Evening star., 1912-09-07
MODERN ILLUSTRATION.
I-Deve1opment of the Art.
By Frederic J. Haskin.

NJ BY Frederic
Some one has called this the age OF
printing but to any one VINO taxes no.e
of the number Of illustrations Win WHICH
the printed publications are embelnsneo
it must appear that the term An age oi
pictures" must be equally appropriate
Never were there so many pictures IN tiie
world and never were the facilities for
producing them SO varied ana compete
The modern illustration has come "ltnn
the reach of even the cheapest publlca-
tion. while for the higher grade maga-
zines there are continuous outputs oI
pictures so beautiful in conception and
reproduction that they are constant
source of delight.
The influence of good pictures cannot
but be ennobling and inspiring, therefore
the optimist sees much future good in the
circulation of pictures calculated 10 de-
velop a love Of the beautiful, and yet
these are often scattered free by the ad-
vertiser. and at all times come WITHIN
reach of even the family of moderate
means No home Is too poor now to be
decorated with beautiful pictures. The
modern methods of reproduction nave
placed excellent copies of the world
ma ssterpieces within the reach of all:
When beautiful prints of the works OF all
the old masters are to be bought as low
as a cent apiece every public school
teacher has at her command the means
to inculcate into the minds of the chill
dren taste for classic art which most
Of them are eager to embrace.
Nor is 1t only the old classic pistures
which give most pleasure in their repro
Modern Artists Give The mod
High Forms Of Beauty. DESPITE all
highest forms of beauty the world has
ever known, and by the modern methods
of reproduction their treasures may be
enjoyed by the millions instead of being
confined to the few hundred people who
are able to attend the public exhibitions
each year. There never has been a period
when SO much money was expended for
pictures, and yet by the modern means
of making illustrations there is no great
picture ever likely to be produced which
some periodical will not be able to publish
for it's readers.
The illustration of books is older, in q
sense. than the printing of books. 1t
monks illustrated their manuscript books
with hand-colored illuminations, and the
process of evolution from those old vol
umes. a few copies of which now are
preserved in some of the museums of the
world, to the beautifully illustrated books
now seen everywhere is one that has
been marked with many stories of self
denial and sacrifice upon the part of
those who aided in the progress of pic
lures.
The painstaking toll Of the old monks
was succeeded by the equally laboriOus
processes of the first engravers. There
is not an advance which has not been
made by the self-sacrifice of some man
who loved the art of picture-making for
its own sake and was willing to work for
scant remuneration to advance it. This
has proved true from the beginning of
art down to the invention OF 1ithography
by Senenfelder in the past century, and.
in our own time. to the invention of photo
engraving by Ives. who for a whole year
worked at the miserable pittance of $15
a week for the support of his family
while at night he devoted himself to the
perfection of the one process which more
than any other has placed good pictures
within the reach Of every one.
* X
The first printed books were really en-
IlIeiy OI lllQSlTdLlOuS. AC ihoS PiiaSSN
book with
First Printed Book wood en-
Carrying Illustrations. lus trations
added throughout the text was THE
Fables of Ulrich Borner," issued by AL
bert Pfister in Bamberg in 1461. In 1867
1.-The Meditationes." published in Rome
by German printer. contained the first
wood engravings made in Italy; volume
upon military art illustrated by eighty
two designs by Matteo Pasti was publish
ed in Verona in 1472, and is considered
the most artistic work produced up to
that time. although the engraving is poor
ly done. There have been many forms and
processes Of illustrations used between
then and now. metal engraving and
lithography having been the most impor-
tant features.
The use of metal engravings. from
which were printed illustrations, follows
closely upon that of wood and by the
sixteenth century some exceedingly good
results We're produced. Copper was the
first metal used, and many of the most
noted works of artists were reproduced
in this manner. The painter Rubens was
especially interested. and encouraged the
copying of his best work upon good sized
plates. Etching was introduced as a fea-
ture Of engraving at about this period
This consisted of coating sheet OF
metal with wax and drawing the picture
upon the wax with a sharp instrument,
known as an etching needle after which
the waxed plate was covered with acid
The lines were eaten into the metal by
the acid. and after the wax was removed
the plate was used to make prints Many
of these first etchings still are in exist
ence. and are of almost priceless value
and a few of them were used as illus
trations for books now in the possession
Of museums
Steel engravings began to be used in
England in the eighteenth century, and
were quite
Steel Engravings numerous
in Eighteenth Century. ,,sr me nart taa Of
the nineteenth century. The English
school of landscape engraving was es-
pecialIy noteworthy and many of these
old engravings now are being reproduced.
While copper was considered more
a1kino M11++ Is