St. Johnsbury Caledonian. [volume] (St. Johnsbury, Vt.) 1867-1919, 1900-10-03
AN HOUR WITH THE ENGRAVERS.
Richard B. Eastman's Address before
the 81. JOhnsbury WOman's Club.

HkCm0FO NE EaBEmdnB AuuF0SS UOA@ED
the St. Johnsbury Woman's Club.
We are glad to present to our readers
the interesting and instructive address
on engravers and etchers delivered by
Mr.. Eastman at the October meeting Of
the Woman's Club. After a word of in
PRODUCTION and an apt poetical quota
tion Mr.. Eastman said:
About the middle of the fifteenth CEN
tury, fortunate accident opened to the
art creating and art loving worlds, an
entirely new field for their creative
energy and enjoyment 1t is to the gold
smiths art OF Niello that we primarily
owe the suggestion that led to the devel-
opment and perfection of line engraving
and etching.
Although the art of engraving orna-
mental designs upon metal, can be traced
to a very remote antiquity, it was not
until we'll toward the middle of the
fifteenth century that thct most valuable
discovery was made, that impressions,
or prints, could be taken, upon paper,
from such engraved plates.
This discovery, so important to art
and civilization, was accidental, and at
tributed to Tommaso Finiguera, Flor
entine goldsmith, who practiced the art
of decoration of gold and silver plates,
by filling the engraved lines of his designs
with black or many colored enamels.
This was the art OF Niello. He was ac-
customed in the progress OF his work, to
fill the engraved lines of his design with
a soft black paste the better to study the
effect OF his design. About 1440 being
engaged on the design of a silver pax,
which is wrought in niello and is a rep
resentation of the coronation of the
Virgin, and was executed tor the Church
of San Giovanni Battista of Florence, he
had filled the lines of his engraved design
with the black paste, and, for some
reason, unknown to us, had laid the
plate, face down, upon piece OF paper.
Upon returning to his work and taking
up his plate, he discovered that an exact
reproduction of his design had been left
upon the virgin surface OF the paper, and
thus new art was born.
The art genius of the age, ever eager
for new fields, was quick to take advan-
| tage of the hint, and before the end of
the century was reached the fine art OF
line engraving had entered upon its
golden age.
A school Of engravers quickly sprang
into existence, creating an art method
and expression entirely its own, over
coming almost insuperable technical dit
ficulties, and acquiring manual skill
and dexterity with the BURN, impossible
to describe, and only to be appreciated
by a long and intimate knowledge of the
works OF the great masters, ana this to
be obtained only by loving and faith
full study OF their most precious plates.
The soil was ready for the seed. There
was that universal genius, Leonardo da
Vinci, Albert Durer, father of the German
school OF painting and pre.eminent as an
engraver; that mighty man, Michael
Angelo, painter, poet, sculptor, architect,
engineer, supreme alike in each and all
Titan, that great Venitian coorist, and
Raphael, that prince of painters and
with them a host of Others of great
though less commanding fame.
Albert Durer engraved many of his own
designs, he became the father of line en-
craving and his name is still supreme. He,
as did also Michael Angelo and Raphael
employed Marcantonio Raimondi a
very famous engraver, to engrave plates
OF some of their most celebrated works
Titan had an engraver, Cornelius COrt
working in his own house, and Rubens
founded notable school of engraving.
Never was a time so opportune
'twoud seem almost divnely planned
that this new art should fall upon anC
enlist the genius of this marvellous age
The progress of the art of engraving in
its various forms is of interest and may
be given IN few words.
In point of time, wood engraving
stands first; and the greatest uncer
tainty exists as to the exact time wher
wood engraving was first invented, OF
rather applied to the production OF pic
torial representations. The earliest dat
found on any wood-cut is 1923, yet, WI
know, that, long before this date
wooden stamps, having figures in relief
were used to impress on paper and parch
ment the signatures and marks of kings
mobiles, the clergy, merchants and Others
this, however was not wood engravin,
as we understand it today.
Seventeen years later Finiguera
discovery gave us engraving i
metal, and an added fourteen year
brings us to printing from movable typ
In 1904 was born at Parma, Franclsc
Mazzola, painter and engraver, wh
was the first to use the method nov
known to us by the name of etching.
Rembrandt, the greatest etcher ths
ever lived, was born in 1907 and, in tt
{ 62 years of his life, he etched 328 plate
all of value, and many OF them of sue
power that they stand alone far abov
all other work.
In 1643 mezzotint appears and abot
a century later chalk and stipple engra
ing; 1888 brought us aquatint, and lith
graphy came in 1892.
Raphael Morghen, one of the last
the great engravers, died in 1888 and
1889 Daguerre announced to the wor
the discovery of photography, al
sounded the death knell of line engravin
This little for the history Of engravin
e to which we will add few words abo
the various processes or methods of {
craving, and then to our pictures.
Wood engraving in its method stan
alone, and is the exact opposite Of Ii
engraving or etching. To illustrate
!. you take block of wood prepared
the engraver, but unengraved, and pr
v from it as though it were a fnist
wood-cut, you will obtain a perfec
black patch the full size of your Woo
. block. If you take metal plate, un
- - graved, and print from it, as if it were
. finished enprayinp or etching Won wn