The Art of Illustration / 2nd ed.

STUDENTS’ DRAWINGS.

The following four examples of drawing from life, by students at Victoria Street, fresh from art schools, are interesting as tentative work. The object has been to test their powers and adaptability for line work; avoiding outline in the experiment as much as possible.

Nos. 1, 3, and 4, it will be observed, evade backgrounds altogether—the too ready solution of a difficult problem in line.

These drawings were made direct from life, in line; a system not to be recommended, excepting as an experiment of powers.

Examples of students’ wash drawings, &c., will appear in future editions of this book.

CANTOR LECTURES.

The Illustrations in this Volume are, for the most part, reproductions of drawings which—for purposes of study and comparison—are shown by Mr. Blackburn at his Lectures in Art Schools, enlarged to a scale of 15 to 20 ft.

Students who may be unable to attend these lectures can see some of the original drawings on application (by letter) to “The Secretary, at Mr. Henry Blackburn’s Studio, 123, Victoria Street, Westminster.”

APPENDIX.

1. Photo-zinc Process.—2. Gelatine Process.—3. Half-tone.—4. Intaglio Processes.—5. Drawing Materials.—6. Books for Students.—7. Decorative Pages.—8. List of Photo-engravers.

PHOTO-ZINC PROCESS.

FOR THE REPRODUCTION OF LINE DRAWINGS IN RELIEF, SUITABLE FOR PRINTING AT THE TYPE PRESS.

Description of the Process.—The first stage is to have the drawing 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 left white 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.

The cost of these blocks averages 6d. the square inch where a number are made at one time, the minimum price being 5/-.

Small book illustrations by this process, by firms who make a specialty of producing single illustrations, are often charged 9d. the square inch, with a minimum of 7/6; but the cost should never be more than this for a single block by the zinc process.

GELATINE PROCESS.

FOR THE REPRODUCTION OF DRAWINGS IN LINE IN RELIEF, SUITABLE FOR PRINTING AT THE TYPE PRESS.

This is a more delicate and sensitive method of obtaining a relief block. It is called the “gelatine,” or “Gillot” process.

The drawing is photographed to the required size (as before), and the negative laid upon a glass plate (previously coated with a mixture of gelatine and bichromate of potash). The part of this thin, sensitive film not exposed to the light is absorbent, and when immersed in water swells up. The part exposed to the light, i.e., 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 gradations, and pale, uncertain lines can be reproduced with tolerable fidelity. There is no process yet invented which gives better results from a pen-and-ink drawing for the type press.

Reproductions of pencil, chalk, and charcoal are also possible by this process; but they are not suited for it, and there is generally too much working up by hand on the block to suit rapid printing. These blocks when completed have a copper surface. The blocks take longer to make, and are about double the price of the photo-zinc process. The cost varies from 9d. to 1/6 the square inch.

M. Gillot, in Paris, may be said to be the inventor or perfector of this process, now used by many photo engravers in London, notably by Mr. Alfred Dawson, of Hogarth Works, Chiswick.

HALF-TONE PROCESS.

FOR THE REPRODUCTION OF WASH DRAWINGS, PHOTOGRAPHS, ETC., BY THE SCREENED PHOTO-ZINC RELIEF PROCESS.

This method of making the blocks is more complicated. As there are no lines in a wash drawing, or in a photograph from nature, or in a painting, it is necessary to obtain some kind of grain, or interstices of white, on the 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 interposed, varying in strength according to the light and shade required; thus turning the image of the wash drawing or photograph practically into “line,” with sufficient interstices of white for printing purposes.

The coarseness or fineness of grain on these blocks varies according to circumstances. Thus, for rapid printing on cylinder machines, with inferior paper and ink, a wider grain and a deeper cut block is necessary.

The examples in this book may be said to show these process blocks at their best, with good average printing. The results from wash drawings, as already pointed out, are uncertain, and generally gloomy and mechanical-looking.

The reproductions of pencil, chalk, or charcoal drawings by this process are generally unsatisfactory, even when printed under good conditions. The blocks are shallow as compared with the zinc line process, and are double the cost.

INTAGLIO PROCESSES.

PHOTOGRAVURE, AUTOTYPE, DALLASTYPE, ETC.

Photogravure.—First, a photographic negative is taken direct from the picture to be reproduced, and from this an autotype carbon print is taken and transferred on to glass or silvered copper, instead of on the paper used in making carbon prints for sale. This picture is in delicate relief, and forms the mould, upon which copper is electrically deposited. After being made “conductive,” the carbon mould is placed in a galvanic bath, the deposit of copper upon it taking the impression perfectly.

Another method is to transfer the same mould upon pure, clean copper, and then operate with a powerful biting solution, which is resisted more or less according to the varying thickness of carbon mould to be penetrated. Thus the parts to be left smoothest are thick of carbon, and the parts to be dark are bare, so that the mordant may act unresisted. This, it will be perceived, is the opposite way to the process above given, and is therefore worked from a “transparency,” or photographic “positive,” instead of a negative. This is the Klick and Fox Talbot method, and is very commonly in use at present.

The process of “photogravure” is well known, as employed by Messrs. Boussod, Valadon, & Co. (Goupil), of Paris, and is adapted for the reproduction of wash drawings, paintings, also drawings where the lines are pale and uncertain, pencil, chalk, etc.; the greys and gradations of pencil being wonderfully interpreted. In London the intaglio processes are used by many of the firms mentioned on page 240. They are now much used for the reproduction of photographic portraits in books, taking place of the copperplate engraving.

The cost of these plates is, roughly, 5/- the square inch. The makers of these plates generally supply paper, and print, charging by the 100 copies. But engravings thus produced are comparatively little used in modern book illustration, as they cannot be printed simultaneously with the letter-press of a book; they are suitable only for limited editions and “éditions de luxe.”

DRAWING MATERIALS FOR REPRODUCTION.

1.—For Drawings in Line.—For general use, liquid Indian ink and Bristol board; or hard paper of similar surface. “Clay board,” the surface of which can easily be removed with a scraper, is useful for some purposes, but the pen touch on clay board is apt to become mechanical.

2.—For Drawings in Pencil and Chalk, grained papers are used (see p. 113 and following). These papers are made of various textures, with black or white lines and dots vertical, horizontal, and diagonal. As a matter of fact, grained papers are little used in book and newspaper illustration in this country, and unless artistically treated the results are very unsatisfactory. They are most suitable for landscape work and sketches of effect.

3.—For Wash Drawings.—Prepared boards for wash drawings, varying in surface and texture according to the scale of the drawing, the brush handling of the artist, and the nature of the work to be reproduced. These must be decided by the teacher. Lamp black and opaque white are commonly used. A combination of line and wash is generally to be avoided.

The materials for drawing for reproduction are to be obtained from the following amongst other artists’ colourmen.

BOOKS FOR STUDENTS.

The following will be found useful:—

1.—“The Graphic Arts,” by P. G. Hamerton (London: Macmillan & Co.).

2.—“Pen and Pencil Artists,” by Joseph Pennell (London: Macmillan & Co.).

3.—“English Pen Artists of To-Day,” by J. G. Harper (London: Rivington, Percival & Co.).

The value and comprehensive character of Mr. Hamerton’s book is well known, but it reaches into branches of the art of illustration far beyond the scope of this book. Of the second it may be said that Mr. Joseph Pennell’s book is most valuable to students of “black and white,” with the caution that many of the illustrations in it were not drawn for reproduction, and would not reproduce well by the processes we have been considering. The third volume seems more practical for elementary and technical teaching. It is to be regretted that these books are so costly as to be out of the reach of most of us; but they can be seen in the library of the South Kensington Museum.

Mr. Hamerton’s “Drawing and Engraving, a Brief Exposition of Technical Principles and Practice” (London: Adam and Charles Black, 1892), “The Photographic Reproduction of Drawings,” by Col. J. Waterhouse (Kegan, Paul, & Co., 1890), “Lessons in Art,” by Hume Nisbet (Chatto & Windus, 1891), are portable and useful books, full of technical information. Sir Henry Trueman Wood’s “Modern Methods of Illustrating Books,” and Mr. H. R. Robertson’s “Pen and Ink Drawing” (Winsor & Newton) are both excellent little manuals, but their dates are 1886.

DECORATIVE PAGES.

(FROM OLD MSS. AND BOOKS TO BE SEEN IN THE BRITISH MUSEUM.)
(Reprinted from the Cantor Lectures.)

1. “Example of early Venetian writing, from a copybook of the 15th century, written with a reed pen. Note the clearness and picturesqueness of the page; also the similarity to the type letters used to-day—what are called ‘old face,’ and of much (good and bad) letter in modern books.”

2. “A beautiful example of Gothic writing and ornament, from a French illuminated manuscript in the British Museum; date 1480. Here the decorative character and general balance of the page is delightful to modern eyes.”

3. “Fac-simile of a printed page, from Polydore Vergil’s “History of England,” produced in Basle, in 1556. The style of type is again familiar to us in books published in 1894; but the setting out of the page, the treatment of ornament (with little figures introduced, but subservient to the general effect), is not familiar, because it is seldom that we see a modern decorative page. The printer of the past had a sense of beauty, and of the fitness of things apparently denied to all but a few to-day.”

4. “An illuminated printed page, 1521, with engraved borders, after designs by Holbein; figures again subordinate to the general effect.”

5. “Examples of Italian, 14th century; ornament, initial, and letters forming a brilliant and harmonious combination.”

Illustrations of the above and other decorative pages (which could not be reproduced in this book) are shown at the lectures on a large scale.

Of the many modern books on decoration and ornament, the handbooks by Mr. Lewis Foreman Day (London: Batsford) are recommended to students of “the decorative page”; also “English Book Plates,” by Egerton Castle (G. Bell & Sons).

LIST OF PROCESS BLOCK MAKERS.

From a long list of photo-engravers, the following are mentioned from personal knowledge of their work:—

Relief Blocks.

Intaglio.

Several of the firms mentioned above are makers of “Intaglio” plates; some are also wood-engravers, photo-lithographers, etc.; and agents for French, German, and Austrian photo-engravers.

Amongst leading firms who make “Intaglio” plates are Messrs. Boussod, Valadon, & Co. (London and Paris); and Messrs. Angerer & Göschl, of Vienna.

The Autotype Company’s admirable reproductions of photographs and drawings should also be mentioned in this connection.

OPINIONS OF THE PRESS

On the First Edition.

“‘The Art of Illustration’ is a brightly written account, by a man who has had large experience of the ways in which books and newspapers are illustrated nowadays.... As a collection of typical illustrations by artists of the day, Mr. Blackburn’s book is very attractive.”—The Times.

“Mr. Blackburn explains the processes—line, half-tone, and so forth—exemplifying each by the drawings of artists more or less skilled in the modern work of illustration. They are well chosen as a whole, to show the possibilities of process work in trained hands.”—Saturday Review.

“We thoroughly commend this book to all whom it may concern.”—Athenæum.

“Mr. Henry Blackburn, perhaps our greatest expert on the subject of the book illustrator’s art, has written a most interesting volume, which no young black-and-white artist can very well afford to do without. Nearly a hundred splendid and instructive illustrations.”—Black and White.

“The author’s purpose in this book is to show how drawing for the press may be best adapted to its purpose.... Many of Mr. Blackburn’s instructions are technical, but all are beautifully illustrated by choice reproductions from some of the best black-and-white work of the time.”—Daily News.

“Mr. Blackburn’s interesting and practical manual is designed, in the first instance, for the guidance of students who intend to become illustrators in black-and-white, but for the general reader it contains a large quantity of readable and attractive matter.”—The Literary World.

“We must express our admiration for the contents of ‘The Art of Illustration,’ and its fund of technical information.”—Bookseller.

“The book is full of interest, containing close upon a hundred varied examples of illustrations of the day. A work of unquestionable value.”—Publishers’ Circular.

“Mr. Blackburn knows from experience what is best for the processes; his volume is illustrated with nearly one hundred drawings, most of them good examples of what is being done. ’The Art of Illustration’ is an entirely safe guide.”—Art Journal.

“Mr. Henry Blackburn has written an able book on ‘The Art of Illustration,’ which, it is not overpraise to say, should be in the hands of every artist who draws for reproduction.”—The Gentlewoman.

“‘The Art of Illustration’ is perhaps the most satisfactory work of art of its kind that has yet been published.”—Sunday Times.

“A very clear exposition of the various methods of reproduction.”—Guardian.

“Mr. Blackburn sails his book under the flag of Sir John Gilbert, and justly expounds the all-importance of line.”—National Observer.

“‘The Art of Illustration’ contains a vast amount of valuable artistic information, and should be on every student’s bookshelf.”—Court Circular.

“Mr. Henry Blackburn is a well-known authority on the technical aspects of painting and design, and this circumstance lends value to his exposition of ‘The Art of Illustration.’... He writes with admirable clearness and force.”—Leeds Mercury.

“The excellent series of reproductions in this book show (inter alia) the variety of effects to be obtained by the common zinc process. Mr. Blackburn’s book will prove of great value to the student and interest to the general reader.”—Manchester Guardian.

“This volume is full of good criticism, and takes a survey of the many processes by which books may be beautified.... A charming and instructive volume.”—Birmingham Gazette.

“’The Art of Illustration’ will have the deepest interest for artists and others concerned in the illustration of books.”—Yorkshire Post.

“A very interesting quarto, worth having for its typical illustrations.”—British Architect.

“Mr. Blackburn’s volume should be very welcome to artists, editors, and publishers.”—The Artist.

“A most useful book.”—Studio.