The Sedalia weekly bazoo. [volume] (Sedalia, Mo.) 187?-1904, 1889-06-25
WOOD ENGRAVINGS.


- prescription ot PROCESS ptOye0 II
the Production of Fine Work.
) Wood-engravings are made on Turk.
ish lockwood. which, on account of its
close and even fiber, answers the pur-
pose better than any other. The
blocks are sawed in slabs an inch in
thickness and the top highly polished.
All cutting is done against the grain.
Three tools are emplOyed-theg raver,
similar to that used on metals; the
tinter, fine round-pointed instrument
used for drawing delicate lines, and
e the routing-tOol, for cutting away the
whites. The wood-engraver first
sketches upon the block the outline OF
the designs. These lines are then
covered with fake white and the work
of cutting begins The block is placed
upon a pedestal, in order to bring il
near the eye of the artist, and yet
leave his hands free and all parts
which are to appear light in the print
are cut away with the tool. The next
step is the graduation in the darker
portions. These are produced by
shaving off the higher parts of the
wood, but not sufficiently to leave
them entirely below the surface at
which contact with the paper occurs.
The deep blocks are left untouched.
When a misstroke has been made Q
hole of the requisite size is bored in
the block and plug of wood inserted.
This is carefully smoothed until it Is
level with the surface and the mis-.
take corrected. OF course, if placed
in the press the soft wood
would soon wear out. Here the aid
of the electrOtyper is called in. The
block is placed in battery and a thin
film of metal is deposited by the electric
battery over its surface. The print is
taken from this, backed either by the
original engraving or by type metal,
the engraving being taken out and
molten metal poured into its place.
With few exceptions all books are
illustrated by wood-cuts. and the re-
cent wonderful growth in pictorial
advertisements is due to the improve
ment in the art of wood-cutting. Not
only are wood-cuts far less expensive
than steel-engravings, but from a
purely artistic point of view they pre-
sent many advantages. No design on
metal can compare for sharpness OF
contrast with a well-executed and
properly printed wood-cut in strong
and sharply defined contrasts, while
fine gradations of light and shade are
now possible, which are beyond the
reach of the worker in steel. Clear
ness of outline the latter still pos
sesses in a superior degree, owing to
the greater hardness of the metal.
But since the substitution of the cleo
trotype for printing directly from the
block this difference has been greatly
lessened.
The possibility of bringing out
sharply certain portions of design
after the cut has been made, which
was discovered by the proprietors of
the Century. has raised the best wood
cuts almost to the level of steel en-
cravings in respect to sharpness OF
outline. This process. technically
known as "keying up" is very simple,
but exceedingly effective. After the
block is put in the press and proof
taken the effect is noted. and under such
parts as require stronger accentuation
slips of paper are placed. The lines
can thus be projected upward from be-
hind without alteration in the cut, and
more delicate alterations made than
it Is possible to do by hand. Photog-
raphy has also been called to the aid
OF the wood engraver. A design is
drawn, photographed. and the neg
alive reproduced directly on the block.
Where reduction in size is requested
this plan has entirely superseded re-
drawing. A most important advan-
tage of wood cuts:over steel engravings
is the rapidity with which they can
be printed. After each impression a |
steel plate must be rubbed clean and |
re-inked, a most tedious process, as
the cleansing, to be effective, must be |
done with the bare hand, all substi- |
tutes having been fountl inefficient A |
wood block, on the other hand, can be |
used in an ordinary press. and can be |
printed from as rapidly as from type.
The art has made many advances
during the last few years. but. strange
~ enough, the schools in which it is !
taught are by no means numerous.
frequently take a few pu-
pills, but the only regular institution
for teaching this art established west !
of New York City is the Missouri En-
craving School.-Chicago News.
The Importance of having place
Tor every tool and article about the