The Wichita daily eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1890-1906, 1890-05-22

illustrator By this l mean the ant OF
blending in picture the ideas suggested
by the text.
Good art is not the chief desideratum,
although it must represent. Good Illus
traitors do not come from art schools as a
rule. E. A. Abbey, Remington and KEN
BILE, the best of the day, do not come
from art schools An illustrator usually
begins as an amateur, sketching some
great fire, or railway accident, or some
group of faces and attitudes that strike
the eye. He uains his hand to the work
of giving ideas tangible form, and not
simply to the reproduction of artistic
forms from copies that anybody can use
and that are familiar on all sides.
Every illustrated magazine has food
of drawings offered, just as manuscripts
are. Few of those offered are of any
value for magazine use, because, while
they may show good art, they do, not
shit off" any idea that it is desirable to
illustrate. Occasionally piece of work
strays in that shows talent and the
novice may be encouraged by a few
hints and suggestions. Many would be
illustrators place great store upon their
art education, and are grieved when
they learn that their class attainments
are not a passport for preferment in
practical life and that class training Is
rot even an essential.
The Century staff of illustrators are
New York men. Very little of their
yvCrI- outside of tho o;tu of Nv, VorI- IL
done by outside artists Men of the regu-
lar staff are sent to distant points. The
pay for this work is good, and a fair
illustrator, on an equality in his profes,
sion with good general writer on the
press, makes S15 to 500 day The in
come of good artist is $1,000 a year,
and stars may make $4,000.
In the engraving department, too, there
is a scarcity Of artists. A good wood en-
graver earns $1,000 to $4,000 a year.
The Century company probably does
more wood engraving than any other
house in this country, and the good work
which they produce in the magazine
makes some people wonder how it can
be repeated month after month. There
are many hands to do it, for the makers
draw upon all of the best art resources
of the city.
The printing Of the magazine is de-
partment by itself and is looked after
by a specialist in the art, Theo. L.. De
Winnie. Mr.. De Winnie takes pride in
printing and especial pride in wood cut
printing. One of the results of his care
is traceable in the good impressions seen
in The Century cuts, which appear to
stand out on the page. Ifhe would open
his printing house, one of the chief nov
elites would be the preparation of the
presses for printing, and here, too, is one
of the marvelS of quick work, quick even
for monthly. A picture in black and
white has many shades varying from
very dark to light gray, yet all are made
by black ink at one impression. How is
this diversified result obtained?
Mr.. De Winnie has brought it to great
perfection by the development of what
all printers know as ''overlays," placed
on the impression bed, which rolls over
the paper as it strikes the linked plate.
The ''overlays," complete, constitute
low relief in paper Of the engraving to
be printed. They are made by taking
proofs of the cut on different thicknesses
of paper, and carefully cutting out all
portions where the relief is strong enough
and leaving those where extra pressure
is needed. From three to six overlays
are used, and, after FASTING together the
set to be used on a cut, they are adjusted
on the impression cylinder so as to meet
the cut line for line during the printing
and distribute the pressure just as need
ed. With hundreds of pictures to print
for The Century each month, this deli
cate operation in printers work is no
slight part of magazine making.
II Editor Glider, of The Century,
should look after the art work and print
ing as carefully as he does to the brill
fancy and grace of thought and style in
his magazine, who would envy him his
position?
The art department details are con
Quoted by Mr.. a. w. Drake, superin-
tendent, and w. L. Fraser, manager.
Mr.. Glider decides on all illustrations,
and here, as in his literary labors, is aided
by the associate editor, r. Z. Johnson,
and the assistant editor, Q. c. Buel.
To Mr.. Buel belongs the credit of orig
mating The Century War Series, one of
the great hits in periodical features of
these times. He is a young man. and
was trained to the profession of journal
ism before joining the magazine. Mr..
johnson has been one of the staff since
the beginning in 1872, and is now in HE
prime.
Mr.. Glider is a man Of all kinds Of
brainy and social affairs When boy
in bis teens he served in the Gettysburg
campaign in Lands Philadelphia bat
terry, and Is now Grand Army veteran
of Lafayette post. Mr.. Johnson is a stu
dent, with ideas on art and social ad
vancement. Mr.. Buel studies life every
where and recreates at his home on Long
Island sound, where a good yachting
breeze will always cause him to forget
importuning contributors and that last
poem on the season which he declined
with thanks for the faver of reading ii.
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