FROM THE ORIGINAL PAINTING BY R.C. MINOR. N.Y. PHOTOGRAVURE CO.

Evening

A HANDBOOK OF ILLUSTRATION

BY

A. HORSLEY HINTON

WITH REPRODUCTIONS

FROM

PHOTOGRAMS

AND SKETCHES

BY THE AUTHOR

AND OTHER ARTISTS

NEW YORK, U.S.A.
G. GENNERT, 24 and 26 EAST THIRTEENTH ST.
LONDON, ENG.
DAWBARN & WARD, LIMITED

CONTENTS.

[CHAPTER I.—]Introduction.—Primitive illustrations—Art and illustration—Influence in photography—Illustrations from the Author's aspect—Some uses of illustration.

[CHAPTER II.—]A Neglected Field.

[CHAPTER III.—]Theory and Principles of Illustration.—Different kinds of illustration—Maps or plans—Scientific diagrams—Topographical views—In fiction—Author and Illustrator—Pictorial or artistic—Decorative—The "Two things."

[CHAPTER IV.—]Reproduction by Half-tone Process.—Processes other than photo-mechanical—The object of mechanical process—Intaglio, relief, and separate printing process—Description of half-tone process—The screen—Printing on the gelatine—Development—Etching—Inherent disadvantage of the screen—Cutting out lights—Comparative results.

[CHAPTER V.—]Preparation of Originals for Reproduction by Half-tone.—I.—Photograms—The best kind of Photograms for reproduction—Negative and print—Legitimate hand work—Relieving the shadows—Helping the high light and shadows—Application of photograms—"Stopping out"—Backgrounds not essential—Composition and arrangement—Decorative initials, &c.

[CHAPTER VI.—]Preparation of Originals for Half-tone. II.—Wash drawings, oil paintings, pencil and other drawings—Character of wash drawing or grey surface—Monochrome oil painting—Painting on a photographic basis—Mixed drawings—Pencil drawings—Coloured sketches for illustration—Thin reproduction.

[CHAPTER VII.—]Line Process.—Requirements of the process—The processes described: Gelatine, Albumen, and Bitumen—Copying, printing, developing, mounting—Description of the copy negative—Reduction—Diminishing glasses—Pencil marks, &c.—Non-photographic methods.

[CHAPTER VIII.—]Methods of Line Reproduction. I.—Pen-and-ink drawing—Character of line drawings—"Tone" interpreted into line—Various styles of line—Suggestion of colour, textures, &c.—The art of leaving out—What to copy and study—Line shading—Flat tints—Outlines—Reduction and thickening.

[CHAPTER IX.—]Materials for Simple Line Drawing.—Papers and cardboards—Inks and fluids—Pens.

[CHAPTER X.—]Comparison of Line Processes.—Some characteristics of each described, and results in each compared—The roulette.

[CHAPTER XI.—]Other Methods for Line Reproduction. The Materials Required.—Mechanical tints—Their application—"Splatter" work—How produced—Grained clay surface boards or "scrape" boards—Their use described—Pencil and chalk drawing for line reproduction.

[CHAPTER XII.—]Mechanical Aids to Drawing.—Methods of tracing from a photogram—Drawing on a photogram—Drawing on a "blue" print—Tracing on transfer paper—Drawing from nature—Conclusion.

Authors preface

Increased use of the Photographic Reproduction process and a prevailing ignorance of their nature and application, made desirable a simple practical Handbook of Illustration Methods

Such a book it has been my endeavour to produce

A.H.H.
London November 1894

PEN DRAWING.

(Original 9 x 5 ⅛.)

A HANDBOOK OF ILLUSTRATION

CHAPTER I.

INTRODUCTION—THE ART OF ILLUSTRATION.

Introduced to this country, in round numbers, some fifty years ago, Photography has progressed beyond its contemporaries of the present century. It has obtained a hold upon the people, entering equally into their work and their amusements; the speed, the reality, the brilliancy of it fit it peculiarly for the age into which it has been born. It has survived, and will survive, amidst the decay of other things, because of its extraordinary adaptability to changing circumstances, its readiness to meet altering tastes and requirements; versatile in aspect, elastic in its application.

Amidst all its adaptations of modern date, in none has it been more successful than in that to which this book is devoted: that wherein photography, directly or indirectly, is employed to introduce into our literature expressions of thought, which are better so conveyed than by written or printed words. Be the language never so rich in words, or the writer's power in using them never so great, a clearer and a more lasting impression may be conveyed, even to the cultivated, and certainly to the popular mind, by the arrangement of lines and markings in such form as may be felt to actually represent the objects, and indicate the relative position and size of other objects or parts of the same.

This may be said to be the primary and normal function of an Illustration. Throughout the pages of this book, and to whatever extent the student may practise the methods herein described, it may be well to keep very clearly in mind the legitimate function of an illustration, namely: to describe, to portray, and to do this chiefly as an auxiliary to written language.

To such a kind belongs the rude scratchings of the primæval man, whose limited powers of speech forbade his adequately describing the forms of those creatures whose pursuit meant life, whose disregard would mean death, and of such kind were the hieroglyphics of the East. Nay, who shall say that the very forms of letters themselves are not the outcome of early effort to convey to the eye of another what might otherwise only have been imperfectly communicated through other senses: a means to an end; a servant, a tool, in the hands of him who would wield it.

But in the beginning there was a making of drawings and designs which had another purpose. The gourd, or rough clay vessel, was graved and marked with devices and forms suggested by the curves and shapes in Nature, but this was merely for decoration; to please the eye, and not to serve any purpose but to give pleasure. A means to an end in this sense perhaps, but note that the end was in the commencement of it, and went no further after completion; it gave pleasure to the beholder and no more, and nothing more was intended or asked. Thus was Art born—not to teach, nor to explain, nor to illustrate.

AN ESSEX LANDSCAPE.

Half-tone from oil sketch in monochrome. (Original 10⅛ x 6½). [See p. [51.]]

Nor is this distinction out of place in the present work. The tendency to-day is too often to make a pretty picture rather than a good illustration; to sacrifice accuracy to beauty; to strive rather after the æsthetic pleasure in art, than the truth and fidelity of illustration. The artist is what he is from the possession of certain instinctive attributes which he is powerless to teach to another, whereas the simpler and expressive forms of draughtsmanship may be attained by almost all. From confusing art with illustration we find a man saying "I cannot do this, or that, because I am no artist," and it is with a hope of placing in the hands of such, at least to some extent, a means of graphic expression, that the present book has been undertaken.

Take also such a simple matter as a letter from a friend, and notice how often words alone fail to convey a correct impression, yet a few lines of simple form at once present a graphic description.

Mr. Blackburn gives a capital example of such a case in his "Art of Illustration." He says: "A newspaper correspondent is in a boat on one of the Italian lakes, and wishes to describe the scene on a calm summer day. This is how he proceeds:

"'We are shut in by mountains,' he says, 'but the blue lake seems as wide as the sea. On a rocky promontory on the left hand the trees grow down to the water's edge and the banks are precipitous, indicating the great depth of this part of the lake. The water is as smooth as glass; on its surface is one vessel, a heavily laden market boat' (and so on). There is no need to repeat it all; but when half a column of word-painting had been written (and well written) the correspondent failed to present the picture clearly to the eye without these four explanatory lines (no more) which should of course have been sent with his letter."

In the same way small sketch plans (no matter how roughly made) are of great assistance in describing the position of a fire, a murder, or anything else of public importance; not to mention the value such descriptive lines often are in private letters.

Whilst, then, Art and Illustration are distinct, and much of the latter may be within the reach of many to whom the former is impossible, there is no reason why either should needlessly offend the canons of the other. Art—seeking, as it should, to awaken a sense of pleasure in the beautiful—adheres to truth, in idea if not in fact. Illustration, which portrays fact truthfully, may yet do so in such manner as shall not annoy the cultivated and artistic senses; and this is the art of illustration.

Here, as in other matters, much depends on a knowledge and exercise of the mere technique or craftsmanship: the means to be employed, and the manner of employing them.

With pen or pencil we might satisfactorily produce such a diagram or drawing as should illustrate our speech, but the exigencies of such gigantic institutions of civilisation as books, magazines, and newspapers, demand that the same illustration shall be presented to thousands of readers at the same time. In former times the original drawing was copied by craftsmen on to wood or metal, and then carved so that a "block," containing the design in relief, might be set up in the printing press and printed in conjunction with the letterpress type.

Wonderful skill did the wood-engraver acquire in reproducing the original and in interpreting the artist's idea; but his work took time, which had to be paid for, and sometimes the artist found that in passing through the intermediary wood-engraver, his intention had been wrongly construed, and even a departure made from the accuracy of his drawing. Then came Photography, and it was found possible to photograph the original on to the surface of the block instead of drawing it. It was next found possible, under given conditions, to substitute for the engraver a purely mechanical means, whereby the surface of the block was suitably carved to print with ink the requisite design.

Thus a photographic and chemical process supplants the hand-work of the engraver, and a perfect replica of the original, in no way dependent upon the personal ability of the engraver, is obtained. The same process, working blindly, produces a facsimile equivalent to the artist's own drawing; and does so with such speed, and at such small expense, that for one penny we may purchase to-day a newspaper filled with exact copies of drawings of events which happened only yesterday. Thousands of books and papers, the world over, are now replete with illustrations: the expense of producing which by the older methods would have made impossible such welcome additions to the printed page.

Nor does it appear that the gigantic dimensions, and high state of perfection, which Process illustration has reached, in any way represents the limit of its possibilities in either respect. It has been reasonably conjectured that in the near future every newspaper and periodical publication will be illustrated, and almost each day sees some advancement, some improvement, in the daily practice of the various processes of reproduction, so that in writing a book of the present kind it is difficult to keep the information therein contained fully abreast of the times. While it is in the hands of the printer some new thing may be found out, some new application of a method successfully attempted, which shall make the novelty of yesterday give place to the invention of to-day.

The pride of the littérateur may make him feel that the use of pictures, as an assistance to writing, indicates incapacity or feebleness on the part of the author. Yet, able as is the description of such familiar characters as Mr. Pecksniff, Pickwick, Jingle, and others, how various would have been the idea conjured up by different readers, were it not for the inimitable drawings of Cruickshank or "Phiz." Were not Shakespeare's characters intended to be illustrated—not by drawings perhaps, but by "living pictures"?

And, finally, out of the simple instruments for illustration there has been evolved a greater thing. The same means as are employed to reproduce the draughtsman's drawing, may also reproduce, and place in the hands of the multitude, reproductions of the works of great master artists; so that something of the treasures of the Pitti, and the Louvre, may be seen in English homes to-day. The same simple methods, used for mere illustration, have been wrestled with by those who possess art as a birthright from the gods, and through their efforts our books may now contain pictures (process reproductions) which are full of fine artistic feeling; not merely illustrating the text, but awakening a sense of pleasure and exaltation at the representation of nature's beauties. Decorative pages, ornate with noble designs, brighten a book like gleaming crystals in a rich but dark mine, and relieve the monotony of too perfect a symmetry. A chapter heading, a tail piece, a decorated initial, and here and there a picture page, exert an influence like sparkling spring and smiling flowers, for joy and sweet refreshment by the way.

CHAPTER II.

A NEGLECTED FIELD.

A form of book illustration too much neglected, and one possessing peculiar advantages, is Margina Illustration. Decorated or illustrated margins may be associated in idea with the early monastic work, when the solitude and gloom of the recluse's life was relieved by the little enjoyment which must have attended the illumination of holy books, but it is not quite the purely decorative to which I would refer.

In some modern editions, in which an old style is affected, a wide margin on the top, bottom, and outer edge of the letterpress is preserved so wide that ample space might be found to introduce such trifling illustrations as would be amply sufficient to fix an impression or suggest to the imagination of the reader ideas which the mere letterpress might fail to awaken.

LINE REPRODUCTION FROM PEN SKETCH.

(Original 13 x 9 inches.)

Too often our illustrations in books are separated from the text to such a degree that a continuity of idea is all but impossible. We read, perhaps—"Night wanes—the vapours round the mountains curl'd melt into morn, and Light awakes the world. Man has another day to swell the past," &c., &c., &c.; but long before we come to the page which illustrates this delightfully pictorial passage from one of Lord Byron's romantic works we read—"'Tis morn—'tis noon—assembled in the hall. The gathered chieftains come to Otho's call:" and not perhaps until we have passed the third or fourth stanza, and are trying to picture in our minds the brilliant assemblage of Spanish chieftains, and the fierce challenge of the accused Lara terminating with "Demand thy life!" do we turn over a page and confront a dainty illustration of the opening lines "Night wanes," &c.—an interruption as undesirable and distracting as when the lecturer, through some mistake in the arranging of his lantern slides, sees projected on the screen a photogram of the grim walls of Newgate Prison, when, with the words "I will now show you a picture of where some of England's heroes have found a resting-place," he expected his assistant to put up a slide of Westminster Abbey. It is not always possible even to get our book illustrations to face the matter which refers to it, and even if that can be arranged, or the illustration can actually come into the same page, the act of turning from text to picture means an interruption and severing the continuous thought. Could our illustrations appear in the margin, between the lines, mingled with the letterpress, how smoothly we might read the illustrations along with the text, and how bright and pleasing would the pages appear!

I have given a specimen page which may serve to better show the idea.

We will suppose some book of travel or poetry be set up in type by the printer, and a proof copy be made up with broad margins under the direction of the illustrator, who then takes it in hand and decorates each page as desired; or the pages are pulled as proofs on two or three kinds of paper, smooth for pen work, rough for crayon, or medium for wash drawings—what delightful variety might be secured! When the artist has added his marginal and inter-paragraph illustrations the pages are photo-reproduced, the complete block including both letterpress and drawings.

PENNED BY W.T. WHITEHEAD.

(Original 15 x 12 inches.)

Of course the illustrations, if confined to the margins, could be reproduced separately, and set up with the type in the same form. In the example I have given on page 15, the letterpress was set up by the printer to occupy a given space, the type used being a clear, bold letter. This was printed from on two or three kinds of paper, and handed to me to add the illustrative matter. The proof used was about thirteen by nine inches, and this was subsequently reproduced by a simple zinco process to the size here shown.

Of course the amount of letterpress possible on each page is small if the illustrating be carried to any great extent. An edition of Shakespeare's works treated in this fashion would of itself constitute a small library, but for smaller works, or for single plays or single poems, many a plain piece of reading might be by such means converted into a very delightful and beloved book.

I have often thought that in fiction, when we read that the dainty little billet doux slipped under the door, written in my lady's delicate and graceful style; or, the mysterious letter handed to the hero written in a strange handwriting "ran as follows," how much more forcible the thing would be if the author had given us a facsimile of the letter. I never read a letter in a story without feeling it was the author of the romance, instead of the character in the book, who composed the letter. Thus an author might, in addition to feature, figure, and dress, give us a fine suggestion of his dramatis personæ by showing a little bit of their handwriting.

CHAPTER III.

THE THEORY AND PRINCIPLES OF ILLUSTRATION.

Here it will probably be well to consider the different classes into which illustrations naturally seem to fall, and this because it is the common custom to regard the contents of an illustrated book as all belonging to one.

Perhaps the simplest and most spontaneous form of illustration is seen when one is describing a position or locality, and takes pencil and paper to draw a rough plan showing this or that road, cross-road, turning, &c. We do this without any forethought, without any artistic ability, and never for a moment considering that we are fulfilling the first theoretical function of the illustrator, and we make this sketch-plan partly because we could not so graphically describe what we wish in words; and, again, the drawing will produce a more lasting impression upon the person appealed to, and that without so great an effort of memory on his part. "Seeing is believing," and to see is also to remember. It is the same with the diagrams which illustrate the problems of Euclid, a tourist's map, an architect's plan; these are all illustrations of a diagrammatic kind.

Only a little higher in the scale are the illustrations in scientific and physiological books. I say higher, because of the difficulties attaching to the photographing of such objects, and their more complex forms, which sometimes necessitate their being drawn from the objects at first hand by one possessing some amount of skill as a draughtsman. But the intention is to explain the text, added to which is perhaps the special office of enabling the student to recognise and identify the particular animal or vegetable structure, or a certain rock formation or crystal, when found; for which purpose it is of primary importance that the essential and specific characters of the particular object are carefully portrayed, and the entire figure be of faultless accuracy.

This same quality must also be secured in topographical views with which the book of travels, with its description of far-distant places and people, is illustrated; it is in this class of drawings that there is most danger of a desire to make a pretty picture—overwhelming the purely descriptive or explanatory function.

The representation of the principal characters in a story, with which it is the custom to illustrate a novel or work of fiction, has often appeared to me to be one of the least successful departments of illustration. Probably this arises from the fact that the artist has no actual models to work from; he creates, out of the author's description, imaginary beings, and portrays them accordingly. Therefore, unless author and artist have been in very close communication, it is as likely as not that the artist may get a conception of certain characters quite remote from the author's intention. At least, it must have occurred to many a reader to find the pictures in a favourite novel often quite fail to realise the ideal which he had himself formed of the hero or heroine, of whom, at the very outset, he had conjured up an image and an environment.

Somewhat lately the experiment has been made of illustrating fiction with actual photograms from life, in which case the illustrator must select with great care individuals answering very exactly to the descriptions given, and use these as models grouped as required.

Obviously this method must be confined to such books whose plot is laid in comparatively recent times and in ordinary scenes of life; for the difficulties, which are in any case great, assume insurmountable proportions when one conceives the idea of illustrating by photograms such books as "Robinson Crusoe," "Pilgrim's Progress," or "Don Quixote."

PEN DRAWING BY W.T. WHITEHEAD.

(Original 8 x 5.)

The ideal condition would be for the author to illustrate his own writings, then indeed should we be sure of getting a glimpse of the character intended; and we can imagine with what care he would fashion the child of his imagination.

Failing this, the author should control to a greater extent the work of the man who is to illustrate his writings, a point far too often overlooked in the making of a book.

It will be seen that in this section of illustration the draughtsman draws upon his imagination, so that, to some extent at least, his art is creative. It must, however, be borne in mind that he is not at liberty to paint or draw his own unaided imaginings; he is merely interpreting another's words into a graphic representation; so that, be he never so fine an artist, his art, like Pegasus in harness, is restrained under the yoke of the illustrator.

We may, however, find illustration ascending a step higher towards the sphere of art proper and creative, and that is in the edition de luxe, in which, with or without printed matter, we have plates which are pictures in the best sense, and appeal chiefly, or exclusively, to the æsthetic sense. Also in some dramatic works, in poetry, and in some prose, there is a much wider scope for the imagination of the artist, and we have high-class books of a real artistic merit.

PEN DRAWING BY W.T. WHITEHEAD.

(Original 8 x 2.)

One other notable form of illustration remains, and that is the purely decorative. This is seen to advantage in the book-plates in which a device bears the name of the owner and is affixed to each book; to revive which custom an effort has happily been made of late. In allegorical figures and scrollwork on title-pages, at heads of chapters, in borders, in large initial letters, at the termination of a chapter, or a design interspersed with the type on a page, and in many other forms beyond the prescribed shape which its position determines, there is little to restrict the artist. Some examples of designs for book-plates were recently given in that excellent magazine The Studio; and some interesting and wholly praiseworthy "initials," formed on an actual photogram, appeared recently in The Photogram. These are two instances out of the many which may be seen on every hand, and in this connection I have long felt that photograms from nature might be more largely applied to book illustration or decoration.

Thus I have endeavoured to indicate the principal uses of illustrations. Now in every work of art, its strength and its success are dependent in a great measure upon its composition and purpose possessing simplicity and unity, and I think that it cannot be too deeply impressed upon the illustrator that singleness of purpose will be a strong contributory to success.

If the purpose of the illustration be to explain or to describe, then let it do that at the sacrifice, if need be, of all else; and if, at the same time, it be possible to introduce such qualities as will make it void of offence to the more cultivated eye, so much the better; but the particular aim and intention must be paramount. In like manner, if the illustration be for purely ornamental purposes, or purely pictorial, giving pleasure to the eye and the sense of beauty: then to attempt to make it fulfil the function of a teacher, to anything more than a subordinate degree, is to divide, and therefore to weaken, both capacities.

An illustration, therefore, should be thought out, designed, and produced, with a definite and single purpose.

Speaking of the rise and development of newspaper illustration, in a lecture delivered before the Society of Arts, in November, 1893, Mr. Henry Blackburn quoted from a discussion held at the same place in 1875, when the following conclusion was arrived at: "In the production of illustrations we have arrived at great proficiency, and from London are issued the best illustrated newspapers in the world. But our artistic skill has led us into temptation, and by degrees engendered a habit of making pictures when we ought to be recording facts. We have thus, through our cleverness, created a fashion, and a demand from the public, for something which is often elaborately untrue.

"Would it, then, be too much to ask those who cater for (and really create) the public taste, that they should give us one of two things, or rather two things, in our illustrated papers—the real and the ideal.

"1st. Pictorial records of events in the simplest and truest manner possible."

"2nd. Pictures of the highest class that can be printed in a newspaper."

This, it appears, was said before the mechanical process block was much used or even known; but what was true in principle in the old wood-engraving days is as true now that we have new and rapid means of reproduction.

Having, in any given case, decided what is the purpose of the illustration required, it will next be necessary to determine by which of the methods at our disposal the scheme can best be carried out, both as regards the method of producing the original, and the method of reproducing it in print. And this naturally brings us to the subject of our next chapter.

CHAPTER IV.

REPRODUCTION BY HALF-TONE PROCESS.

From the processes with which I propose to engage my reader's attention, wood and steel engraving, and kindred methods, stand apart.

Were we dependent upon these alone, not one-thousandth part of the illustration matter of to-day could ever have been produced, encumbered as the older methods are with the two things which, in the production of anything "for the million," are serious drawbacks, namely, time and expense of production.

Whilst these older methods undoubtedly possess characteristics which will always give them a peculiar value, and secure for them immunity from extermination (and make them, indeed, essential for certain purposes), there was long ago felt a need for a method of rapid reproduction unattended with individual artistic skill on the part of each worker employed, and, above all, free from heavy expense. Such a need has been more than met by what we now know as the mechanical processes. I say more than met, because, gradual improvement in the processes themselves, and an increased knowledge of the particular requirements of these processes on the part of the draughtsmen or artists, has resulted in giving us a process which is not only rapid and cheap, but which produces prints of high quality and merit.

It will of course be at once apparent that in order to get our illustration into the printed pages of book or newspaper we must first transfer the original to a plate, or block, and then so manipulate the surface that, like a printer's type, it shall take the printing ink in such manner as shall leave an exact imprint upon the paper, or other surface, upon which it is pressed.

The transfer of the original is accomplished by photography. The preparation of the surface is effected by a chemical or mechanical process. Correctly defined, these processes are "photo-mechanical," and such are generally understood by the literally ambiguous title "process," which is colloquially applied to all such methods.

It is not the intention of the present book to give instructions whereby to work the processes, beyond a general outline which shall make the illustrator acquainted with the method in which his drawing or photogram is utilised. This knowledge will enable him, to some extent, to adapt himself and his work to its special requirements.

Photo-mechanical processes are of two kinds: those by which the image is ingraved, known as intaglio, and those in which the image is produced in relief, or relievo. In the first of these the result is more or less similar to an ordinary engraved copper-plate, which, being wiped after inking, retains the ink in the engraved or indented portions, and prints accordingly. The intaglio processes are confined to what is known as Photogravure, or Photo-etching, and modifications thereof. This will not engage our attention, for, beautiful as are its results, it is comparatively expensive, and lacks that characteristic of speed which has made the relief processes so useful. The engraved plate must be printed separately; it cannot be set up with type and printed as letterpress. At the same time, in order to clear my reader's mind, and my own course, before proceeding further, mention may be made of other separate-printing processes, such as Collotype[1] (also known under many fancy titles), in which the image is printed on a machine or press from an inked gelatine surface. These can easily be distinguished by the image having a perfectly even appearance as though produced by a water-colour wash, without grain, reticulation, or lines. Photo-lithography, in which, as the name implies, the picture is transferred on to stone, from which it is then printed as in ordinary lithography, may also be mentioned here.

HALF-TONE FROM PHOTOGRAM; HIGH LIGHTS STRENGTHENED WITH CHINESE WHITE.

Another beautiful process of reproduction is the Woodbury-type, named after its inventor, Walter B. Woodbury, in which a bichromated gelatine film is exposed under a negative, and the soluble portions afterwards removed by hot water. The resulting gelatine relief, which contains a facsimile picture, is allowed to dry, when it becomes as hard as stone. It is next forced by hydraulic pressure into a sheet of polished lead, leaving therein an exact counterpart of its every elevation and depression. The lead plate (intaglio) is next placed in a handpress, and flowed with a pool of hot gelatinous colour; a piece of paper is next placed on top and pressure applied, when all surplus colour oozes from the sides. After a few moments, when the gelatine becomes sufficiently cool, the paper bearing its delicate gelatine print is pulled off and dried.

LINE REPRODUCTION FROM PEN AND INK.

(Original 14 x 11 inches.)LINE REPRODUCTION FROM PEN AND INK.

Beautiful as many of these are, they can only be applied where the expense attending them and the slower printing is not an objection, and where letterpress is not required on the same sheet at the same printing. Printing matter can of course be afterwards introduced, but this must be by a second operation.

We have now left for consideration the relief processes, in which the design to be printed is produced similar in character and appearance to that of the movable letterpress type used by printers.

FEEDING THE CHICKENS.

(Half-tone from photogram. Original 14 x 11 inches.)

These processes are roughly divisible into two sections, "tone" and "line," to understand which I will refer the reader to the accompanying illustrations.

In these the image appears to be respectively composed of lines of varying strength and proximity in the one, and of tints ranging from grey to black in the other. If the latter be closely examined, however, or looked at through a magnifying glass, it will be found that what at first appears to be a flat even tint is composed of an infinite number of dots arranged in a reticulated or geometrical pattern. We will now see how this effect is produced, and what are the especial uses of this so-called "tone" or "half-tone" process.

THE HERON HOUSE.

Half-tone from photogram. (Original 14 x 11 inches.)

Half-Tone Process.

As has been already said, it is of course necessary to produce from the original a printing surface of such a kind as shall take ink and print an image therefrom. Now it will of course be obvious that with ink and white paper we can only produce two things—black and white—and that therefore all the intermediate shades must be produced by a greater or less number of black dots. The process under consideration, in common with some others, is based upon the fact that gelatine or albumen sensitised with bichromate of ammonium or potassium, becomes insoluble after being acted upon by light. A solution of bitumen in benzole also forms a light sensitive coating which is frequently used in these processes. If we were to expose such a sensitive film to light under (for example) a photographic negative of a figure taken against a light background and then washed it in a suitable solvent, those parts which had been protected from light by the opaque portions of the negative, such as the background, the face, hands, and white portions of the dress, would dissolve away, leaving the insoluble or light affected portions standing.

LINE REPRODUCTION FROM PEN AND INK.

(Original 14 x 11 inches.)

If we were now to ink these portions, we could print a black image which would represent the general form of the portrait like the old-fashioned silhouettes, or shadow pictures; but the "half-tone" process provides for the breaking up of the solid black image, substituting for it black dots closer and more numerous where the darker greys are, and less so where the shading is lighter. A very considerable variation in apparent tint may thus be effected.

The actual method is briefly thus:—What is known as a "screen" is first made by taking a photographic negative of a print from a copper-plate, on which has been ruled about 120 fine parallel lines to the inch. This is done with extreme care and exactness, so that the negative gives a clear transparent copy of the ruled lines of microscopic sharpness. In many cases the ruled copy is moved round a quarter of a circle during the exposure, thus resulting in the effect of double ruling, the lines intersecting each other at right angles. Or two printings may be made from the copper-plate to produce the same result and the negative then taken. We shall thus have a negative having the appearance of a very fine lattice of transparent glass on an opaque ground.

With this "screen" placed nearly in contact with an ordinary photographic plate, film to film, we proceed to make a copy negative, in the camera, of the original picture. This, when developed, will give the picture and an image of the screen, which has been interposed, together on one plate.

If this is now clear to my readers, they will probably at once see what will result when such a plate is used on a sensitised sheet of zinc or copper, and the soluble parts of the film washed away as before suggested.

The parts of the film made insoluble from exposure to light will be reticulated all over by minute soluble dots or lines where the image of the screen has interrupted the light, and more so or less in proportion to the lightness or deeper shade of the original, and by this means what would have been unbroken blacks are sprinkled over, so to speak, with tiny white interstices, the ink when applied remaining on the alternating projections of undissolved film.

Suppose the film to have been of bitumen and spread upon a sheet of zinc, we should have a reticulated image in insoluble bitumen with interstices of plain zinc. This bitumen forms a protective coating, so that when immersed in a weak solution of nitric acid the acid only eats a way into the bare metal. Gradually, and by subsequent acid baths, the parts covered by the film are left in strong relief, and in a fit condition to print from. The film which has thus resisted the acid is then washed away, leaving the zinc relief.

To carry out the above process many details, which I have not thought it the office of this book to enter into, will be required. Thus the solvent used for developing, or, in other words, washing away the soluble portions of a bitumen film, is turpentine; but water is used in the case of bichromatised albumen. An acid resisting preparation is finally applied to the plain zinc relief, and the whole block re-etched or "re-bitten," so as to strengthen the image; certain precautions, moreover, are taken to prevent the acid "under etching" the image—and a great deal more which, of course, would have to be clearly described were it intended to teach the process of block-making.

In the variety of half-tone blocks, known as Typogravure, a different method of breaking up the surface is adopted; no intervening screen is used, but the surface of the metal has imparted to it a preliminary roughness or grain, and the image is printed and etched on this rough surface. These blocks, when carefully printed from, yield exceedingly nice results, the grain having something of an "aquatint" character, which appears to be more discriminating than that derived through the use of the ruled screen. The softness of outline and freedom from anything like a mechanical texture is well seen in blocks made by this method. The remarkable difference obtained from the same block by different printers will at once suggest that a very great deal depends upon the printing quite irrespective of the quality of the block itself. Many letterpress printers make a specialty of block-printing, the chief art being in the "making-ready" and "underlaying," by which terms is understood the careful adjusting of the block, so that its surface be at exactly the proper elevation to secure the proper amount of pressure, neither more nor less, when on the printing machine. Some further remarks on this subject will be found in Chapter X.

UNTOUCHED HALF-TONE FROM PHOTOGRAM.

(Original 4 x 3.)

I trust, however, enough has been said to give a general idea to the uninitiated of how we arrive at the dotted ink print, which we recognise as a reproduction from a photogram, or wash-drawing, or indeed anything which is similarly made up of flat tints.

HALF-TONE FROM PHOTOGRAM—THE BLOCK ENGRAVED ON BY HAND.

(Original 4 x 3.)

It will, of course, have been understood that the ruled "screen," which is interposed between the picture to be copied and the plate on which it is copied, will appear over the whole of the copy negative, whether the image extend so far or not, so that, in the reproduction, even what should be blank whites will be covered with the fine black dots or grain, though more widely separated by little white spaces.

ON SLAPTON LEY, SOUTH DEVON.

Photogram touched up by hand—block untouched.

(Original 4 x 3.)

If the accompanying reproductions be examined, this will be found to be the case.

To any one who has given pictorial matters much thought, the disadvantage of this will be at once apparent.

In black-and-white pictures, white is the highest expression of light, and yet how far the whitest paper is from sunlight, and how much shorter the whole gamut of tones, from blackest ink to whitest paper, is when compared with the scale of Nature, have often been pointed out and are now generally understood. But our half-tone process makes the range of tones still shorter by curtailing it at the top of the scale and cutting off the white: the pervading "tint," or "grain," reducing white to a light grey, and not even the deepest blacks and intermediate tones are nicely rendered except by very careful printing. The printing of half-tone process blocks has received great attention amongst better-class printers of late, with the result that marked improvement has taken place, and it is clearly seen that be a half-tone block ever so well made it is only admirable when special ink and special paper (notably a fine clay surface paper) are used, and more than ordinary knowledge and care expended in the machining.

While the ideal process block is one in which, when the process is completed, the block is ready for the press (and many process houses pride themselves upon turning out "untouched" blocks), yet there are few houses who do not employ some hands who are constantly working with engraver's tools to "improve" the blocks after the last etching is done.

Much brilliancy of contrast and effect may be accomplished if the engraver cut away the grain altogether on that part of the surface of the block where it should print white; but this must necessarily be done by men of instinctive taste and good judgment, for immediately hand carving be admitted the essential character of an automatic facsimile process is lost. The illustrator or artist will, therefore, unless he give careful and precise instruction as to what parts are to be cut away, or can superintend the work himself, feel considerable hesitation in entrusting such a delicate task to a stranger. One little touch in the wrong place, one bit of plain white too many, and the harmony of the whole illustration will be upset; so that many will reasonably prefer a weak flat print to the uncertainty which must attend the leaving of a block to a mechanic's mercies.

In the accompanying three illustrations we have, first, an untouched "half-tone" block from an ordinary photogram; secondly, a block from the same original, "fine etched" or with the etching controlled so as to brighten the effect; and thirdly, a block made from the same photogram which, in order to compensate for any failings of the process, has been worked on by the artist, strengthening the shadows and brightening the lights.

This brings us to consider the subject of working on photograms by hand, and the preparation of illustrations generally, which is dealt with in a separate chapter.

CHAPTER V.

THE PREPARATION OF ORIGINALS FOR REPRODUCTION BY HALF-TONE PROCESS.

I. Photograms.

It will be understood from the foregoing chapter that in every case where the original to be reproduced is of such a nature that before a print in ink can be made the image must be broken up, the reproduction will have to be effected by means of the half-tone process.

Of the various kinds of originals thus utilised, probably the two most common are photograms and wash-drawings.

The rapidity, comparative ease, and absence of the draughtsman's skill, with which photograms can now be made, has placed a wonderful power in the hands of author or illustrator. But a short series of photograms of some subject of interest with a very little descriptive letterpress will often form an acceptable contribution to magazine or newspaper, and yet a thoughtful consideration of such illustrations can hardly fail to impress any one with the drawbacks and defects of the method.

Such illustrations too often strike us as dull, misty, grey, and lacking brilliancy, when compared with black and white reproductions of another kind.

This dulness is attributable to a great extent to the gauze-like screen through which the copy is made, as described in our last chapter. The bright lights are grained over with fine dots reducing white to grey, and the soft finely graduated half-tones are often lost altogether.

In order to counteract these defects, the process worker will often take upon himself to "doctor" the negative made from the original before proceeding to make the block, a practice to be condemned because such an operator is rarely possessed of artistic judgment, and his "touching up" may often produce a result unexpected and unacceptable to the artist.

A similar "touching up" may also be effected on the block itself, as previously suggested, which is only preferable because the artist may more directly control the engraver's tool by giving definite instructions.

As far as possible, however, the block should not be meddled with by any one, if the originals have been produced in such a manner as to ensure the best possible effect by the mere mechanical process.

In making photograms especially for reproduction a clear, bright negative, with good strong contrasts, should be aimed at. Probably the kind of negatives which it was customary to strive after in the older days of wet-plate photography would be the best; but, as wet-plate photography is hardly practicable for the illustrator of to-day, similar results with dry-plates should be sought.

Unhappily, the extreme softness and exquisite gradations of some of the most modern and artistic work of photographers is thrown away in the process of reproduction, and little more than a flat, meaningless smudge is the best the process block can make of it. For this reason our photograms for illustration should somewhat exaggerate the effect we wish to reproduce: a matter which has led to the working on photograms with the brush to heighten the effect, of which I shall have more to say anon.

Given the proper kind of negative the next care will be to make such a photographic print as shall not detract from the qualities secured in the negative, and shall in every possible way assist the "process."

Many of the best and most pleasing photograms of our day are printed upon coarse-grained, rough-surfaced paper, presenting a difficulty to the reproductive process almost certain to prove disastrous to the result; for if, whilst being copied, the original is not very skilfully lighted, the inequalities of the surface reproduce as little lights and shadows in a very unpleasing manner, and the texture of even a comparatively smooth paper seems remarkably exaggerated.

Almost as undesirable will be the very highly enamelled surfaces of some photographic papers, the surface gloss producing reflections which interfere with the copying. The best for general use will be the smoothest platinotype paper, or a not too highly-glazed white albumenised paper, either of which are obtainable at most chemists and all photographic dealers. The print should be of a medium depth, not so dark as to give heavy solid shadows, nor so light as to omit all detail from the lightest portions. The various manipulations necessary for "toning" and "fixing" the print should be carried out carefully, especially avoiding staining or discoloration of the white paper. The print thus made, when mounted on card, is as far as an ordinary photogram can go for this purpose.

It now remains to be seen, bearing in mind what we know of the method by which it is to be reproduced, what may be done to improve it, never forgetting, however, that the chief value of a photogram for illustrative purposes is its unimpeachable fidelity to truth. Additional hand-work should not violate this truthfulness by the introduction of any fresh matter, or the painting out of any characteristic detail, unless, of course, the illustration is merely for pictorial or decorative purposes. The inscription "From a photogram" usually possesses a charm over the popular mind, inspiring confidence and carrying conviction, and if the hand-work be discreetly introduced, only to improve the effect and counteract the inherent defects of the final process, the legend may be honestly used.

In the first place, a photogram in which there are some large very dark objects, which by reason of their dark colour are disagreeably heavy, or obtrusive masses of deep shadow, may be made to reproduce better if a thin transparent wash of blue be applied to such portions. The great photogenic power of blue is, of course, the reason of this, but until some experience be gained as to the proper amount of blue required, I should recommend that a duplicate untouched photogram be sent in as well, with a few words of explanation and instruction to the process man. If the photogram be upon a glossy surface paper, a few drops of ox gall, procurable in bottles from the artists' colourman, will make the water-colour wash flow readily over the slimy surface.

For working with a brush upon the photogram, the materials are simple and few. Our purpose is to strengthen the lights and deepen the darks, for which purpose Chinese white and two or three water-colours respectively will be used.

The surface and general character of a platinotype or matt paper print will be pleasantest to work on; with an albumenised paper, ox gall will again be essential.

If a liberal amount of hand-work is intended, the print had better be a light one, and it can then be built up to any degree.

Chinese white, when applied thinly, has a bluish hue, and will consequently reproduce somewhat lighter than it appears. Therefore to produce a grey, it will sometimes be better, instead of using thin Chinese white, to make an admixture of Chinese white and Indian ink, or some suitable pigment, and apply it as a grey where grey is wanted. Such portions of the Chinese white which, when dry, appear harsh, may be softened with a clean almost dry sable brush; or the soft part of the finger, with little more than its natural moisture, carefully rubbed over the harsh parts may have the desired effect. By such and any tricks which may suggest themselves it is advisable to blend the hand-work with the actual photographic image.

In applying pigment to the dark parts, to make them darker or sharper, it will be desirable to match the colour of the photographic print as nearly as possible. With platinotypes this may easily be done with Indian ink, with a little blue added according to whether the print is a warm or cold black. The precise colour of a silver print, whether on matt or albumenised paper, is not so easy to match, but may be best accomplished with sepia and cobalt, with a trace of crimson lake; one or two other colours, such as burnt umber, vandyke brown, sienna, &c., being kept in reserve for emergencies. Fine-pointed small sable-hair brushes will be found the best for all purposes.

"STOPPED OUT" PHOTOGRAM.

(Original 6 x 4.)

In the process of reproduction the original may be enlarged upon or reduced. The former is not often attended with happy results, especially if there is much hand-work, but reduction may to some extent be relied on to clear away any trifling blemishes, should such exist. I should, however, lay emphasis upon making the original as perfect as possible; the "improving" effect of the process is an altogether too uncertain and unknown factor to be trusted.

Having thus given particulars as to the preparation of photograms for reproduction, we may now suggest some various applications thereof.

There is a great charm about illustrations which possess a spontaneous and a suggestive character, and in this direction photograms are too often painfully deficient. On rare occasions only, and in the hands of a few artistic workers alone, does photography rise above a certain mechanical and laboured impression, and the rare exceptions are of a character ill-suited for "half-tone" reproduction.

For complete whole-page illustrations a photogram has few drawbacks; but when inserted with letterpress, and required for chapter headings and odd corners, the fact that the picture occupies the whole space enclosed within the boundary lines, and includes a great deal of detail which is not required, makes them less attractive. Their form and style is dull and monotonous.

The accompanying illustration will suggest the manner in which I would recommend photograms to be sometimes employed—especially when the illustrator does not possess the requisite skill to produce the same thing with his brush.

The "Little Gate-keepers" may be taken as an example of what I will call a "stopped-out" photogram; practically no hand-work has been employed upon it beyond the "stopping out" of the original negative. The figures of the children holding open the gate appear in the foreground of a large negative, a landscape near Dunster Castle; the background is composed of trees of an unpleasing form, and, beyond the topographical interest, the bulk of the subject has little to recommend it.

The method of stopping-out is as follows:—The negative should be placed in such a position as to secure a strong transmitted light; it may be fastened to the window, so as to be able to look through it towards the sky, or may be placed in a retouching desk, as used by photographers, if very large plates. In my own practice I use an ordinary easel, sitting to it with my face to the window. On the film side of the negative carefully draw round the more critical outlines, such as figures, faces, trees, &c., with a very fine-pointed brush, or a pen, dipped in opaque black varnish, gradually broadening the line to about a quarter of an inch. Now on the reverse, or glass side of the negative, paint out with black varnish all the rest as required; the effect of painting-out on the reverse side being to give a slightly softer or vignetted effect as is seen in the ground and gate-posts of the accompanying illustration.

Where it is desired to carry the vignetted effect to a greater length, some oil colour, red by preference (which may be thinned with copal varnish), may be used, and when partially dry the finger may be used as a dabber to remove just sufficient to admit of the plate printing very faintly.

In such a practice as this a little resourcefulness and ingenuity will stand the operator in good stead, and many modifications and "dodges" will occur as the work proceeds. Thus, for instance, if the whole of the painting out be done on the film side, the bare outline of the background and surroundings may be scratched in with a needle so as to give a sketchy appearance in the print; such sketched outline may adhere to the original form or may be entirely invented. Some taste must be exercised to prevent the elaborate photographic image from appearing incongruous with the sketched outline.

In the accompanying "Boy gathering Wortleberries," two children have been taken out of an unfortunately grouped trio, a badly developed transparent sky has been converted into a hill in the background, and some little details of landscape have been painted on to the print.

A good deal has been said of the modern illustrator shirking or ignoring backgrounds in his illustrations, yet I am inclined to think that in such cases as these, and very many others, the background is best only suggested or omitted altogether. In an illustration which purposes to tell us some little fact, or is designed to beautify and enliven a page, we do not want a whole chapter from nature's book, but just such selected passages which the judgment of the artist illustrator shall select.

In utilising photograms in this or any similar manner, it is difficult to place such methods in the hands of those unlearned in art matters without a word of caution and advice on the subject of composition and arrangement; but as it is not within the province of the present work to instruct my readers in art principles, such remarks must be of the briefest.

It will be at once seen that whatever be the arrangement or "composition" of nature (as photographed), as soon as the illustrator commences stopping-out certain portions, the form or composition is at once entirely under his control, and the pleasing effect of the finished result will very greatly depend upon a nice arrangement of lines. Thus in my "Little Gate-keepers" the upper outline of the gate forms a striking line running obliquely upward from left to right, and so, to counteract this, I have let the ground take an oblique form in an opposite direction. To have done otherwise and repeated the first-named line would have given the whole thing a one-sided, running-upwards, effect. As a general rule (subject, as all such rules must be, to numerous exceptions), strong oblique lines should converge towards an imaginary centre some distance outside the picture, with some lesser opposing lines to form contrast and promote a balance. Neither should the sketched-in or created background repeat the form of the chief object. Thus in the "Boy gathering Wortleberries" the figure forms a vertical line; there are no strong oblique lines, and therefore the middle distance takes the form of a horizontal line. The summit of the hill, had it come directly over the boy's head, would have too evidently repeated his outline, and is therefore placed a little to the right. These are matters of taste, rather than the obedience to prescribed rules, but the reader who desires guidance can hardly do better than read Burnett's "Essays on Art." There are several handbooks to artistic photography which treat of this subject, such as "Pictorial Effect in Photography" and "Picture-making by Photography," both by H.P. Robinson; also "Studies in Photography," by J. Andrews; and many books for the art student.

WORKED-UP PHOTOGRAM.

(Original 6 x 4.)

But, as already said, these are matters of individual taste and artistic instinct, and although I hope by this little book to make the path easy for those who have no especial artistic aptitude, yet, in such things as this, the possessor of such instinctive sense of form is at an advantage, lacking which the attentive study of other people's work and some amount of imitation seems to be the only possible substitute. Much knowledge may be gained from analysing, to this end, illustrations which greet the eye on nearly every page of current literature. While many methods of illustration may be learned and practised in a mechanical manner, the course is beset with difficulties and pitfalls, and, to the artistically unlearned, the alternative dangers of gross error and sheer imitation are ever present. Mr. Henry Blackburn has justly said, "The illustrator's best protection against this tendency, his whole armour and coat of mail, is to be an artist first and an illustrator afterwards." Yet men have won battles without armour, and when the stripling slew the giant it was the latter who wore the coat of mail. Zeal and patient application will do much.

In speaking of the application of the photogram to illustrative and decorative purposes, we can hardly leave the subject without making reference to the use to which they may be put for decorative initials, chapter headings, and the like. Some very excellent examples of initials were given in Mr. Gleeson White's articles on "Photographing the Nude," published in The Photogram, one of which we reproduce (see p. 48). The subject must be selected so as to harmonise in character and form with the letter required, and such letter may then be pasted, or painted, on the original negative, in which case it will print white; or it may be worked on the photogram with brush and pigment. In only a few cases would the initial, if represented in deep black, have any other than an overpowering and heavy effect. The "tail-piece" on page 56 is a further example which needs little explanation. Photograms cut to certain form, and arranged suitably, may make a great variety of chapter headings or tail-pieces.

In the example here given, the background or distance was painted out on the negative, and ink lines were drawn around the print before reproduction.

In order to ensure a symmetrical and sharp outline, a paper mask may be attached to the negative, and a scroll design painted on the negative, details being drawn in ink on the resulting print.

THE BATTLE OF ALEXANDRIA; 42ND HIGHLANDERS GUARDING FRENCH PRISONERS.

By permission of the proprietors of "The Illustrated London News." Engraved from a wash drawing in black and white by The Meisenbach Co., Ltd., West Norwood.

CHAPTER VI.

THE PREPARATION OF ORIGINALS FOR HALF-TONE REPRODUCTION.

II. Wash Drawings, Oil Paintings, Pencil and Other Drawings.

OF the remaining methods, whereby originals for reproduction by half-tone process may be made, much less need be said. The same principles of avoiding too fine and delicate gradations of tone apply as when making a simple photogram, and the methods of brush and pencil appeal almost exclusively to the naturally artistic.

The wash drawing, which is practically water-colour painting in monochrome, is the most popular, and, in the hands of those artists who have applied themselves to illustration for photo-reproduction, some very wonderful achievements are possible. Avoiding blue, green, red, orange, or colours approaching thereto, it matters little what colour is used, but probably black, such as Indian ink, or a good neutral grey or sepia, is the best to use. In any case, body colour reproduces better than transparent washes, the delicacy of which are wasted. Hence a liberal use of Chinese white to lighten the tints is preferable to making the colour thinner with water. Lamp black and Chinese white work well together and reproduce excellently. In using Indian ink, or indeed any colour, successive washes should not be made until each preceding one is dry, thereby escaping a "messy" effect and securing greater vigour.

The brush-work must be bold and strong, and, as was said with regard to photograms, include as little of the softer half-tones as possible, the contrasts of light and shade must be accentuated and effect exaggerated to compensate for the degradation of contrast brought about by the process. Unless this be remembered, the result can hardly fail to give anything but a very flat poor copy of the original. The artist should hold himself under restraint, and instead of blending one tone with another keep them nicely distinct, limiting himself to some half-dozen different shades or tones between the extremes of white and black, and even then some portions of the white may require to be cut away on the block.

Many illustrations from wash drawings of to-day are of a daring, spirited style in which figures are drawn with or without backgrounds, and when well done they are undeniably attractive, and may be abundantly met with in such publications as The Graphic, Illustrated London News, Sketch, In Town, St. Paul's, and many others. Were we considering the subject of art in illustrations, comment on this sort of work not wholly in approbation might be made, but that it is thoroughly up to date, effective, and in ready demand cannot be denied, and it should be carefully studied by the student, who will no doubt profit by the suggestions of technique without necessarily copying or being unduly influenced by the style.

Some capital effects may be obtained by making a wash drawing on grey-tinted paper and putting in the lights with white, an example of which is here given. Decorative designs done in Chinese white on dark-brown paper may be successfully produced, but should be made several times larger than required; the reduction in size usually improving the effect.

Painting in oil in monochrome will offer a welcome field for illustration work to those who are more accustomed to use this medium. A smooth surface canvas or board should be chosen, however, and the painting should be smooth, all strong brush marks, especially in the whites, being omitted or softened out with a badger. In thus softening, however, care should be exercised not to graduate one tone into another, but leave everything firm and distinct, the same restriction of tones being observed as in the other methods referred to previously. In using oil colours, turpentine must be liberally used, or benzine, as this will destroy the excessive gloss on the surface, a feature not liked by the process worker.

ON THE RIVER ROTHER.

Half-tone from Indian-ink wash drawing on grey paper. (Original 5⅝ x 3⅞.)

Either water colour or oil may be worked upon a photographic basis in order to save labour or difficulties in drawing. In such cases the photographic print should be as faint as possible; any photographic paper may be used for water colour, but smooth platinotype will probably be the most pleasant. The surfaces to which oil colour may be applied will be naturally more limited, but ready-sized canvas for printing in bromide by artificial light is made, and is largely used for oil painting for the commoner kind of portraits.

DESIGN—CHINESE WHITE ON ORDINARY BROWN PAPER—HALF-TONE.

(Original 7¼ x 4¾.)

It will, however, sometimes be found desirable to economise labour by using a photogram to paint on, thus saving time in re-drawing and ensuring accuracy of elaborate details. Moreover, paint may be put upon a photogram, and much matter that is not required, or which may be judged as injurious to the pictorial effect, can be omitted. After the painting is finished, the photographic basis or original will then require to be removed.

Almost any photographic print may be prepared to receive oil paint by giving it a coating of common "size," and drying it slowly by a fire or otherwise. The painting-on being then proceeded with, and the paint dry, the back of the print is to be sponged or brushed with the iodine solution mentioned on page 114. Platinotype paper being already sized requires no further sizing, and by making a weak under-exposed print the subsequent reduction or bleaching of the image can be rendered unnecessary.

By permission of the proprietors of "The English Illustrated Magazine".

Engraved from pencil sketch by The Meisenbach Co., Ltd.,

West Norwood.

Many illustrators are fond of making wash drawings and then strengthening them with pen or pencil. The advantage is not easy to see, a mixed and indifferent character being usually felt.

Pencil drawing with a reinforcement of a few ink lines, or pencil by itself, is a method which appears to me to be deserving of much more attention and cultivation than it has usually received.

EVENING AT WEST MERSEA.

Half-tone from pencil drawing. (Original 4½ x 3½.)

Average pencil drawing is inclined to be too weak, and wanting in those characteristics which have been already pointed out as essential in wash drawings, but if the drawing be vigorous, and the pencil strokes clean and distinct, some capital results may be obtained. In order to procure the grey of pencil work a very fine screen is used, and the printing carefully attended to, so that pencil sketches are hardly suitable for the cheaper and more rapid class of printing. The lights should be cut away on the block.

The accompanying sketch of a cottage is simply torn from the leaf of a sketch-book in which it was made without any regard for the requirements of the process; the strong shadows were slightly reinforced with pen and ink, and the whole carefully reproduced.

COTTAGE AT HERONGATE.

Half-tone from pencil sketch slightly strengthened with pen and ink.

(Original 4½ x 3½.)

It seems scarcely necessary to refer to the use of water colour and oil paintings in colour as illustrations, inasmuch as if produced for purposes of reproduction, colour would hardly be employed. Occasionally, however, one may require to make a photogram of a painting for some such purpose, in doing which it will be best to employ a professed photographer who is accustomed to copying, and this because the photographing of coloured objects possesses peculiar difficulties.

Plates known as "Isochromatic" are used, these having certain dyes mixed with the sensitive film which makes them more sensitive to the least active colours, such as reds and yellows, and in addition a stained film of gelatine or glass is introduced into the lens to further correct the action of the colours. Special care, too, in lighting the picture to be copied is requisite, some experts recommending the use of coloured reflectors.

If the greens, reds, and yellows are not very pronounced, or the effect is not greatly dependent upon blue and such hues which by reason of their great light activity photograph as white, a fair copy photogram may be produced under ordinary circumstances; but where any doubt exists, I should recommend that the work be done by an experienced operator.

Throughout the foregoing remarks on the half-tone process, it will have been gathered that its inherent defects constantly stand in the way of our giving it unqualified approval. A recent writer on the subject, Mr. C.G. Harper, says of half-tone process that it is "inconstant and for ever incapable of rendering wash drawings as well as the wood-engraver."

Be this as it may—and it may not be possible to gainsay it—each day sees such improvements made in the processes, that even before these sheets are in my reader's hands circumstances may require a change of opinion, and prejudices may have given way under the convincing influences of modern improvements.

We may now turn our attention to the more direct processes of reproducing in line, in which, more than in any other direction, the revolution which photography has brought about in the art of illustration is evident.

CHAPTER VII.

LINE PROCESS.

The methods of drawing for reproduction by, and in compliance with the requirements of, a line process, are numerous and varied. They include pen, pencil, and crayon, and modifications and combinations of all three.

The information which I shall give is intended chiefly for such as know little or nothing of the manner in which such illustrations should be produced. Having already mastered the primary methods, the more practised draughtsman, knowing what any special reproduction process requires, will, to some extent, invent his own methods and often resort to some "dodge" which may occur to him, thereby producing some delightful and original result.

In describing the half-tone process we found the necessity of having an image in relief of such a character that we could print from it in ink, hence the intervention of a ruled screen, which broke up the flat even tints of the original picture into minute dots. Line processes, as the term implies, are used to reproduce an illustration which, as in a pen and ink sketch, possesses no flat tints, and requires no screen, the actual lines being reproduced in relief and printed in facsimile.

It will, of course, be remembered that a mechanical process block can only produce in simple black and white: that is, it either reproduces a line, to print black, or omits it altogether; so that a line drawn in grey ink, and another in black, would each reproduce exactly the same, namely black. Whereas in wash drawing we were limited to a few varying tones, we are now restricted to two—white and black—and, as may be seen by looking at any good line drawing, various degrees of shade are produced by a multiplicity of lines in greater or less proximity and of varying thickness.

Before proceeding further, I will give an outline of the three principal processes used for producing drawing in line. These are the swelled gelatine, the albumen, and the bitumen processes;—other processes exist but are little practised, and offer no advantages over the above. The albumen and bitumen methods are processes of etching on zinc and familiarly known as "zinco" line process; not so the swelled gelatine, as will be seen from the following description of it. Gelatine of a hard variety is melted in water with the addition of a small quantity of sugar and chrome-alum, and is then spread evenly upon a perfectly clean glass plate. This gelatine film is, when required for use, sensitised by immersion in a solution of bichromate of potassium, methylated spirits, and water. The effect of this is to render the film, to some extent, insoluble where acted upon by light; or, more correctly speaking, non-absorbent when affected by light. A negative, made from the original to be reproduced, is placed in contact with the sensitised film and exposed to light. The film, which it will be remembered is resting upon a glass plate, is then placed in cold water, with the result that those parts which have been protected from light absorb water and swell up, leaving the non-absorbent parts, which represent the image, sunk in. When this operation has been carried far enough, a plaster of Paris cast is taken, and from this a wax mould is made, which is practically a duplicate of the gelatine mould from which the plaster cast was made. Into the wax mould copper is deposited, precisely as in ordinary electrotyping, thus giving us a copper relief from a gelatine or wax mould made direct from the original.[2] This process, while a favourite with the artist, is not so readily used by the process worker because it is somewhat expensive, the average cost of a block being from 9d. to 1s. 6d. per inch. But the results are very fine, especially when a drawing has been made in ignorance or regardless of the requirements of process reproduction.

The zinc etching processes, by which the great mass of newspaper blocks are made, are less regardful of delicacies of execution which the swelled gelatine often reproduces with astonishing fidelity.[3]

In the albumen process the sensitive film is composed of egg albumen, bichromate of ammonium or potassium, and water, which is spread upon a zinc plate. After exposure to light under the negative, the whole surface is inked over with transfer ink, and then immersed in cold water and gently rubbed. The ink will wash away from those portions which have been protected from light by the opaque portions of the negative, and will adhere to those affected by light. Thus on a bed of zinc we have an ink image on a substratum of albumen, the exact copy of the original. The zinc has now to be etched with acid.

With bitumen the procedure is somewhat similar. The bitumen is first treated with ether, which will dissolve out only those constituents which, not being sensitive to light, are not required. The residue is dissolved in benzole and spread upon a zinc plate, as with the albumen process. After exposure to light under the negative, the bitumen film is washed with turpentine, which takes away all except those portions acted upon by light. The film is next washed in water and placed in a very weak solution of nitric acid, which at once attacks those portions of the zinc unprotected by bitumen. If what now remains of the film be inked over we shall have, as in the last process, an ink image of the drawing on a zinc base, and the plate is now ready for etching.

The etching is performed by successive baths of diluted nitric acid, gum and powdered resin being applied to the plate after each etching, and heated so as to run down the sides of the ridges of metal (which at each successive etching bath are gradually growing deeper) until the "biting" or etching be considered deep enough. The ink and substratum of albumen or bitumen are then cleaned off with American potash, and the plate is finally washed. Rebiting, or still further etching, may be required before the zinc relief is ready to be mounted on a wood block "type high" for printing purposes.

As in the half-tone process, I do not pretend to have given working instructions, but only such general particulars as may interest the artist or draughtsman whose work is to be reproduced. For either of these processes the average cost is 4d. to 6d. per square inch, with a minimum charge of 5s. for a single block. Each process has its special uses and applications; the process craftsman (whom nothing delights so much as a sharp, brilliant line) will usually recommend the bitumen, but the albumen method will often give a more pleasing result. As a general rule, if your work is placed in good hands, the particular process to be used is best left to them to decide, and if a proof be submitted some little alterations may be suggested which can be carried out by an engraver.

In the subsequent pages of this book I shall make little reference to these processes; enough has been said, and they are no part of the draughtsman's business, only it will be well to keep in mind throughout such general particulars as have just been given.

Little has been said with reference to the negatives used in reproduction; but as the draughtsman who also possesses some knowledge of photography may be tempted to copy his work himself, it may be well to point out that the negative image must be as sharp as it is possible to get it. The most trifling deviation in focussing, unnoticeable in ordinary photography, will tell seriously in making a reproduction; moreover the kind of negative one may have learned to make for ordinary photographic purposes will not do here. The function of the negative is, it will be remembered, to protect certain portions of the film from light, and to freely admit light where the image is, hence the denser portions of the negative must be very nearly, if not absolutely, opaque, and the image as nearly transparent as possible; thus giving what photography proper has taught us to abhor—a black and white print. With ordinary plates, the required amount of density is not always easy to get, and special photo-mechanical plates are supplied by Mr. John Carbutt, of Wayne Junction, Philadelphia, Pa., which give the desired result. These plates are slow, thickly coated, and capable of giving great density, all of which are characteristics peculiarly suitable to the purpose. But in the end the process man will not thank you for saving him the trouble of making a negative; he is accustomed to make negatives of a certain kind, and very properly prefers to do this himself.

Not the least contributory towards a good reproduction is the power which reduction from the original places in our hands. When making the copy negative it is most usual to make it much smaller, or, inversely, the original drawing is made a good deal larger than it is required to appear (See Illustration on page [72]). A somewhat ragged line of (say) one-eighth of an inch in width, would, if sufficiently reduced in size, come out as a fine line no thicker than a hair. Though reduction carried to such a degree would be impracticable, a drawing twelve inches by nine inches, reduced to eight by six, will usually be advantageous. Not only is a certain degree of coarseness and roughness thus removed, but the lines themselves become smoother and rounder; lines, however, which are very close together, are apt to close up into a solid mass, both from the reduction and because lines sometimes have a tendency to thicken in reproduction—a point to be guarded against when drawing.

If a drawing be examined through a simple double concave lens, that is to say the reverse of a magnifying-glass, the effect of reproduction can be seen, and the result anticipated; such lenses, called "diminishing glasses," are sold expressly for the purpose.

The reader need hardly be reminded that everything on the drawing will be reproduced, except perhaps blue pencil lines, this colour being photographically white; hence all finger-marks, spots, and stains must be carefully avoided. No doubt these, and sundry faults in drawing, can be cut away by the engraver, but an ideal block is one which requires no such helps to perfection, but which comes from the etcher's hands ready for use, and to such an ideal even the tyro must work.

The strong point and chief recommendation of a process block is that it reproduces in facsimile the draughtsman's original; once introduce hand-work and it begins to lose this character; moreover expense and delay in production are incurred, again depriving the mechanical block of its distinctive and valuable features.