Part 1

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A HISTORY OF WOOD-ENGRAVING

Entered according to Act of Congress, in the year 1882, by

HARPER & BROTHERS,

In the Office of the Librarian of Congress, at Washington.

_All rights reserved._

PREFACE.

In this book I have attempted to gather and arrange such facts as should be known to men of cultivation interested in the art of engraving in wood. I have, therefore, disregarded such matter as seems to belong rather to descriptive bibliography, and have treated wood-engraving, in its principal works, as a reflection of the life of men and an illustration of successive phases of civilization. Where there is much disputed ground, particularly in the early history of the art, the writers on whom I have relied are referred to, and those who adopt a different view are named; but where the facts seemed plain, and are easily verifiable, reference did not appear necessary.

In conclusion, I have the honor to acknowledge my obligations to the officers of the Boston Public Library, the Boston Museum of Fine Arts, and the Harvard College Library, for permission to reproduce several cuts in their possession; and to Mr. Lindsay Swift, of the Boston Public Library, for the list of authorities at the end of the volume. Especially it is my pleasant duty to thank Professor Charles Eliot Norton, of Harvard University, from whose curious and valuable collection more than half of these illustrations are derived, both for them and for suggestion, advice, and criticism, without which, indeed, the work could not have been written.

GEORGE EDWARD WOODBERRY.

CONTENTS.

I. PAGE

_THE ORIGIN OF THE ART_ 13

II. _THE BLOCK-BOOKS_ 30

III. _EARLY PRINTED BOOKS IN THE NORTH_ 45

IV. _EARLY ITALIAN WOOD-ENGRAVING_ 65

V. _ALBERT DÜRER AND HIS SUCCESSORS_ 90

VI. _HANS HOLBEIN_ 116

VII. _THE DECLINE AND EXTINCTION OF THE ART_ 135

VIII. _MODERN WOOD-ENGRAVING_ 151

_A LIST OF THE PRINCIPAL WORKS UPON WOOD-ENGRAVING USEFUL TO STUDENTS_ 211

_INDEX_ 217

LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS.

FIG.....PAGE

1.--From “Epistole di San Hieronymo Volgare.” Ferrara, 1497. (Initial letter).....13

2.--St. Christopher, 1423. From Ottley’s “Inquiry into the Origin and Early History of Engraving upon Copper and in Wood”.....22

3.--The Crucifixion. From the Manuscript “Book of Devotion.” 1445.....24

4.--From the “Epistole di San Hieronymo.” 1497. (Initial letter).....30

5.--Elijah Raiseth the Widow’s Son (1 K. xvii.). The Raising of Lazarus (Jno. xi.). Elisha Raiseth the Widow’s Son (2 K. iv.). From the original in the possession of Professor Norton, of Cambridge.....34

6.--The Creation of Eve. From the fac-simile of Berjeau.....35

7.--Initial letter. Source unknown.....45

8.--The Grief of Hannah. From the Cologne Bible, 1470-’75.....49

9.--Illustration of Exodus I. From the Cologne Bible, 1470-’75 51

10.--The Fifth Day of Creation. From Schedel’s “Liber Chronicarum.” Nuremberg, 1493.....54

11.--The Dancing Deaths. From Schedel’s “Liber Chronicarum.” Nuremberg, 1493.....56

12.--Jews Sacrificing a Christian Child. From Schedel’s “Liber Chronicarum.” Nuremberg, 1493.....58

13.--Marginal Border. From Kerver’s “Psalterium Virginis Mariæ.” 1509.....61

14.--From Ovid’s “Metamorphoses.” Venice, 1518 (design, 1497). (Initial letter).....65

15.--The Creation. From the “Fasciculus Temporum.” Venice, 1484.....68

16.--Leviathan. From the “Ortus Sanitatis.” Venice, 1511.....68

17.--The Stork. From the “Ortus Sanitatis.” Venice, 1511.....69

18.--View of Venice. From the “Fasciculus Temporum.” Venice, 1484.....69

19.--The Contest of Apollo and Pan. From Ovid’s “Metamorphoses.” Venice, 1518 (design, 1497).....70

20.--Sirens. From the “Ortus Sanitatis.” Venice, 1511.....71

21.--Pygmy and Cranes. From the “Ortus Sanitatis.” Venice, 1511.....72

22.--The Woman and the Thief. From “Æsop’s Fables.” Venice, 1491 (design, 1481).....73

23.--The Crow and the Peacock. From “Æsop’s Fables.” Venice, 1491 (design, 1481).....75

24.--The Peace of God. From “Epistole di San Hieronymo Volgare.” Ferrara, 1497.....76

25.--Mary and the Risen Lord. From “Epistole di San Hieronymo Volgare.” Ferrara, 1497.....77

26.--St. Baruch. From the “Catalogus Sanctorum.” Venice, 1506.....77

27.--Poliphilo by the Stream. From the “Hypnerotomachia Poliphili.” Venice, 1499.....78

28.--Poliphilo and the Nymphs. From the “Hypnerotomachia Poliphili.” Venice, 1499.....79

29.--Ornament. From the “Hypnerotomachia Poliphili.” Venice, 1499.....80

30.--Poliphilo meets Polia. From the “Hypnerotomachia Poliphili.” Venice, 1499.....81

31.--Nero Fiddling. From the Ovid of 1510. Venice.....82

32.--The Physician. From the “Fasciculus Medicinæ.” Venice, 1500.....83

33.--Hero and Leander. From the Ovid of 1515. Venice.....85

34.--Dante and Beatrice. From the Dante of 1520. Venice.....86

35.--St. Jerome Commending the Hermit’s Life. From “Epistole di San Hieronymo.” Ferrara, 1497.....86

36.--St. Francis and the Beggar. From the “Catalogus Sanctorum.” Venice, 1506.....87

37.--The Translation of St. Nicolas. From the “Catalogus Sanctorum.” Venice, 1506.....87

38.--Romoaldus, the Abbot. From the “Catalogus Sanctorum.” Venice, 1506 88

39.--From an Italian Alphabet of the 16th Century. (Initial letter).....90

40.--St. John and the Virgin. Vignette to Dürer’s “Apocalypse”.....93

41.--Christ Suffering. Vignette to Dürer’s “Larger Passion”.....94

42.--Christ Mocked. Vignette to Dürer’s “Smaller Passion”.....95

43.--The Descent into Hell. From Dürer’s “Smaller Passion”.....96

44.--The Herald. From “The Triumph of Maximilian”.....100

45.--Tablet. From “The Triumph of Maximilian”.....101

46.--The Car of the Musicians. From “The Triumph of Maximilian”.....102

47.--Three Horsemen. From “The Triumph of Maximilian”.....103

48.--Horseman. From “The Triumph of Maximilian”.....107

49.--Virgin and Child. From a print by Hans Sebald Behaim......113

50.--From the “Epistole di San Hieronymo.” Ferrara, 1497. (Initial letter).....116

51.--The Nun. From Holbein’s “Images de la Mort.” Lyons, 1547.....123

52.--The Preacher. From Holbein’s “Images de la Mort.” Lyons, 1547.....124

53.--The Ploughman. From Holbein’s “Images de la Mort.” Lyons, 1547.....125

54.--Nathan Rebuking David. From Holbein’s “Icones Historiarum Veteris Testamenti.” Lyons, 1547.....130

55.--From “Opera Vergiliana,” printed by Sacon. Lyons, 1517. (Initial letter).....135

56.--St. Christopher. From a Venetian print.....142

57.--St. Sebastian and St. Francis. Portion of a print by Andreani after Titian.....143

58.--The Annunciation. From a print by Francesco da Nanto.....144

59.--Milo of Crotona. From a print by Boldrini after Titian.....145

60.--From the “Comedia di Danthe.” Venice, 1536. (Initial letter).....151

61.--The Peacock. From Bewick’s “British Birds”.....156

62.--The Frightened Mother. From Bewick’s “British Quadrupeds”.....157

63.--The Solitary Cormorant. From Bewick’s “British Birds”.....157

64.--The Snow Cottage.....158

65.--Birth-place of Bewick. His last vignette, portraying his own funeral.....158

66.--The Broken Boat. From Bewick’s “British Birds”.....160

67.--The Church-yard. From Bewick’s “British Birds”.....160

68.--The Sheep-fold. By Blake. From “Virgil’s Pastorals”.....162

69.--The Mark of Storm. By Blake. From “Virgil’s Pastorals”.....162

70.--Cave of Despair. By Branston. From Savage’s “Hints on Decorative Printing”.....165

71.--Vignette from “Rogers’s Poems.” London, 1827.....167

72.--Vignette from “Rogers’s Poems.” London, 1827.....167

73.--Death as a Friend. From a print by Professor Norton, of Cambridge. Engraved by J. Jungtow.....169

74.--Death as a Throttler. From a print by Professor Norton, of Cambridge. Engraved by Steinbrecher.....170

75.--The Creation. Engraved by J. F. Adams.....172

76.--The Deluge. Engraved by J. F. Adams.....173

77.--Butterflies. Engraved by F. S. King.....175

78.--Spring-time. Engraved by F. S. King.....177

79.--Mount Lafayette (White Mountains). By J. Tinkey.....183

80.--“And silent were the sheep in woolly fold.” Engraved by J. G. Smithwick.....187

81.--The Old Orchard. Engraved by F. Juengling.....189

82.--Some Art Connoisseurs. Engraved by Robert Hoskin.....191

83.--The Travelling Musicians. Engraved by R. A. Muller.....194

84.--Shipwrecked. Engraved by Frank French.....196

85.--The Tap-room. Engraved by Frank French.....198

86.--Going to Church. Engraved by J. P. Davis.....199

87.--“Nay, Love, ’tis you who stand with almond clusters in your clasping hand.” Engraved by T. Cole.....201

88.--The Spanish Peasant. Engraved by F. Juengling.....203

89.--James Russell Lowell. Engraved by Thomas Johnson.....205

90.--Arthur Penrhyn Stanley. Engraved by G. Kruell.....207

A

HISTORY OF WOOD-ENGRAVING.

I.

_THE ORIGIN OF THE ART._

The beginning of the art of wood-engraving in Europe, the time when paper was first laid down upon an engraved wood block and the first rude print was taken off, is unknown; the name of the inventor and his country are involved in a double obscurity of ignorance and fable, darkened still more by national jealousies and vanities; even the mechanical appliances and processes which led up to and at last resulted in the new art, can only be conjectured. The art had long lain but just beyond the border-line of discovery. The principle of making impressions by means of lines cut in relief upon wood was known to the ancients, who used engraved wooden stamps to indent figures and letters in soft substances like wax and clay, and, possibly, to print colors on surfaces, as had been done from early times in India in the manufacture of cloth; similar stamps were used in the Middle Ages by notaries and other public officers to print signatures on documents, by Italian cloth-makers to impress colors on silk and other fabrics, and by the illuminators of manuscripts to strike the outlines of initial letters. This practice may have suggested the new process.

It is more probable that the art began in the workshops of the goldsmiths, who were so skilled in engraving upon metal that impressions of much artistic value have been taken from work executed by them in the twelfth century, showing that they really were engravers obliged to remain goldsmiths, because the art of printing from metal plates was unknown.[1] By their knowledge of design and their artistic execution, at least, if not by their mechanical inventiveness, the goldsmiths were the lineal ancestors of the great engravers of the Renaissance. Their art had been continued from Roman times, with fewer interruptions and hinderances than any other of the fine arts. It was early employed in the adornment of the altar, the pax, and other articles of the Church service; already, in St. Bernard’s time, so much attention was given to workmanship of this kind, and so much wealth lavished upon it, that he denounced it, with true ascetic spirit, as a decoration of what was soon to become vile, a waste of what might have been given to the poor, and a distraction of the spirit from holiness to the admiration of beauty. “The Church,” he said, “shines with the splendor of her walls, and among her poor is destitution; she clothes her stones with gold, and leaves her children naked. * * * Finally, so many things are to be seen, everywhere such a marvellous variety of different forms, that one may read more upon the sculptured walls than in the written Scriptures, and spend the whole day in going about in wonder from one such thing to another, rather than in meditating upon God’s law.”[2] The art might have suffered seriously from such uncompromising opposition as St. Bernard made, had not Suger, the great abbot of St. Denys, taken up its defence and supported it by his patronage and by his eloquence. “Let each one have his own opinion,” he writes, “but I confess it is my conviction that whatever is most precious ought to be devoted above all to that holiest rite of the Eucharist; if golden lavers, if golden cups, and if golden bowls were used, by the command of God or of the prophet, to catch the blood of rams or bullocks or heifers, how much more ought vases of gold, precious stones, and whatever is dearest among all creatures, ever to be set forth with full devotion to receive the blood of Jesus Christ!”[3] By such arguments Suger defended the rightfulness and value of the goldsmith’s art in the service of the Church. After his time the employment of the goldsmiths upon church decoration became so great that they were really the artists of Europe during the two hundred years previous to the invention of wood-engraving.[4] In the pursuit of their craft they practised the arts of modelling, casting, sculpture, engraving, enamelling, and the setting of precious stones; and in the thirteenth century they made use of all these resources in the execution of their beautiful works of art made of gold and silver, richly engraved, and adorned with bass-reliefs and statuettes, and brilliant with many-colored enamel and with jewels--the reliquaries in which were kept the innumerable holy relics that then filled Europe, the famous shrines for the bodies of the saints, about which pilgrims from every quarter were ever at prayer, and the tombs of the Crusaders, and of dignitaries of Church or State. They employed their skill, too, for the lesser glory of the churches, upon the vessels of the Holy Communion, the crosses, candelabra, and censers, and the ornaments that incrusted the vestments of the priests. With the increase of luxury and wealth they found a new field for their invention in contributing to the magnificence of secular life; in fashioning into strange forms the ewers, goblets, flagons, and every vessel which adorned the banquet; and in ornamenting them with fantastic figures, or with scenes from the chase, or from the history of Charlemagne and Saladin, as well as in executing those finely wrought decorations with which the silks and velvets of the nobles were so heavily charged that the old poet, Martial d’Auvergne, says the lords and knights were “caparisoned in gold-work and jewels.” Under Charles V. of France (1364) and the great Dukes of the Low Countries, the jewel-chamber of the prince was his pride in peace and his treasury in war: it furnished gifts for the bride, the favorite, and the heir, and for foreign ambassadors and princes; it afforded pay for retainers before the battle and ransom after it, and in the days of the great fêtes its treasures gave to the courts of France, Burgundy, and Flanders a magnificence that has seldom been seen in Europe.[5]

Under such fortunate encouragement the goldsmiths of the fourteenth century reached a knowledge of design and a finish in execution that justified the claim of their art to the first place among the fine arts, and made their workshops the apprentice-home of many great masters of art in Italy as well as in the North. They best understood the value of art, and were best skilled in artistic processes; they were the only persons[6] who had by them all the means for taking an impression--the engraved metal plate, iron tools, burnishers for rubbing off a proof, blackened oil, and paper which they used for tracing their designs; they would, too, have been aided in their art, merely as goldsmiths, could they have tested their engraving from time to time by taking an impression from it in its various stages. It is not unlikely, therefore, that the art of taking impressions from engraved work was found out, or at least was first extensively applied, in their workshops, where it could hardly have failed to be discovered ultimately, as paper came into use more generally and for more various purposes. If this were the case, metal-engraving preceded wood-engraving, but only by a brief space of time, because, as soon as the idea of the new art was fully grasped, wood must have been almost immediately employed in preference to metal, on account of the greater ease and speed of working in wood, and of the less injury done to the paper in printing from it.

Some support for this view, that the art of printing from engraved metal plates was discovered by the goldsmiths, and preceded and suggested wood-engraving, is derived from the peculiar prints in the _manière criblée_, or the dotted style, of which over three hundred are known. They were produced by a mixed process of engraving in relief and in intaglio, usually upon a metal plate, but sometimes upon wood. The effects are given by dots and lines relieved in white upon a black ground, assisted by dots and lines relieved in black upon a white ground. These prints have afforded much material for dispute and controversy, both as to their process and their date; the mode in which the metal plates from which they were printed were engraved, particularly the punching out small holes in the metal, which appear usually as white dots, and give the name to the prints, is the same as a mode of ornamental work[7] in metal that had been practised for centuries in the workshops of the goldsmiths, and on this account they have been ascribed to the goldsmiths of the great Northern cities.[8] They appeared certainly as early as 1450, and probably much earlier.[9] Some of these prints are evidently taken from metal plates not originally meant to be printed from, for the inscriptions on the prints as well as the actions of the figures appear reversed, the words reading backward, and the figures performing actions with the left hand almost always performed by the right hand.[10] These may be the work of the first years of the fifteenth century, or they may have been taken long afterward, in a spirit of curiosity or experiment. The existence of these early prints, however, undoubtedly from the workshops of the goldsmiths, and after a mode long practised by them, strengthens the hypothesis--suggested by their wide acquaintance with artistic processes and their exclusive possession of all the proper instruments--that they originated the art of taking impressions on paper from engraved work; at all events, this seems the least wild, the most consistent, and best supported conjecture which has been put forth.

There is, however, no lack of more specific accounts of the origin of wood-engraving. Pliny’s[11] reference to the portraits with which Varro illustrated his works indicates, in the opinion of some writers, a momentary, isolated, and premature appearance of the art in his day. Ottley[12] maintains that the art was introduced into Europe by the Venetians, who learned it “at a very early period of their intercourse with the people of Tartary, Thibet, and China;” but of this there is no satisfactory evidence. Papillon,[13] a French engraver of the last century, relates that in his youth he saw in the library of a retired Swiss officer nine woodcuts, illustrative of the deeds of Alexander the Great, executed with a small knife by “two young and amiable twins,” Isabella and Alexander Alberico Cunio, Knt., of Ravenna, in their seventeenth year, and dedicated by them to Pope Honorius IV., in 1284-85; but, as no one else ever saw or heard of them, and there is no contemporary reference to them, as no single unquestionable fact has been adduced in direct support of the story, and as Papillon is an untrustworthy writer, his tale, although accepted by some authorities,[14] is generally discredited,[15] and was regarded by Chatto[16] as the hallucination of a distempered mind. Meerman,[17] the stout defender of the claim of Lawrence Coster to the invention of printing with movable types, relying on the authority of Junius,[18] who wrote from tradition more than a century after the facts, makes Coster the first printer of woodcuts. Some writers accept this story; but in spite of them, and of the well-developed genealogical tree with which Meerman provided his hero, and even of Mr. Sotheby’s[19] supposed discovery of Coster’s portrait, his very existence is doubted. The charming scene in which the idea of the new art first occurred to Coster, as he was walking after dinner in his garden, and cutting letters from beech-tree bark with which to print moral sentences for his grandchildren--the old man surrounded by the childish group in the well-ordered Haarlem garden--is probably, after all, little more than a play of antiquarian fancy. These stories have slight historic weight; they are, to use M. Renouvier’s simile, “a group of legends about the cradle of modern art, like those recounted of ancient art, the history of Craton, of Saurias, or of the daughter of Dibutades, who invented design by tracing on a wall the silhouette of her lover.”