Printing Illustrations
When commissioning artists to provide illustrations, and engravers to translate those images into printable form, publishers expected to obtain designs of the highest technical and artistic quality. Among the methods of reproduction available, two were widely used, each creating different visual qualities.
Engraving on steel plates allowed for very precise reproduction even on a small scale. These images were printed separately from the text and bound between the leaves of the book. The best engravers were valued for their ability not only to copy a design accurately but also to deploy painterly effects such as gradations of tone from dark to light.
Engraving on wood blocks was a faster technique and gave strong black-white contrasts. It became the most popular process in the mid-19th century. An especial advantage of this hard-wearing technique was that it allowed the integrated printing of text and image.
George Newenham Wright An historical guide to ancient and modern Dublin, illustrated by engravings after drawings by George Petrie
London, 1821
KK.r.13 no.1
Wright’s Historical guide runs to more than 400 pages and contains a large amount of information, enlivened by Petrie’s seventeen illustrations. Petrie’s subjects include a view of Sackville Street, now O’Connell Street, but most are of prominent public buildings such as the Four Courts, Christ Church Cathedral and the Dublin Metropolitan Roman Catholic Chapel, as the Pro-Cathedral was then known. Although they are small, the engravings after Petrie’s drawings are very finely detailed and make evocative use of light and shade contrasts. They carefully include appropriate figures that add scale and visual interest to each scene.
Thomas Crofton Croker (ed.) Killarney legends
Illustration by Alfred Nicholson
London, 1853
OLS B-5-374
Croker was an Irish folklorist who travelled in the south of Ireland collecting songs, poetry and Irish mythology. This text comprises a series of folk tales interwoven with a travel account of the region surrounding the Lakes of Killarney. The text is richly illustrated with fine metal engravings after designs by the editor’s wife, Marianne Nicholson Croker, and his brother-in-law, Alfred Nicholson.
Commissioners of National Education in Ireland Sixth reading book for the use of schools
Illustrated by Alfred Grey
Dublin, 1879
OLS POL S 29
The illustration of this book was assigned to members the Dublin-based Grey family, who were highly-regarded artists and engravers. Alfred Grey designed a number of the original illustrations, which were engraved in wood by his brother, Gregor P. The prints are distinguished by fine engraving and meticulous detail.
Oliver Goldsmith The vicar of Wakefield
Illustrated by William Mulready
London, Edinburgh & New York, 1888
OLS B-11-841
This volume is a reprint of the edition first published by John Van Voorst of London in 1843, when it was praised as an ‘exquisite’ and ‘faultless’ model for other publications. In 1888 Goldsmith’s incident-packed novel, originally published in 1766, was still a very popular work and many illustrated editions had appeared. Mulready’s illustrations capitalise on the humour and pathos of the story.