The times. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1897-1901, 1900-10-28
Steel ENGRAF[UG'S END
A Once Glorious Art Becoming
Lost to the World
Narrow Restrictions to Which the
Work Has Become Limited-The
Decorations of Bank Notes Now
the Principal Labor of Accomp-
lished Artists-Cnuses of Decline.

twenty-five years ago or even less far
back into the days when Art was not
spelled with capital letter, no self-re-
speeding citizen would have ventured to
invite his friends into a, "parlor" not
adorned with specimens of the alleged art
of more or less incompetent steel engrav
ers. "The Pilgrims Progress" THE
Guardian Angel" diminutive and irritat-
ing children offering loaves of bread to
preposterously grateful and ragged poor"
such works of art as these adorned the
walls Of ninety-nine out of every hundred
houses. 1t was depressing from an artis-
tic point of view, but this feeble imitation
testified to the supremacy of the noble art
of steel engraving, of which the masters
were an inspired few. The engraved afro
cities have vanished from the walls, and
along with them the truly beautiful speci-
mems of the art have grown to be less
and less highly priced, except by the con-
noisseur. Steel engraving has come to
be one of the lest arts. In few years
all its followers will have passed away,
and the good engravings now extant will
even more distinctly become merely in
teresting subjectssfor the collector. rather
than for the admiration of the many.
Steel engravers have not yet found their
occupation gone entirely. The old men who
once engraved pictures of ambitious size
and scope now toil-such OF them as are
leftover the details of bank notes. 1t is
the ore living branch of steel engraving.
one worthy enough in its way, for the work
is beautiful, but one which will never win
the admiration once shOwered on huge
copies of great pictures. To the general
public the figure rather than the design OF
a bank note is of Importance, and few stop
to note the deiicacy of the lines, the graces
of the composition, all engraved. very like
ly, with loving care by some old man
whose pride in his art remains, although
the glory Of it has gone forever.
This branch of engraving has reached
higher development in America than any
where else. The delicacy of the work is
sometimes extreme, and gives an idea of
the standing of the artist In the days when
his skill was put to higher uses. The old
men are growing fewer every year. For
the special profession of bank note engrav-
ing young men are being trained to take
their places, but for the broader WORK, as
it used to be carried on, there will be no
successors. The old engravers are the last
Of their ancient guild and with them the
art of steel engraving as it relates to large
pictures will die.
But, narrow as is their field, it is in
teresting to find that these old artists
recognize one another's work by t.;e M
mute details of the bank-note or stock
certificate. Much of it is done by geo.
metric lathe in the hands of apprentices,
but the touch of the true artist is per-
ceptible to his brother, Just as it is pos
siblc to detect in moment the style of
painter.
There is always infinite pathos about
the idea of the worlds losing anything
beautiful it once possessed. 1t does not
matter whether or not there las come
something to take its place-the sadness
is there. AS a matter of fact steel en-
craving has passed away because some
thing as satisfactory and far more cheap
has been discovered. Photography is
good enough substitute for The Inferior
work which was so familiar Il quarter of
a Gentry ago. The rage for etching also
helped to overthrow steel engraving from
its position of security, but the downfall
was brought about chilly by the invention
of photography. The plates engraved by
really good workers cost large sum of
money and an amount of time dispropor-
tionate even to the high price. Muller
spent six years in perfecting his "Sistine
Madonna and the price paid for it re-
warded his time at a less rate than that
of an ordinary drygoods clerk OF today.
Such works were, indeed, labor of love,
and to them there attached a sentimental
interest TINT can never cling around the
photograph which has driven the engray
ing from the field. An ordinary photog-
raper-that is. man With nc special ar
tistic inspration-can produce the beauti-
full work which hangs In the place OF those
once honored. copies of great pictures. or
course. steel engrayings are still bought |
and sold. and still hang in the houses OF |
artistic people, but those who buy are in