New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1885-12-21
I;1GAZINE ILLUSTRATIONS.

THE WORK OF HARPER AND THE CENTURY, |
M sm,l temptatlon to 'spread-caClesm" is
furnished in the quality Of tho work done by our
artists and engravers in the Lound volumes OF
Larpcr and The century, 81. N'chOids and Har-
reys Youag Peopie which lie before us. Mr. iiamer-
ton long since took pans to award the palm OF
supcr.oritv to American wood engravcrs and TO ac-
knowledge the exec lence with which theITcuts are
printed Siucc it is confessed that no literary mag
eZines in the world equal ours In the matter oil H.
lustratione we may surely sound conGratulatory
note now and then upon our achievements
Not having the fear of Nh Linton before
orr ewes. nor being orthodox worshlppers
Of "pure lire VIC may enjoy the pres
ent "imItative" wood engraving with an I'M
tronbled conscience. We may not be willing TO
promse the applause Of poseriiy to any one OF our
illustrators but there are plenty OF them who.
month by month, earn our substantial applecia-
tiop. Nearly all this army Of illustrators and en-
rraycrs have been recruited within fifteen years.
The ncgled drawings and bleak cuts OF the old
school have disappeared. Truly the change las
been marvellous.
But woodworking is no longer the only reliance
of our magazines for reproduction he volumes
before us show the increasing usefulness Of press
prints of various kinds. They omit no essentials
in reproducing pen-and-nk figure sketches, like the
types so ceverly selected by Mr.. Kemb.e at the
New-Orleans Exposition; or other Century
drawings by Messrs. Frost Bush and Rogers;
or some of Mr.. Rcinha:ts effective
illustrations of AT tie Red Glove in Harper
More than this, the remarkable Ives process boldly
iuyades the field of wood engraving. Some Of our
readers may remember Its employment for MIR.
Brushs illustrations Of Mr.. Cheney's versiied In
aian legends in The Ceti,uy year OF so ago. In
enc December number of Harper the "Mater Pia"
noiI o audi Mr. 4
Mo,uiDg" were reproduced by this process. 1t is
worth while to compare them carefully with the
oncrayiurs to see how closely mechanical work
can follow-it is needless to say without equalhng
the work of the human hand and BRAIN One
roint should be frankly admitted, Notwithstanding
the great attention gwen TO oyerays ana all the
conditions of the printing Of wood cutsthls Is the
ImpossIbility of satisfying the engravers ideal III
printing editions OF tho SIZE demanded By our great
magazines The public has no reason to be
dissatisfied when presented with such ad-
nirable achievements as the engraving5 OF the
Barye bronzes by Messrs. +. French, Muller, Well
ington, Closson, Wolf, Ktuell Jucnglmg and others
in the September number of HarpT. But the en-
vraver who has the feeling of an artist in his work.
is a sevCrer critic and glad TO know that the
American Society of Wood EnGrayers is to publish
limited number OF proofs of these Illustrations to
chow under the most favorable conditions the capa
billties Of Woodworking an art.
OF what might almost he termed degradation
Of wood-engrayng the volume OF The Ccatary before
ms furnishes certain conspicuous examples in the
sngravings after MIR. Pencils etchIngs of Floren-
line scenes. The printer OF the etching spreads a
thin film of ink the plate to support the etched
lines aud give tOne," Oh the principle OF line and
fat wash drawing. This adventurous aid, only a
thin Gardening of the paper in the printed etching
the cDgraver has been set 10 initiate. He has no
free-and-easy way of escape. All his whites must
be cut out of the block. leaving a multitude Of
microscope points in relief to print black, task
maddening in the amount of minute, painful labor
demanded. and after all unnecessary and proftless
Even the etcher's conventional lines TO suggest sky
or water are savishly initiated, although they be-
ssme meaningless. Such translatons of etchings
into wood engrayiugs seem TO us not only bad art
but also depressing waste of skilled labor.
In Harper we find Mr. Abbey pouring the
old wine of "She Stops to Conquer" into
new bottles of his own deyising, Mr. Parsons inter-