[Greyweathers Press]

Graven Images; | A Portfolio of Nineteenth Century Wood Engravings Printed from the Original Blocks | Featuring engravings attributed to the hands of Samuel Smith Kilburn, Boston | George Matthews, Boston & Montreal | [and] F. Archibald | With a foreword by L.F. Thompson

[Merrickville, Ontario]: Greyweathers Press, 2010 [in roman numerals]. Quarto, 31.3 x 24.7 cm. Cased in quarter dark tan linen and paper over boards. The ochre covering paper was painted over in various shades of aubergine and olive green. Printed cream paper labels, lettered in black, to both the spine and upper cover. The cover label is embellished with a monogram attributed to F. Archibald. Plain ochre endpapers. pp. [6] 3-5 [plus pp. 23, of which ll. 8 are double-leaves]. The case is slightly cocked; there is a faint vertical crease along the spine, and the upper outer corner on the upper cover is mildly bumped. Still, a near fine copy. The text was set in Italian Old Style and printed on cream Canson Mi-Teintes paper. “The engravings were printed from the wood on Fabriano Accademia paper, excepting ‘The Reader’ and the ‘F B A’ monogram on the title page, which were rendered from early proofs and printed from magnesium plates.” The foreword is illustrated with three halftone reproductions of late nineteenth century engravings, one of which is by F. Archibald while the other two are unattributed. The ‘portfolio’ comprises 14 wood engravings, 13 of which were printed from the original blocks. With the exception of the first, which was reproduced from a magnesium plate and printed directly onto a page sewn-in to the text-block, all the engravings were printed on separate plates; the plates were then tipped to the insides of double-leaves, which were cut out on the rectos to display the images. The titles, attributions, and dates are given on the versos of the double-leaves. From an edition of 100 copies, the present copy being number 18. Item #369

“Wood engravers toiling away at their trade during the last quarter of the nineteenth century could be forgiven for feeling a touch of despair. Since the early 1800s, they had practiced a viable trade, with graver in hand over an endgrain block, cutting illustrations for a healthy proportion of books, newspapers and periodicals. In the 1880s, they witnessed the advent of photomechanical printing plates, and, in direct competition, felt the ominous rising tide of obsolescence. As this new technology became more efficient, less expensive and generally accepted over the next twenty years, commercial wood engravers would begin to pack up their blocks, wrap up their tools and seek other employment. It could well be this very occurrence that lay behind the discovery, 130 years on, of a collection of nineteenth century engraved boxwood blocks and, ultimately, the creation of this portfolio. […]

This portfolio is intended to be a celebration of the skill of these nineteenth century wood engravers as opposed to a demonstration of perfect printing, something difficult to achieve even by the most experienced of printers with blocks that are 130 years old. Accordingly, printing the blocks proved to be an education in frustration, and a study in contrasts. Three blocks printed beautifully, requiring almost no make-ready, while the balance required extensive make-ready: underlays and overlays. Part of this must be attributed to the printer’s own arcing trajectory on a steep learning curve. In the end, the fourteen wood engravings, in an edition of 100 impressions each, required over 2,700 impressions- the tuition paid for experience gained.” — Larry Thompson, from the Foreword.

Price: $150.00