Thomas George Hill

“ The reason for indifferent illustrations is primarily due to bad or mediocre drawings, or to their unsuitability for the kind of reproduction in view.
With regard to the first point: this lack of draughtsmanship often obtains; when education entirely replaces mere instruction, it is to be hoped that all students of page x science will be trained in the rudiments of drawing. Meanwhile the difficulty can be partly overcome, as will be seen later on, by the simple means of drawing on an enlarged scale, in order that in reproduction reduction can be made. ”

“ These particular Inspectors are very pleasing and are well and clearly written; one especially is of outstanding importance, as it shews that Hill was in some respects far in advance of his times. He put forward a suggestion that Botany would be much improved by the delivery of public lectures in the museum with the living plants before the lecturer and the members of the audience. This scheme has yet to be carried out; as they are, museums are a means of education for the few, but a source of confusion to the many. ”

“ As regards lithographic processes for reproduction in one colour the cost varies with the nature of the work. If an artist be commissioned to make an autolithograph, the fee would be agreed upon beforehand. Photolithography and collotype, on the other hand, are processes which do not require the hand of an artist, and these methods of reproduction are relatively inexpensive. The price quoted by the lithographer or collotyper is for printing so many copies, hence the relative cost per copy depends upon the run and on the quality of the paper used. Lithography is cheaper than collotype ”

“ As compared with copper engravings, steel gives a somewhat harder line, whilst copper gives a soft line, but this, of course, does not mean that steel engravings are harsh; the finest work can be done on steel and of remarkable delicacy.
At the present day line engraving is seldom or never used as a means of illustrating scientific work. It is obvious that the average scientist has not the time and he certainly does not possess the skill to make his own plates; the engraver must translate the originals into lines, so that much consultation would be necessary. ”

“ When we touch the leaf, we give it another motion more violent than the first: this overcomes the first: the vibration is stopped by the rude shock: and the leaves close, and their foot stalks fall, because that vibrating motion is destroyed, which kept them elevated and expanded....That the power of motion in the sensitive plant depends upon the effect of light on the expanded surface of the leaves, is certain; for till they are expanded, they have no such power. ”

“ By best possible is meant the best that can be made under existing conditions, the price being immaterial; in good work the cost will be a limiting but not a preponderating factor, hence the work will be open to criticism; finally, in cheap work, the price is all important, so that the result is a block or a plate which will print well but which must not be criticized as regards its being a faithful reproduction of the original. ”

“ If Hill's reputation for lying rests on no surer foundation than this, he must be held acquitted of much that is charged him. In the above quotation the term microscopes must be read lenses; thus Johnson's reason for his opinion is unfortunate and clearly shews, as Bishop Elrington has remarked, that Johnson was talking of things he knew nothing about. This is the more to be regretted since the opinion of a man of Johnson's rank, who was contemporary with Hill, might have biassed the judgment of smaller and later men. ”

“ Hill himself sometimes falls into error in his criticisms; thus he adversely comments on the truth of the power of cobwebs to catch thrushes [10] .
At the beginning of Part VII of his Review, which treats of plants, he thrusts very deep. He says, "This is a Branch of Natural Knowledge, which, it will appear, that the Royal Society of London have looked so very deeply into, that their rejecting the Linnean System of Botany, when offered by its Author will no longer be wondered at." ”

“ Photogravure is particularly suitable for the reproduction of drawings showing a large amount of detail and made up of a variety of tones rather than lines or stipple.
The photographic part of the process is essentially the same as making a carbon print from a photographic negative. This consists in exposing under the negative the carbon tissue, which is a mixture of gelatine, in which is dissolved bichromate of potash, and a suitable pigment. Such a film of bichromate gelatine is, when dry, sensitive to light. If no light gains access to it, the gelatine is readily soluble in warm water ”

“ Lithographic stones vary in hardness, colour and grain. For the best work the stone should be homogeneous and of a hardness suitable for the subject; the colour affords an indication of the hardness, the lighter-coloured stones, which are much the commoner, being softer than the darker.
There are two modes of procedure; the drawing may page 16 be made direct on the stone with lithographic ink or crayon—both being mixtures of tallow, wax, soap and shellac, with a sufficiency of pigment to render the drawing visible to the artist—or else the drawing may be made upon transfer paper. ”

“ Baker then goes on to remark that as a consequence of this, every affront however slight was revenged by Hill by a public attack on the morals etc. of the maker.
On the other hand his criticisms may have been honest, at any rate in part; and the fact that they landed him into difficulties does not necessarily indicate that he was a dishonest fellow; most people are impatient of adverse criticism, and in those days such impatience found a vent in a pamphlet war or in personal violence. Nowadays the aggrieved manager, for instance, can shut his theatre doors against the distasteful critic ”

“ When representing a solid object, such as a plant or an animal, to shew the external morphology, it is to be borne in mind that form is the main thing to represent, and this can be expressed by outline drawing alone. ”

“ This account is entirely laudatory, and describes Hill as being little short of a genius surrounded and continually attacked by "envious and malevolent persons" who "did not fail to make use of every engine malevolence could invent, to depreciate the character and the works of a man, whom they saw, with regret, every way so far their superior." ”

“ Bodies may act on light without contact; for the rays may become reflected when they come extreamly near: but light can act on bodies only by contact; and in that contact the rays are lost. The change produced in the position of the leaves of plants by light, is the result of a motion occasioned by its rays among their fibres: to excite this motion, the light must touch those fibres ”

“ Also the possibilities of plates are enormous; they may be very beautiful indeed besides being biologically satisfactory, for much finer results can be obtained by engraving metal than by engraving wood. Then again there are many different processes available for the making of plates, so that if one proves unsuitable for a subject an excellent reproduction may be obtained by another. ”

“ THE PREPARATION OF ILLUSTRATED PAGES. Of the processes dealt with, photogravure lithography and collotype are those most generally used at the present day for the printing of plates or insets. Half-tone also is employed, a process which will be considered later since it is essentially relief printing. This, therefore, is a convenient opportunity to make a few general observations on plates.
Plates should only be employed for the reproduction of subjects of such complexity that cannot be reproduced satisfactorily by figures in the text. ”

“ Narrative—chequered career—journalism—attack on the Royal Society—literary activities—Botanical works—structure of Timber—the sleep of Plants—Mimosa and Abrus—views on Pollen—Hill's Herbal—his admiration of Linnaeus—with qualification—Hill's Vegetable System—an ambitious work—financial losses—estimate of Hill's character.
It has recently been remarked that the number of the biographies of eminent men is inversely proportional to the known facts concerning them. ”

“ Then again, many subjects may be of so complicated a nature as to be beyond the skill of the author to draw. In such a case a good plan is to take a photograph of the object and make a positive on smooth bromide paper, which need only be developed sufficiently far to give a print which just shows the features. The print, when page 82 dry, can then be worked on with fixed Indian ink. The finished drawing, when quite dry, may be immersed in any solution which will dissolve out the silver; a solution of iodine in potassium iodide answers sufficiently well. ”

“ One of Hill's more interesting works in this branch of Botany is his British Herbal [21] . In it are described a large number of plants which are illustrated by 75 copper plates engraved by various artists. None of these plates are of outstanding excellence, indeed many of them are very poor, and their quality is uneven. Those in the folio consulted by the present writer were ruined by being coloured.
The plants described are arranged on a system which is not altogether without interest as it, in a small degree, foreshadows later systems. ”

“ For instance, lines can be added across open spaces, and if part of the printing surface has been accidentally removed in cutting away the superfluous metal, the damage can be made good by building up with solder and working on this with the graver. If, however, the additions required are at all extensive or complicated, it is better to have a new block made.
Inasmuch as scientific illustrations are to describe and explain definite facts, the drawings must needs be materialistic rather than suggestive; in other words, a more or less conventional system must be employed. ”

“ The majority of amateur draughtsmen make their drawings in pencil or ink and these the lithographer traces upon lithographic transfer paper and transfers them to the stone; he, the lithographer, may merely trace the salient features and work the drawing up on the stone. ”

“ If it be desired to reproduce all the lines, say the paper is ruled in millimetres, a half-tone may be employed, or all these lines can be ruled over in black ink where the reproduction by line block is possible. It is, however, seldom necessary to represent all the smallest squares; it will generally be found that the centimetre squares are sufficient. If the original be plotted on paper which is ruled in pale blue, it can be reproduced by line block without re-drawing, since the blue will photograph as white with the plates commonly used ”

“ Each mesh, therefore, brings the image of the diaphragm to a focus on the negative, but the lens of the camera focusses the picture as a whole, thus the amount of light falling on the different pin-holes will vary in intensity, and hence the dots produced will vary in size, for it is assumed, with good reason, that each dot is built up from its centre and radially expands according to the amount of light acting upon it. ”

“ Whilst the gelatine is setting, precautions against vibration must be taken else the plate will be spoilt.
When dry, the collotype plate is sensitive to light and moisture; its surface shows a more or less regular series of convolutions which resemble those of the outer surface of the human brain, although, of course, very much smaller. The character of the grain is very important, for if it be too fine it will not take up a sufficiency of ink, and, on the other hand, if too coarse it will yield coarse impressions. ”

“ Owing to the difficulty which some experience in drawing freehand a continuous line, the plot should be made twice the linear size of the intended reproduction. A good rule to follow in drawing lines is to keep the eye fixed on the point where the line is to end, the hand will then guide the pen in the right path, especially after a little practice. ”

“ Any line, however fine, will give an impression on printing, hence it is hardly surprising that engraving has long been a popular means of expression by artists, since force, depth and delicacy are possible of attainment. ”