppermost in the mind, are such mechanical appliances ("dodges," I ven- ture to call them) worthy the serious attention of artists ; and can any good arise by imparting such knowledge to youthlul illustrators in technical LINE PROCESS. 133 schools ? \\\)od engraving was a craft to be learned, with a career for the apprentice. There is no similar career for a lad by Icamii/o- Ike "'processes;" and nothing bid disappointment before him if he learns the mechanism before he is an educated and qualified artist. Mention should be made here (although I do not wish to dwell upon it) of drawing in line on prepared transfer pap^jr with autographic ink, which is transferred to zinc without the aid of jjhoto- graphy, a process very useful for rapid and common work ; but it is seldom used for good book illustration, as it is irksome to the artist and not capable of very good results ; moreover, the drawing has often to be minute, as the reproduction will be the same size as the original. It is one of the processes which I think the student of art had better not know much about.* 1 hat it is possible, by the common processes, to obtain strong effects almost equal to engraving, * The young artist would be much better occupied in learning draiving on stone direct, a branch of art which does not come into the scope of this book, as it is seldom used in book illustration, and cannot be printed at the type press. Drawing on stone is well worthy of study now, for the irt is being revived in England on account of the greater facilities for printing than formerly. 134 THE ART OF ILLUSTRATION. may be seen in some process illustrations by Mr. Lancelot Speed, in whicli many technical experiments have been made, including the free use ot white lining. Mr. Speed is very daring in his exprTiments, and stmlents ma)' well puzzle (>\er the means b)' which he obtains his effects by tlic line ijrocesses. The illustration opposite from Andrew Lang's Blue Poetry Book, shows a very ingenious treat- ment of the black-lined papers. Technically it is one of the best e.xamples I know of,— the result of much study and exjjeriment. Ait,ir,w Land's "Blue Poetry Book." vLancelot speed.) No. XXIII. ( 136 ) No. XXIV. " The Armada^' by Lancelot Speed. This extraordinary example of line drawing for process was taken from Andrew Lang's Blue Poetry Book, published by Messrs. Longmans. Li this illustration no wash has been used, nor has there been any " screening " or engraving on the block. The methods of lining are, of course, to a great extent the artist's own invention. This illustration and the two jireceding lead to the con- clusion that there is yet much to learn in drawuig for process by those who will study it. The achievements of the makeri of the blocks, with difficult drawings to reproduce, is quite another matter. Here all is easy for the reproducer, the common zinc process only being employed, and the required effects obtained wiihout much worrjiiig of the printer, or of the maker of the blocks. Thus far a'l the illustrations in this book have been produced by the common line process. No XXIV, 138 THE ART OF ILLUSTRATION " HALF-TONE " PROCESS. The next process to consider is the method of reproducing wash drawings and photographs on blocks suitable for printing at the type press, com- monly known as the Meisenbach or " half-tone process ; " a most ingenious and valuable invention, which, in clever hands, is capable of artistic results, but which in common use has cast a gloom over illustrations in books and newspapers. First, as to the method of making the blocks. As there are no lines in a wash drawing or in a photograph from nature, it is necessary to obtain some kind of grain, or interstices of white, on the HALF-TONE PROCESS 139 zinc plate, as in a mezzotint ; so between the drawing or photograph to be reproduced and the camera, glass screens, covered with lines or dots, are inter- posed, varying in strength according to the light THERE IS THE I'RIORV and shade required ; thus turning the image of the wash drawing practically into "line," with sufficient interstices of white for printing purposes. !4o THE ART OF ILLUSTRATION. Thus, all drawings in wash, chalk, pencil, etc., that will not reproduce by the direct line processes, already referred to, are treated for printing at the type press ; and thus the uniform, monotonous dulness, with which we are all familiar, pervades the page. The conditions of drawing for this process have to be caret ully studied, to prevent the meaningless smears and blotches (the result generally of making too hasty sketches in wash) which disfigure nearly every magazine and newspaper we take up. There is no necessity for this degradation of illustration. The artist who draws in wash with body colour, or paints in oils in monochrome, for this process, soon learns that his high lights will be lost and his strongest effects neutralised, under this effect of gauze ; and so for pictorial purposes he has X.o force /lis ejfict and exaggerate lights and shades; avoiding too delicate gradations, and in his different tones keeping, so to speak, to one octave instead of two. Thus, also for this process, to obtain brightness and cheap effect, the illustrator of to-day often avoids backgrounds altogether. In spite of the uncertainty of this system of reproduction, it has great attractions for the skilful or the hurried illustrator. Jf^&^fhA No. XXV. ' HciRa rode without a saddle as if she had grown to her horso— ;>t/ull speed.' t a saddle as if she had grown to her horse— at/idl sp ("//.!/« Aiideneni Fairy ra/cs:) / 142 ) No. XXVI. ^'■Thc S/orks,'" by J. R. Weguelin. " And high through the air came the first stork and the second stork ; a jiretty child sat on the back of each.'' Exam]ile of lialf-tone process applied to a slight wash drawing. The illustration is much relieved by vignetting and /caving out : almost the only chance for effect that the artist has by the screened process. It suggests, as so many of the illustrations in this book do, not the limits but the scope and possibilities of process work for books. This and the [ircccding illustration by Mr. Weguelin are taken from Hans Andcrscui Fairy Talcs (Lawrence \- jjullcn, 1S93). No. XXVI. THE ART OF ILLUSTRATION. That this "half-tone" process is susceptible of a variety of effects and results, good and bad, every reader must be aware. The illustrations in this book, from jjages 138 to 165, are all practically by the same process of "screening," a slight difference only in the grain being discernible. The wash drawing on page 139 suffers by the coarse grain on it, but the values, it will be seen, are fairly well preserved. The lights which are out of tone appear to have been taken out on the plate by the maker of the block, a dangerous proceeding with figures on a small scale. Mr. Louis Grier's clever sketch of his picture in wash, at the head of this chapter, gives the effect well. Mr. Weguelin's illustrations to Hans Aiidcrscii s Fairy Talcs have been, I understand, a great success, the public caring more lor the spirit of poetry that breathes through them than for more finished drawings. This is delightful, and as it should be, although, technicalh', the artist has not considered his process enough, and trom the educational point of view it has its dangers. The "process" has been blamed roundly, in one or two criticisms of Mr. Weguelin's illustrations, whereas the process 7tscd is tlie same as on pa^rs 149 and 157. HALF-TOXE PROCESS. However, the effect on a wash drawing is not satisfactory in the best hands. So uncertain and gloomy are the results that several well-known illustrators decline to use it as a substitute for wood engraving. We shall have to inii)rove considerably before wood engraving is abandoned. We are improving every day, and by this half-tone process numberless wash drawings and photographs from nature are now presented to the public in our daily prints. Great advances have been made lately in the "screening" of pencil drawings, and in taking out the lights of a sketch (as pointed out on page 127), and results have been obtained by carelul draughtsmen during the last si.x months which a year ago would have been considered impossible. These results have been obtained principally by gooel printing and jiaper — allowing of a fine grain on the block — but where the illustration has to be prepared for printing, say 5,000 an hour, off rotary machines, a coarser grain has to be used, producing the " Berlin wool pattern " eftect on the page, with which we are all familiar in newspapers. Let us now look at two examples of wash drawing by process, lent by the proprietors of Black and IV/iiic. ( 146 ) No. XXVII. This is a good average example of what to expect by the halftone process from a wash drawing. That the result is tame and monotonous is no fault of the artist, whose work could have been more brightly rendered by wood engraving. That " it is better to have this process than bad wood engraving " is the opinion of nearly all illus- trators of to-day. The artist sdds his on'ii ivork, at any rate, if through a veil of fog and gloom which is meant for sunshine ! But the time is coming when the pubUc will hardly rest content with such results as these. No. XXVII. ( 148 No. XXVIII. lUuslration from " B/ack and U'hi/e," by G. G. Manton. This is a good example of wash drawing for process ; that is to say, a good example from the "process man's" point of view. Here the artist has used his utmost endeavours to meet the process half-way ; he has been careful to use broad, clear, firm washes, and has done them with certainty of hand, the result of experience. If, in the endeavour to get strength, and the best results out of a few tones, the work lacks some arlislic qualities, it is almost a necessity. Mr. Manton has a peculiar method of lining, or stippling, over his wash work, which lends itself admirably for reproduction ; but the practice can hardly be recommended to the attention of students. It is as difficult to achieve artistic results by these means, as in the combination of line and chalk in one drawing, advocated by some ex])erts. At the same time, Mr. Manton's indication of surfaces and textures by process are both interesting and valuable. No. XXVIII. ( I50 ) 'a sunny land." (from the painting by GEORGE WETHERCEE.) {Netu Gallery^ 1S91.) DECORATIVE DESIGN BY RANDOLPH CALDECOTT. One of the many uses which artists may make of the half-tone process is suggested by the reproduc- tion of one of Mr. Caldecott's decorative designs, drawn freely with a brush full of white, on brown paper on a large scale (sometimes two or even three feet long), and reduced as above ; the reduction refining and improving the design. This is a most legitimate and practical use of "process" for illustrating books, architectural and others, which in artistic hands might well be further developed. (Tlie above design, from the Memoir of A'. CalJccotl^ is lent by Messrs. Sampson Low & Co.) THE ART OF ILLUSTRATION. Of the illustrators who use this process in a more free-and-easy way we will now take an example, cut out of the pages of Sketch [see overleaf p. [55). Here truths of light and shade are disregarded, the figure stands out in unnatural darkness against white paper, and flat mechanical shadows are cast upon nothing. Only sheer ability on the part of a few modern illustrators has saved these coarse un- gainly sketches from universal condemnation. But the splashes, and spots, and stains, which are taking the place of more serious work in illustration, have become a vogue in 1894. '^'le sketch is made in two or three hours, instead of a week ; the process is also much cheaper to the publisher than wood engraving, and the public seems satisfied with a sketch where formerly a finished illustration was required, if the subject be treated dramatically and in a lively manner. If the sketch comes out an un- sightly smear on the page, it at least answers the purpose of topical illustration, and apparently suits the times. It is little short of a revolution in illustration, of which we do not yet see the end.* * The evil of it is that we are becoming used to black blots in the pages of books and newspapers, and take them as a matter of course ; j'.ist as we submit to the deformity of the outward man in the matter of clothing. HALF-TOXK PROCESS. 153 The bookstalls are laden with the daring achieve- ments of Phil May, Raven Hill, Dudley Hardy, and others, but it is not the object of this book to exhibit the works of genius, either for emulation or imitation. It is rather to sug-gest to the average student what he may legitimately attempt, and to show him the possibilities of the process block in different hands. It may be said, without disparage- ment of the numerous clever and experienced illustrators of the day, that they are only adapting themselves to the circumstances of the time. There is a theory— the truth ol which I do not cpicstion — that the reproductions ol rapid sketches from the living model by the hall-tone process have more vitality and freedom, more feeling and artistic qu.alities thim can be obtainc^d b)' an\' other means. But the young illustrator should hesitate before adapting these methods, and should never have a)iything rcprcdiiccd for pJiblication icliich was '" draiun to lime'' in art classes. One thing cannot be repeated too often in this connection : that the hastily produced blotches called " illustrations," which disfigure the pages of so many books and magazines, are generally the result of want of cart; on the part of the artist rather th.in of the maker of the blocks. ( 154 ) No. XXIX. This is part of a page illustration lent by the pro]irietor3 of Skctih. It does not do justice to the talent (or the taste, we will hope), of the illustrator, and is only inserted here to record the kind of work which is popular in 1S94. (Perhaps in a second edition we may have other exploits of genius to record.) It should be noted that this and the illustration on p. 149 are both reproduced by the same half- tone process, the difference of result being altogether in the handling of the brush. This sketch would have been intolerable in less artistic hands. Artists will doubtless find more feeling and expression in the broad washes and splashes before us, than in tlie most careful stippling of Mr. Manton. Students of wash drawing for process may take a middle course. No. XXIX., THE ART OF ILLUSTRATION. A word here on the influence of PROCESS-BLOCK MAKERS on the youn^- illustrator. The " process man, " the teacher and inciter to achievements by this or that process, is not usually an " artist " in the true sense of the word. He knows better than anyone else what lines he can reproduce, and especially what kind of drawing is best adapted for his own process. He will probably tell the young draughtsman what materials to use, what amount of reduction his drawings will bear, and other things of a purely technical not to say businesslike character. Let me not be understood to disparage the work of photo- engravers and others engaged on the.se processes ; on the contrary, the amount of patience, industrv, activit}-, and anxious care bestowed ujjon the reproduction of drawings and paintings is astonish- ing, and deserves our gratitude.* This work is a new industry of an important kind, in which art and cratt are bound up together. The day has past when "process work" is to be looked down upon as only fit for the cheapest, most inferior, and inartistic results. * On the opposite page is an excellent reproduction of a painting from a photograpli hy the half-tone process. HALF-TOXE PROCESS. piioto(;k.M'Uic illustkatioxs. One result of hasty work in makintj; ilrawincjs, and the uncertainty of reproduction, promises to be a very serious one to the ilkistrator, as far as we can see ahead, viz. : the grackial substitution of photo- graphs from life for other forms of illustration. The "I\Ieisenbach"reprodnction of a photograph from life, say a full length figure of an actress in some elaborate costume, seems to answer the purpose of the editor of a newspaper to fill a page, where formerly artists and engravers would have been employed. One reason for this is that the details of the dress are so well rendered b\- photography on 158 THE ART OF ILLUSTRATION. the block as to answer the purpose of a fashion plate, an imi)()rt;int matter in some weekly news- papers. The result is generally unsatisfactory from an artist's point of view, but the picture is often most skilfully composed and the values wonderfully rendered, direct from the original. In the case of the reproduction of photographs, which we are now considering, much may be done by working up a platinotype print before giving it out to be made into a block. Much depends here upon the artistic knowledge of editors and publishers, who have it in their power to have produced good or bad illustrations from the same original. The makers of the blocks being confined to time and price, are practically powerless, and seldom have an opportunity of obtaining the best results. It should be mentioned that blocks made from wash drawings, being shallower than those made from line drawings, sutler more from bad printing and paper. A good silver print (whether from a piiotograph from life or from a picture), full of delicate gra- dations and strong effects, appears on the plate through the film of gauze, dull, flat, and com- paratively uninteresting ; but the expression of the original is given tvith more Jidclify than could be HALF-TONE PROCESS. 159 done by any ordinary wood engraving. This is the best that can be said tor it, it is a dull, mechanical process, requiring help from the maker of the blocks ; and so a system of touching on the negative (before making the block) to bring out the lights and accents of the picture is the common practice. This is a hazardous business at the best, especially when deal- ing with the copy of a painting. I mention it to show where "handwork" in the half-tone process first comes in. The block, when made, is also often touched up by an engraver in places, especially where spotty or too dark; and on this work many who were formerly wood-engravers now find employment. 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 lines ; but in the majority of cases they will tell the artist too muih, ,uk1 lead him to take loo much interest in the mechanical side ol the business. The illustrator's best protection against this tendency, his whole armour and coat cjt mail, is to be an artist first and an illtistrator afterioards. This is the sum of the matter. Perhaps some of the examples in this book may help us, and lead to a more thorough testing of results by cai)able men. i6o THE ART OF ILLUSTRATION. " SKETCH." It will be interesting here to consider tlie material of which one number of an illustrated paper {Sketch) is made up, and how far the artist and wood engraver have part in it. From an economic point of view it will be instructive. I take this "newspaper" as an example, because it is a typical and quite "up-to-date" publication, vicing, in circulation and importance, with the Illnsfratcd Loudon Ncios, both published by the same proprietors. In one number there are upwards of 30 pages, 10 being advertisements. There are in all 1 5 1 illustrations, of which 63 appear in the te.xt part, and 88 in the advertisement pages. Out of the text illustrations, 24 only are from original drawings or sketches. Next are 26 plioto- graphs from life (several being full pages), and 13 reproductions from engravings, etc., reproduced by mechanical processes — in all 63. Some of the pages reproduced from photographs are undeniably good, and interesting to the public, as is evidenced by the popularity of this i)aper alone. In the advertisement portion are 88 illustrations (including many small ones), 85 of which have been engraved on wood ; a number of them are electrotypes from old blocks, but there are many new ones every week. The reason for usinij wood eneravinrr No. XXX. MI^S KATE RORKE. (FROM "SKETCH."} F'loto^raphed from life bv H, S. Mendeissckn. Reproduced by half-tone process ) ^\0 H A Hy" UNIVERSITY HALF-TOXE PROCESS. 163 largely tor advertisements is, that wood l)locks print more easily than " process," when mixed with the- type, and print better (being cut deeper on the block) where inferior paper and ink are employed. But this class of wood engraving may be summed up in the words of one of the craft to nn; lately : — " It is not worth £2 a week to anybody." Thus it will be seen that in the "text" part of this newspaper two-thirds of the illustrations are pro- duced without the aid of artist or wood engraver ! To turn to one of the latest Instances where the photographer Is the illustrator. A -photographer, Mr. Burrows, of Camborne, goes down a lead mine in Cornwall with his apparatus, and takes a series of views of the workings, which could probably have been done by no other means. Under most difficult conditions he sets his camera, and by the aid of the magnesium " tlash-light," gives us groups of figures at work amidst gloomy and weird sur- roundings. The results are exceptionally valuable as " illustrations" in the true meaning of the word, on account of the clear and accurate definition of details. The remarkable part, artistically. Is the good colour and grouping of the figures.* * " 'Mongst Mines and Miners" by J. C. liurrows and W. Thomas. (London : Simpkin, Marshall &: Co.) i64 THE ART OF ILLVSTRATIOX. Another instance of the use of photography in iUustration. Mr. Villiers, the special artist of Black and White, made a starthng statement lately. He said that out of some i 50 subjects which he took at the Chicago Exhibition, not more than half-a-dozen were drawn by him ; all the rest being "snap-shot " photographs. Some were very good, could hardly be better, the result of many hours' waiting for the fivourable grouping of figures. That he would re-draw some of them with his clever pencil for a newspaper is possible, but observe the part photo- graphy plays in the matter. In America novels have been thus illustrated both in figure and landscape ; the weak point being the backgrounds to the figure subjects. I draw attention to this movement because the neglect of composition, of appropriate backgrounds, and of the true lighting of the figures by so many young artists, is throwing illustrations more and more into the hands of the photographer. Thus the rapid " pen-and-ink artist," and the sketcher in wash from an artificially lighted model in a crowded art school, is hastening to his end. The time is coming fast when cheap editions of popular novels will be illustrated — and many in tlie following way. The artist, instead of being called No. XXXI. (./ Photograph from li/c, l,y Mcsin. Camcrm &• Smith. KrtroduccJ by half-tone froctst.) HALF-TONE PROCESS. 167 upon to draw, will occupy himself in setting and composin/ ^ ^^ V, fc<~ — •■ ^-^ > 1 » Is ^ -^1 — * ~V No. XXXIV. LINE PROCESS. 179 But the whole effect is obviously untrue to nature, and the tricks — of black spots, of exao-crcrated shadows on the ground, of scratchings (and of care- lessness, which might be excused in a hasty sketch for La Vie Modcnic) — are only too apparent. In nearly every illustration in the Pablo dc Scgoina (of which there are upwards of one hundred), the artist has relied for brilliancy and effect on patches of black (sometimes ludicrously exaggerated) and other mannerisms, which we accejjt from a genius, but which the student had better not attempt to imitate. To quote a criticism from the Spectator, " There is almost no light and shade in Vierge. There is an ingenious effect of dazzle, but there is no approach attempted to truth of tone, shadows being quite capriciously used for decoration and supplied to figures that tell as light objects against the sky which throws the shadows." And yet m these handsome pages there are gems of draughtsmanship and extraordinary tours de force in illustration. In the reproduction of these drawings, I think the maker of the blocks, M. Gillot, of Paris, would seem to have had a difficult task to perform. The fact is, that Vierge's wonderful line drawings are sometimes as difficult tu reproduce for the I So THE ART OF ILLUSTRATION. type press as those of Holbein or Menzell, and could only be done satisfactorily by one of the intaglio processes, such as that employed by the Autotype Company in editions de luxe. That Vierge's drawings were worthy of this anyone who saw the originals when exhibited at Barnard's Inn would, I think, agree. It is the duty of any writer or instructor in illustration, to point out these things, once for all. That Vierge could adapt himself to almost any process if he pleased, is demonstrated repeatedly in \\\<^Pablo de Segovia, where (as on pages 63 and 67 of that book) the brilliancy and "colour" of pure line by process has hardly ever been equalled. That some of his illustrations are impossible to reproduce well, and have been degraded in the process is also demonstrated on page 199 of the same book, where a mechanical grain has been used to help out the drawing, and the lines have had to be cut up and "rou- letted" on the block to make them possible to print. Of the clever band of illustrators of to-day who owe much of their inspiration (and some of their tricks of method) to Vierge, it is not necessary to speak here ; we are in an atmosphere of genius in this chapter, and geniuses are seldom safe guides to students of art. LINE PROCESS. Speaking generally (and these remarks refer to editors and publishers as well as draughtsmen), the art of illustration as practised in England is far from satisfactory ; we are too much given to imitating the tricks and prettinesses of other nations, and it is quite the exception to find either originality or individuality on the pages which are hurled from the modern printing press ; individuality as seen in the work of Adolphe Menzell, and, in a different s[)irit, in that of Gustave Dore and Vierge. CHAPTER Y. WOOD ENGRAVINGS. O turn to ;i more practical side of book illustration. The first principle of illustration is to illustrate, and yet it is a fact that few illustrations in books or magazines are to be found in their proper places in the text. It is seldom that the illustration (.so called) is in artistic harmony with the rest of the page, as it is found in old books. One of the great charms of Bewick's work is its individuality and expressive character. Here the artist and engraver were one, and a system of illustration was founded in England a hundred years ago which we should do well not to forcret.* * In The Life and IFfris nf Ttiomas Beivi'c/!, by D. C. Thomson ; in T/ie Portfolio, Tlie Art Journal, Tlie Magazine oj Art, and in Good Words, Bewick's merits as artist and engravei have been exhaustively discussed. IVOOD ENGRAVING. 183 We are fast losing sight of first principles and aim- ing rather at catching the eye and the public purse with a pretty page ; and in doing this we are but imitators. In the English magazines it is strange to find a slavish, almost childish imitation of the American system of illustration ; adopting, for instance, the plan of pictures turned over at the corners or overlapping each other with exaggerated bkick borders and other devices of the album of the last generation. This is what we have come to in England in 1894 (with excellent wood engravers still), and the kind of art by which we shall be remembered at the end of the nineteenth century ! I am speaking of magazines like Good Words and Casseir s Alagazine, where wood engra\ing is still largely employed. It may be as well to explain here that the reasons for employing the medium of wood engraving for elaborate illustrations which, such as we see in American magazines, were formerly only engraved on copper or steel, are — (i) rapidity of production, and (2) the almost illimitable number of copies that can be produced from casts from wood blocks. The broad distinction between the old and new methods of wood engraving is, that in early days the lines were drawn clearly un lh(; wood block and THE ART OF ILLUSTRATION. the part not drawn cut away by the engraver, who endeavoured to make a perfect fac-simile of the artist's hnes. It is now a common custom to transfer a photograph from life on to the wood block {see p. 167), also to draw on the wood with a brush in tint, and even to photograph a water-colour drawing on to the wood, leaving the engraver to turn the tints into lines in his own way. In the very earliest days of book illustration, before movable type-letters were invented, the illustration and the letters of the text were all engraved on the wood together, and thus, of necessity (as in the old block books produced in Holland and Belgium in the fifteenth century), there was character and individuality in every page; the picture, rough as it often was, harmonising with the text in an unmistakable manner. From an artistic point of view, there was a better balance of parts and more harmony of effect than in the more elaborate illustrations of the present day. The illustration was an illustration in the true sense of the word. It interpreted something to the reader that words were incapable of doing ; and even when movable type was first introduced, the simple character of the engravings harmonised well with the letters. There is a broad line of demarcation, WOOD E.\GRAVL\G. i8s indeed, between these early wood engravings (such, for instance, as the " Ars Moriendi," purchased for the British Museum in 1872, from the Weigel collection at Leipsic, and recently reproduced by the Holbein Society) and the last development of the art in the American magazines. The movement is important, because the Americans, with an energy and na'ivcti?. peculiar to them, have set themselves the task of outstripping all nations in the beauty and quality of magazine illustrations. That they have succeeded in obtaining delicate effects, and what painters call colour, through the medium of wood-engraving, is well known, and it is common to meet people in England asking, " Have you seen the last number of Harper s or the Century Magazine f" The fashion is to admire them, and English publishers are easily found to devote time antl capital to distributing American magazines which come to England free of duty), to the prejudice of native productions. The reason for the excellence (which is freely admitted) of American wood-engraving and printing is that, in the first place, more capital is employed upon the work. The American wood-engraver is an artist in every sense of the word, and his education is not considered complete without years of foreign study. ( li No. XXXV. A Portrait engraved on wood at the Office of the Century Mag.\zine. Example of portraiture from the Century Magazine. It is interesting to note the achievements of the American engravers at a time when wood engraving in England is under a cloud. This portrait was photographed from life and afterwards worked up by hand and most skilfully engraved in New York. XXXV. (Photo^rafh /rom life, en^mvcd on -.void. From tin Century Afajazliu-.) lyOOn EAGRA VJNG. The American engraver is always en rapport with the artist — an important matter — working often, as I have seen them at Harper s, the Cetitury Magazine, and Scribncr s in New York, in the same studio, side by side. In England the artist, as a rule, does not have any direct communication with the wood engraver. In America the publisher, having a very large circulation for his works, is able to bring the culture of Europe and the capital of his own country to the aid of the wood-engraver, spending sometimes five or six hundred pounds on the illustrations of a single number of a monthly magazine. The result is an engraver s success of a very remarkable kind. A discussion of the merits of the various styles of wood engraving, and of the different methods of drawing on wood, such as that initiated by the late Frederick Walker, A.R.A. ; the styles of Mr. William .Small, E. A. Abbey, Alfred Parsons, etc. — does not come into the scope of this publication, but it will be useful to refer to one or two opinions on the American system. " Book illustration as an art," as Mr. Comyns Carr pointed out in his lectures at the Society of Arts ten years ago, "is founded upon wood engraving, 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 possess. In the mass of work now I90 THE ART OF ILLUSTRATIOX. produced, there is very little trace of the principles upon which Holbein laboured. Instead of proceeding by the simplest means, our modern artist seems rather by preference to take the most difficult and complex way of expressing himself A wood engraving, it is not unjust, to say, has become scarcely dis- tinguishable from a steel engraving excepting by its inferiority." Mr. Hubert Herkomer, R.A., who has had a very wide experience in the graphic arts, says : — " 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 perfection, that the most modern work, especially that of the Americans, is done to show tlie skill of the engraver rather than the art of the draughtsman. This, I do not hesitate to say, is a sign of decadence. Take up any number of the Century or Harpers magazines, and you will see that effect is the one aim. You marvel at the handling of the engraver, and forget the artist. Correct, or honest, drawing is no longer wanted. This kind of illustration is most pernicious to the student, and 7vill not last " America is a child full of promise in art — a child that is destined to be a great master ; so let us not imitate its youthful efforts or errors. Americans were the first to foster this style of art, and they will be the first to correct it." Mr. W. J. Linton, the well-known wood engraver, expresses himself thus strongly on the modern system, and his words come with great force from the other side of the Atlantic : — "Talent is misapplied when it is spent on endeavours to rival steel-line engraving or etching, in following brush-marks, in pretending to imitate crayon-work, charcoal, or lithography, and in striving who shall scratch the greatest number of lines on a WOOD ENGRAVING. given space without thought of whether such muhiplicity of lines adds anything to the expression of the picture or the beauty of the engraving. How much of talent is here thrown away ! 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 art, and having for that neglected the study of the highest ! For it is the lowest and the last thing about which an artist should concern himself, this excessive fineness and minuteness of work. . . In engraving, as in other branches of art, the first thing is drawing, the second driving, the third dra^vingP This is the protcssional view, ;ibly expressed, of a matter which has been exercising many minds of late ; and is worth quoting, if only to show the folly of imitating a system acknowledged by e.x- perts to be founded on false principles. But there is another view of the matter which should not be lost sight of. Whatever the opinion of the American system of illustration may be, there is, on the other side of the Atlantic, an amount of energy, enterprise, cultivation of hand and eye delicacy of manipulation, and individual industry, cleverly organised to provide a wide continent with a better art than anything yet attempted in any country. Some fine engravings, which the Americans have lately been distributing amongst the people, such, for instance, as the portraits (en- graved from photograjihs from life) which have 192 THE ART OF ILLUSTRATION. appeared in Harper s and the Century magazines, only reach the cultivated few in Europe in expensive books. It is worth considering what the ultimate art effect of this widespread distribution will be. The "prairie flower" holds in her hand a better magazine, as regards illustrations, than anything published in England at the same price; and a taste for delicate and refined illustration is being fostered amongst a variety of people on the western continent, learned and unlearned. That there is a want of sincerity in the movement, that "things are not exactly what they seem," that something much better might be done, may be admitted ; 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 cultivation. In the Ceniury magazine, ten years ago, there was an article on "The Pupils of Bewick," with illustrations admirably reproduced from proofs of early wood engravings, by "photo-engraving." This is noteworthy, as showing that the know- ledge of styles is disseminated everywhere in America ; and also, how easy it is to reproduce engravings by "process," and how important to have a clear copyright laiv on this subject. woo/) EXGRAVIiW,. '93 Of the English wood engravers, and of the present state of the profession in England much has been written. I behevc the fact remains that commercial wood engraving is still relied on by many editors and publishers, as it prints with more ease and certainty than any of the process blocks. That there are those in England (like Mr. Biscombe Gardner and others, whose work I am unable to reproduce here), that believe in wood engraving still as a vital art, capable of the highest results, I am also well aware. But at the moment of writing it is difticult to get many publishers to expend capital upon it for ordinary illustrations. On the ne.xt page is an example of good wood eneravine. ' DRIVING HOME THE PICS." (jOHN PEDDEK.) (Acndemy Notes, 1891.) ( 194 No. XXXVl. Joan of Arc's House at Rouen, liy the late Samuel Prout. Engraved on wood by Mr. J- 1^- Cooper, from a water-colour drawing by Samuel Prout. The original drawing, made with a reed pen and flat washes of colour, was photographed on to the wood block, and the engraver interpreted the various tints into line. The method is interesting, and the tones obtained in line show the resources of the engraver's art, an art rather carelessly set aside in these days. This engraving is from Nonnandy Picturesque. (London : Sampson Low & Co.) No. X.VW I. SIGN bV WALTER i CHAPTER VI. TIIK DECOKATIVK PAGE. jo turn ncxl to thu more dccunitive side of modern illustration, where design and tile cusciiib/c of a printed page are more considered, it is pleasant to be able to draw attention to the work of an art school, where an educated and intelligent mind seems to have been the presiding genius ; where the illustrators, whilst they are fully imbued with the spirit of the past, have taken pains to adajH their nielhoLls to mcjdern re(iuirements. I reler lu the liirmingham Municli)al School ot An. ( 198 ) N.'. XXXVII. Decorative Page, by A. J. Gaskin. (From Mans Antk-i sen's Fairy Tales. London : George xVUen.) This is a good example of the appropriate decoration of a page without any illustration in the ordinary sense of the word. The treatment of ornament harmonises well with old-faced type letter. The original was drawn in pen and ink, about /he same size as the reproduction. The ground is excellent in colour, almost equal to a wood engraving. This is another example of the possibilities of process, rightly handled, and also of effect produced without reduction of the drawing. :7inDGRS€riS s scoRies, 7/, u \\^ \f Tlie Nightingale. In China, as you know, the Emperor is a China- man, and all tliose he has about him are Chinamen too. The following story happened many years ago, but that is just why it is worth hearing before it is forgotten. Tne Em- peror's castle was the most beautiful in the world and was entirely of fine porcelain ; it was very costly, but so brittle and delicate to touch, that one had to be very careful. . In the garden were seen the most won- derful flowers, to the No. X.X.WII. THE ART OF ILLUSTRATli^X. Whilst using wood engraving freely, the illus- trators of Birmingham (notably Mr. Gaskin), are showing what can be clone in line drawing by the relief processes, to produce colour and ornament which harmonise well with the letterpress of a book. This seems an important step in the right direction, and if the work emanating from this school were less, apparently, confined to an archaic style, to heavy (jutline and mediaeval ornament (I speak from what I see, not knowing the school personally), there are possibilities for an extended popularity for those who have worked under its influence.* The examples of decorative pages by experienced illustrators like Mr. Walter Crane and others, will serve to remind us of what some artists are doing. But the band of illustrators who consider design is much smaller than it should be, and than it will be in the near future. A study of the past, if it be only in the pages of mediceval books, will greatly aid the student of design. In the Appendix I have mentioned a few fine examples of decorative pages, with and without illustrations, which may be usefully studied at the British Museum. ; * 1 mention this school as a reiuesentative one ; there are many others where design and wood engraving are studied under the same roof with success in 1894. No. XX.WIII. WOOD ENGRAVING. 203 In all these pages, it will be observed, what is called "colour" in black and white is ])reserved throughout ; showing that a page can be thoroughly decorative without illustrations to the text. Closely criticised, some of the old block designs may appear crude and capable of more skilful treatment, but the pages, as a rule, show the artistic sense — unmistak- ably, mysteriously, wonderfully. In these and similar pages, such, for instance, as Le Mer des Hisioires, produced in Paris by Pierre le Rouge in 1488 (also in the British Museum), the harmony of line ilrawing with the printtxl letters is interesting and instructive. {Sec Appendix.) It is in the production of the decorative page that wood engraving asserts its supremacy still in some quarters, as may be seen in the beautiful books produced in England during the past few years by ]\Ir. William INIorris, where artist, wood engraver, typefounder, papermaker, printer, and bookbinder work under the guiding spirit (when not the actual handwork) of the author. They are interesting to us rather as exotics ; an attempt to reproduce the exact work of the past under modern conditions, conditions which render the price within reach only of a lew, but they are at least a protest against ihc modern shams with which we are all familiar. THE ART OF ILLUSTRATION The nineteenth-century author's love for the hterature of his past has led him to imitate not only the style, but the outward aspect of old books ; and by a series of frauds (to which his publisher has lent himself only too readily) t(.) produce some- thing w'hich appears to be what it is not. The genuine outcome of media;val 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 books, such as are to be seen under glass cases in the British Museum. It is to be feared that the twentieth-century reader, looking back, will see few traces worth preserving, either of originality or of individuality in the work of the present. What are the facts ? The typefounder of to- day takes clown a Venetian writing-master's copy- book of the fifteenth century, and, imitating exactly the thick downward strcjkes of the reed pen, forms a set of movable type, called in printer's language " old face " ; a style of letter much in vogue in 1894, but the style and character of which belongs altogether to the past. Thus, with such aids, the man of letters of to-day — living in a whirl of movement and discovery — clothes himself in the handwritinu' of the Venetian No. XXXIX. DESIGN FOR THE TITLE PACE OF THE " HOBBY-HORSE." (sELWVN IMAGE.) This is a rediictiim /■!■ ftvccss from a large quarto '.vchhI cngravliis ) 2o6 THE ART OF ILLUSTRATION. scholar as deliberately as the Norwegian dons a bear-skin. 1 he next step is to present in his book a series of so-called "engravings," which are not engrav- ings but reproductions by process of old prints. The "advance of science" in producing photo- relief blocks from steel and other iii/a'^iio plates for the type printing press, at a small cost per square inch, is not only taking from the artistic value of the modern edition dc luxe, but also from its interest and genuineness. The next step is to manufacture rough-edged, coarse-textured paper, purporting to be carefully " hand-made." The rough edge, which was a necessity when every sheet of paper was finished by hand labour, is now imitated successfully by machinery, and is handled lovingly by the book- worm of to-day, regardless of the f^ict that these roughened sheets can be bought by the pound in Drury-lane. The worst, and last fraud (I can call it no less) that can be referred to here is, that the clothing — the "skin of vellum" — that appropriately encloses our modern edition dc luxe is made from pulp, rags, and other dc'bris. That the gold illuminations on the cover are no longer real gold, and that the handsomely bound book, THE DECORATIVE PAGE. 207 with its fair margins, cracks in half with a " bang," when first opened, are other matters connected witli the discoveries of science, and the substitution of machinery for hand labour, which we owe to modern enterprise and invention.* Looking at the "decorative pages" in most books, and remembering the achievements of the past, one is inclined to ask — Is the " setting-out of a page " one of the lost arts, like the designing of a coin ? What harmony of style do we see in an ordinar)- book ? How many authors or illustrators of books show that they care for th(; "look" of a printed page? The fact is, that the modern author shirks his responsibilities, following the practice of the greatest writers of our day. There are so many " facilities" - — as they are called — for producing books that the author takes little interest in the matter. Mr. Ruskin, delicate draughtsman as he is known to be, has contril)uted little to the cnsciubic or appearance of the pages that How from the printing press of Mr. Allen, at Orpington. Mis books are well print(!d in the modern manner, but judged by ex- amples of the past, a deadly monotony pervades the * Mr. Cobden Sanderson's lecture on Bookbinding, read before the " Arts and Crafts Society," is well worth the attention of liook lovers. THE ART OF ILLUSTRATION. page ; th.e master's noblest thoughts are printed exactly like his weakest, and are all drawn out in lines together as in the making of macaroni ! Mr. Hamerton, artist as well as author, is content to describe the beauty of forest trees, ferns and flowers, the \-ariety of underwood and the like (nearly every word, in an article in the Portfolio, referring to some picturesque form or graceful line), without indicating the varieties pictorially on the printed page. The late Lord Tennyson and other poets have been content for years to sell their song by the line, little heeding, apparently, in what guise it was given to the world. In these days the monotony of uniformity seems to pervade the pages, alike of great and small, and a letter from a friend is now often printed by a machine ! No. XL. **SCAK[,F.T POl'l'lES." (\V. J. MUCKLEV.) This bcMutiful piece of pen work by Mr. Muckley (from his picture in the Royal Academy, 1S85) was too delicate in the finer passages to reproduce well by any relief process (the pale lines having come out black); but as an example of breadth, and indication of surfaces in pen and ink, it could hardly be surpassed. CHAPTER \II. AUTITOK, ILLUSTRATOR, AM) IT lU.ISl 1 KR. •VV us now CDiisiilcr slmrily llu- Author, the Illustrator, ;uul tlu- Publisher, aiul their inlluence ou the appearance and production of a book. If it be im- possible in these days (and, in spite of the cttorts of Mr. William Morris and others, it seems to be impossil)le) to produce a Genuine book in all its details, it seems worth considerin;^' in what way the author can stamp it with his own indi\iduality ; also to what extent he is justified in making use of modern appliances. How far, then, may the author be said to be responsible for the state of things just ([uoted ? 'I'heoreticallv, he is tlu' man of taste and culture par excellence ; he is, or should be, in most cases, the arbiter, the dictator to his publisher, the chooser of styl(!. i hf book Is his, ami it is his business to THE ART OF ILLUSTRATION. decide in what form his ideas should become concrete ; the pubhsher aiding his judgment with experience, governing the finance, and carrying out details. How comes it then that, with the present facilities for reproducing anything that the hand can put upon paper, the latter-day nineteenth-century author is so much in the hands of others as to the appearance of his book ? It is because the so-called educated man has not been taught to use his hands as the missal-writers and authors of mediaeval times taught themselves to use theirs. The modern author, who is, say, fifty )-ears old, was born in an age of " advanced civilisation," when the only method of expression for the young was one — " pothooks and hangers." The child of ten years old, whose eye was mentally forming pictures, taking in unconsciously the facts of perspective and the like, had a pencil tied with string to his two first fingers until he had' mastered the ups and downs, crosses and dashes, of modern handwriting, which has been accepted by the great, as well as the little, ones of the earth, as the best medium of com- munication between intelligent beings ; and so, re- gardless of style, character, or picturesqueness, he scribbles away ! So much for our generally straggling style of penmanship. Author, illustrator, and publisher. 213 There is no doubt that the author of the future will have to come more into personal contact with the artist than he has l)een in the habit of doing, and that the distinction I referred to in the first chapter, between illustrations which are to be (i) records of facts, and (2) works of art, will have to be more clearly drawn. Amongst the needs in the community of book producers is one that I only touch upon because it affects the illustrator : — That there should be an expert in every publishing house to determine (i) whether a drawing is suitable for publication; and (2) b)- what means it should be reproduced. The resources of an establishment will not always admit of such an arrangement ; but the editors and publishers who are intormed on these matters can easily be distinguished by the quality of their publi- cations. By the substitution of process blocks for wood engravings in books, publishers are deprived to a great extent of the fostering care of the master wood engraver, to which they have been accustomed. Amongst the influences affecting the illustrator, none, I venture to say, are more prejudicial than the acceptance by editors and publishers of inartistic drawings. It would be difficult, I think, to jtoint to a period 214 THE ART OF I/JJS'JRAnOX. when so much b;icl work was procluccd as at present. The causes ha\'e already Ijeea [luinted out, the beautiful processes for the reproduction of drawings are scarcely understood b\- the majority ot artists, publishers, authors, or critics. It is the luismc of the jM'ocesses in these htirrying da_\s, which is draq-ging otn' national reputation m the mire .md perplexing the student. The modern publisher, it may be said without ofience, understands the manulacture and the com- merce of a book better than the art in it. /^ nd how should it be otherwise '! TIkj best books that were ever produced, from an artistic point ot \iew, were inspired and designed by students ot art and letters, men removed tVom the commercial scramble of life, and to whcjm an advertisement was a thing- unknown ! The ordinary art educ.ition ot a pub- lisher, aiid the multitude of affairs requiring his atterition, untit him generally, for the task of deciding whether an illustration is good or l)ad, or how tar — when he cheapens the production ot his book by using photographic illustrations ("snap-shots" troin nature)- he is justified in calling them "art." The deterioration in the character of book illustration in England is a serious matter, and public attention may well be drawn to it. AUTHOR, ILLUSTRATOR, AND PUBLISHER. 215 Here we look for the active co-operation of the author. The far-reaching spread of education — especially technical art education — is tending to bring together, as they were never brought before in this century, the author and the illustrator. The author ot a book will give more attention to the appearance of his pages, to the decorative character of type and ornament, whilst the average artist will be better educated from a literary point of view; and, to use a French word for which there is no ci]uivaK:nt, will be more en >-apport with both author anel |)ublisher. I'or the illustraiDr by profession there seems no artistic leisure; no lime to tlo anything properly in this connection. " It is a poor career, Blackburn," said a well- known newspaper illustrator to me lately (an artist of distinction anil success in his profession who has practised it for twenty years), "you seldom give satisfaction — not even to yourself." " It is an ideal career^ s;iys another, a younger man, who is content with the more slap-dash methods in vogue to-da)' — and uiih the income he receives for them. Referring again to the question in the .lllioucuni, " W liy is not drawing for the press taught in our THE ART OF ILLUSTRATION. Government schools of art ?" I think the prhicipal reasons why the art of ilkistration by the processes is not generally taught in art schools are — (i) drawing for reproduction requires more per- sonal teaching than is possible in art classes in public schools; (2) the art masters throughout the country, with very few exceptii.Mis, do not understand the ncio processes — which is not to be wondered at. 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 painters, when the only possible career for the majority is that ot illus- tration, or design. The masters are, for the most part, well and worthily occupied in giving a good groundwork of knowledge to every student, as to drawing for the press. There is no ques- tion that the best jireparation for this work is the best Qeucral art teaching that can be obtained. The student must have drawn from the anticpie and from life ; he must have learned com[)osition and design; have studied from nature the relati\-e values of light and shade, aerial perspective and the like ; in short, have followed the routine study lor a painter whose first aim should be to be a master of monochrome. AUTHOR, ILLUSTRATOR, AND PUBLISHER. 217 In the more technical parts, which the young illustrator b}- process will require to know, he needs personal help. He will have a multitude of questions to ask "somebody" as to the reasons for what he is doing ; for xoliat style of process ivork he is by touch and toiipcraniciil best fitted, and so on. All this has to be considered if we are to keep a good standard of art teaching for illustration. The fact that a pen-and-ink drawing ivhich looks well scarcely ever reproduces well, must always be remembered. Many drawings for process, com mended in art schools for good draughtsmanship or design, will not reproduce as expected, for want of exact knowledge of the requirements of process ; whereas a drawing by a trained hand will often look belter in the reproduction. These remarks refer especially to ornament and design, to architectural drawings and the like. The topical illustrator aiul sketcher in weekly- prints has, of course, more licence, and ii matters less what becomes of his lines in their rapid transit through the press. Still the illustrator, of whatever rank or style, has a right to complain if his tlrawini'- is reproduced on a scale not intended by him, or by a process for which it is not fitted, or if printed badly, and with bad materials. THE ART OF ILLUSTRATION. But the sketchy style of illustration seems to be a little overdone at present, and — being tolerable only when allied to great ability — remains con- sequently in the hands of a few. There is plenty of talent in this country which is wasted for want of control. It plavs about us like summer lightning when we want the precision and accuracy of the telegraph. The art of colour printing (whether it be by the intaglio processes, or by chromo-lithogra[)ln-, or on relief blocks) has arrived at such proficiency and has become such an important industry that it should be mentioned here. By its means, a beautiful child-iace, 1)\- Millais, is scattered over the w