Chapter 10

AUTHOR, ILLUSTRATOR, AND PUBLISHER.

Let us now consider shortly the Author, the Illustrator, and the Publisher, and their influence on the appearance and production of a book. If it be impossible in these days (and, in spite of the efforts of Mr. William Morris and others, it seems to be impossible) to produce a genuine book in all its details, it seems worth considering in what way the author can stamp it with his own individuality; 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 quoted? Theoretically, he is the 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 style. The book is his, and it is his business to decide in what form his ideas should become concrete; the publisher 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 mediæval times taught themselves to use theirs. The modern author, who is, say, fifty years 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 communication between intelligent beings; and so, regardless of style, character, or picturesqueness, he scribbles away! So much for our generally straggling style of penmanship.

There is no doubt that the author of the future will have to come more into personal contact with the artist than he has been in the habit of doing, and that the distinction I referred to in the first chapter, between illustrations which are to be (1) 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 (1) whether a drawing is suitable for publication; and (2) by 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 informed on these matters can easily be distinguished by the quality of their publications. 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 point to a period when so much bad work was produced as at present. The causes have already been pointed out, the beautiful processes for the reproduction of drawings are scarcely understood by the majority of artists, publishers, authors, or critics. It is the _misuse_ of the processes in these hurrying days, which is dragging our national reputation in the mire and perplexing the student.

The modern publisher, it may be said without offence, understands the manufacture and the commerce of a book better than the art in it. And how should it be otherwise? The best books that were ever produced, from an artistic point of view, were inspired and designed by students of art and letters, men removed from the commercial scramble of life, and to whom an advertisement was a thing unknown! The ordinary art education of a publisher, and the multitude of affairs requiring his attention, unfit him generally, for the task of deciding whether an illustration is good or bad, or how far--when he cheapens the production of his book by using photographic illustrations ("snap-shots" from 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.

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 of 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 equivalent, will be more _en rapport_ with both author and publisher.

For the illustrator by profession there seems no artistic leisure; no time to do anything properly in this connection.

"It is a poor career, Blackburn," said a well-known newspaper illustrator to me lately (an artist of distinction and success in his profession who has practised it for twenty years), "you seldom give satisfaction--not even to yourself."

"It is an _ideal career_," says another, a younger man, who is content with the more slap-dash methods in vogue to-day--and with the income he receives for them.

Referring again to the question in the _Athenæum_, "Why is not drawing for the press taught in our Government schools of art?" I think the principal reasons why the art of illustration by the processes is not generally taught in art schools are--

(1) drawing for reproduction requires more personal teaching than is possible in art classes in public schools; (2) the art masters throughout the country, with very few exceptions, _do not understand the new 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 of illustration, 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 question that the best preparation for this work is the _best general art teaching that can be obtained_. The student must have drawn from the antique and from life; he must have learned composition and design; have studied from nature the relative values of light and shade, aërial perspective and the like; in short, have followed the routine study for a painter whose first aim should be to be a master of monochrome.

In the more technical parts, which the young illustrator by 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 what style of process work he is by touch and temperament 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 which looks well scarcely ever reproduces well_, must always be remembered. Many drawings for process, commended 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 better in the reproduction_. These remarks refer especially to ornament and design, to architectural drawings and the like.

The topical illustrator and sketcher in weekly prints has, of course, more licence, and it 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 drawing 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.

But the sketchy style of illustration seems to be a little overdone at present, and--being tolerable only when allied to great ability--remains consequently in the hands of a few. There is plenty of talent in this country which is wasted for want of control. It plays 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-lithography, 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-face, by Millais, is scattered over the world by hundreds of thousands; and the reputation of a young artist, like Kate Greenaway, made and established. The latter owes much of her prestige and success to the colour-printer. Admitting the grace, taste, and invention of Kate Greenaway as an illustrator, there is little doubt that, without the wood engraver and the example and sympathetic aid of such artists as H. S. Marks, R.A., Walter Crane, and the late Randolph Caldecott, she would never have received the praise bestowed upon her by M. Ernest Chesneau, or Mr. Ruskin. These things show how intimately the arts of reproduction affect reputations, and how important it is that more sympathy and communication should exist between all producers. In the mass of illustrated publications issuing from the press the expert can discern clearly where this sympathy and knowledge exist, and where ability, on the part of the artist, has been allied to practical knowledge of the requirements of illustration.

The business of many will be to contribute, in some form, to the making of pictures and designs to be multiplied in the press; and, in order to learn the technique and obtain employment, some of the most promising pupils have to fall into the ways of the producers of cheap illustrations, Christmas cards, and the like. On the other hand, a knowledge of the mechanical processes for reproducing drawings (as it is being pressed forward in technical schools) is leading to disastrous consequences, as may be seen on every railway bookstall in the kingdom.

In the "book of the future" we hope to see less of the "lath and plaster" style of illustration, produced from careless wash drawings by the cheap processes; fewer of the blots upon the page, which the modern reader seems to take as a matter of course. In books, as in periodicals, the illustrator by process will have to divest himself, as far as possible, of that tendency to scratchiness and exaggeration that injures so many process illustrations. In short, he must be more careful, and give more thought to the meaning of his lines and washes, and to the adequate expression of textures.

There is a great deal yet to learn, for neither artists nor writers have mastered the subject. Few of our best illustrators have the time or the inclination to take to the new methods, and, as regards criticism, it is hardly to be expected that a reviewer who has a pile of illustrated books to pronounce upon, should know the reason of the failures that he sees before him. Thus the public is often misled by those who should be its guides as to the value and importance of the new systems of illustration.[24]

In conclusion, let us remember that everyone who cultivates a taste for artistic beauty in books, be he author, artist, or artificer, may do something towards relieving the monotony and confusion in style, which pervades the outward aspect of so many books. It is a far cry from the work of the missal writer in a monastery to the pages of a modern book, but the taste and feeling which was shown in the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries in the production of books, exists in the nineteenth, under difficult conditions.

In the "book of the future" the author will help personally, more than he has ever done, as I have already suggested. The subject is not half-ventilated yet, nor can I touch upon it further, but the day is not far distant when the power of the hand of the author will be tested to the utmost, and lines of all kinds will appear in the text. There is really no limit to what may be done with modern appliances, if only the idea is seized with intelligence.

Two questions, however, remain unanswered--(1) Whether, as a matter of language and history, we are communicating information to each other much better than the ancients did in cuneiform inscriptions, on stones and monuments. (2) Whether, as a matter of illustrative art, we are making the best use of modern appliances.

Let us, then, cultivate more systematically the art of drawing for the press, and treat it as a worthy profession. Let it not be said again, as it was to me lately by one who has devoted half a lifetime to these things, "The processes of reproduction are to hand, but where are our artists?" Let it not be said that the chariot-wheels of the press move too fast for us--that chemistry and the sun's rays have been utilised too soon--that, in short, the processes of reproduction have been perfected before their time! I think not, and that an art--the art of pictorial expression--which has existed for ages and is now best understood by the Japanese, may be cultivated amongst us to a more practical end.

FOOTNOTE:

[24] There seems but one rule of criticism in this connection. If a book illustration comes out coarsely and (as is often the case) a mere smudge, the process is blamed, when the drawing or photograph may have been quite unsuitable for the process employed.

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.

A. ACKERMAN, 191, Regent Street, W.

J. BARNARD & SON, 19, Berners Street, W.

CORNELISSEN & SON, 22, Great Queen Street, W.C.

LECHERTIER, BARBE, & Co., 60, Regent Street, W.

JAS. NEWMAN, 24, Soho Square, W.

REEVES & SONS, 113, Cheapside, E.C.

CHAS. ROBERSON & CO., 99, Long Acre, W.C.

GEO. ROWNEY & CO., 64, Oxford Street, W.

WINSOR & NEWTON, 37, Rathbone Place, W.

PERCY YOUNG, 137, Gower Street, W.C.

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.

ANDRÉ & SLEIGH, Bushey, Herts.

THE ART REPRODUCTION COMPANY, Clairville Grove, South Kensington.

MR. DALLAS, 5, Furnival Street, E.C.

A. & C. DAWSON, Hogarth Works, Chiswick.

DELLAGANA & CO., Gayton Road, Hampstead, N.W.

DIRECT PHOTOGRAPHIC COMPANY, 38, Farringdon Street, E.C.

HARE & SONS, LTD., Bride Court, Fleet Street.

CARL HENTSCHEL, 182, Fleet Street, E.C.

CHAS. GEARD (Agent for Krakow), MacLean's Bldgs., New St. Sq., E.C.

MEISENBACH CO., Ltd., Wolfington Road, West Norwood, S.E.

JOHN SWAIN & SON, 58, Farringdon Street, E.C.

SWAN ELECTRIC LIGHT CO., 114, Charing Cross Road, W.C.

TYPOGRAPHIC ETCHING CO., 3, Ludgate Circus Buildings, E.C.

WALKER & BOUTALL, Clifford's Inn, Fleet Street, E.C.

WATERLOW & SONS, Ltd., London Wall, E.C.

VINCENT & HAHN, 34, Barbican, E.C.

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.

"Black and White."

NOTICE.--MR. HENRY BLACKBURN'S STUDIO is open five days a week for the Study and Practice of DRAWING FOR THE PRESS with Technical Assistants. Students join at any time.

* * * * *

_Private Instruction and by Correspondence._

123, VICTORIA STREET, WESTMINSTER (_near Army & Navy stores_).

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._

End of Project Gutenberg's The Art of Illustration, by Henry Blackburn