R. J. Beedham

“ Make men responsible for their work and not merely for doing what they are told; make their own consciences their masters and the whole of our modern factory system will come tumbling down like a house of cards. ”

“ The advantage of wood-engraving then is that it does away with several sets of middle men and places responsibility upon the shoulders of the workman. The workman who draws, engraves and prints his own blocks is master of the situation. He can blame nobody but himself if his work goes wrong. Whether it goes right or wrong depends upon his notions of right and wrong. The first thing is that he should be free to satisfy his own conscience and not be a mere tool in the hands of another. ”

“ Where a light tint shades into white as in a sky or light parts of a dress it is necessary to lower the edges in some way before cutting, otherwise the hard edge is apt to catch the ink and cause a smudgy objectionable line instead of running cleanly into the white. To avoid this, lower or scrape the hard edge into the scauping taking care not to damage the surrounding wood. It can be done by the sharp edge of spitstick or tint-tool, or the edge can first be lowered by a flat scauper and then scraped smoothly into the scauping by the sharp edge of the engraving tool. ”

“ The merchant does not ask himself what good thing he can supply but what he can supply at a good profit. The whole trouble is that the responsibility for the making of things is not in the hands of the workman but in those of the man of business—and this is hell. ”

“ When cutting straight lines the block is held stationary, the tool-hand cutting forward; when cutting curves the block is turned round, the tool-hand remaining in one position. There is no hard rule in this, the hands acting flexibly for each other, but it can be seen at once when engraving that a circle cannot be cut unless the block is turned round in precise ratio to the cuts of the tool, while to [pg 38] cut a straight line the wood cannot advance to the tool's point. ”

“ Amongst the mass of process reproduction is the Wood-engraver, engraving his own designs, thereby expressing an originality which will most certainly mark the present age of book-production as something well worth examination. It is therefore essential that the modern engraver design his own engravings and he will select the kind of tools which will best express his own individuality, for it is this individuality of the artist which alone amongst all its competitors will keep alive Wood-engraving as a vital craft. ”

“ The larger the plug, the deeper must be the hole, the depth for large plugs being half-way through the block. Plugs on the extreme edge of the block require more care but the difficulties can nearly always be [pg 50] overcome by a little ingenuity. A drop of water placed on a bruise will often bring it to the surface again. Hot water is still more effective, while, if the bruising is deep and general, steaming the whole surface is the best method though it makes the wood rotten and disagreeable to cut on afterwards. ”

“ The engraver is to remember that the production is to be an engraving and not a drawing; that it is to have the character of an engraving—an engraving manifest and not an imitation of another drawing, half-tone, or any other process. Let the dependence be on the engraving tools rather than the pencil. As far as possible draw direct on to the wood. ”

“ Individuality became partly lost in the skill of technique. It sometimes seemed as if he were imitating his great competitor, the process block. The Americans were, I think, great offenders in this. Though a most lovely craft, wood-engraving, just before it was superseded by process, had not within it sufficient originality and power to hold its own. It was largely reproductive only: the real artist was too often left out. Process developed rapidly as the more effective way of reproducing originals of one sort or another, and the reproductive engraver was bereft of his craft. ”

“ It is remarkable that a vast industry, of which the cinema is the latest development, should have arisen as the result of the discovery that certain substances changed their colour and character in the presence of light. It first greatly influenced wood-engraving and finally ousted it as a means of reproduction. Photographers found a way of photographing on to the wood not only drawings but other photographs, and the engraver had to adjust his style to the new medium, for to cut direct from a photograph was very different from cutting facsimile from a drawing. ”

“ If the tool be sharp the wood will chip out crisply at each cut; the lines should be cut out, not pushed or pressed out. Blunt tools are more responsible for slips than anything else except perhaps a disturbed mind.
Should there be any danger of rubbing the drawing during engraving, cover the block with a piece of thin paper after the manner of a tracing, first making a small hole where work is to commence. ”

“ And the more you apply that standard to your own work and to that of others, the more you will find the necessity of personal responsibility.
But personal responsibility for work done is, from the point of view of commercial success, actually an evil! ”

“ The modern revival of wood-engraving, which came just after the war, is quite different in style from any that preceded it. The artist and engraver are now one, as they should be where original work is to be done, and every exponent of the craft expresses his or her own individuality. ”

“ Indian and Chinese ink rubbed up in water and a fine camel hair brush are used for drawing, or a pencil may be used. The best is one of medium hardness. Too soft a pencil rubs out easily and soon gives a dirty appearance to the drawing; one too hard is liable to bruise the wood.
All drawing on the wood must be reversed. Even in cases where this is not necessary it is well to remember that the print from the [pg 33] engraving will be a reverse of the drawing. ”

“ And as good men must precede good law, and not vice versa, so the individual must revolt against the evil system and not wait until the many are prepared to revolt with him. Wood-engraving and wood-cutting have gone out of general use not because photographic process reproduction is better, or even because it is cheaper and quicker, but simply because larger profits can be made by employing many persons under a system of divided labour than by working in a small workshop and putting the quality of the work before the quantity of the output. ”

“ It is well to shield away by brown paper fixed to the top of the globe, or other means, all light that does not fall on the block. It is most unrestful to look up from work into the direct glare of a lamp; to work without a globe or bull's-eye with artificial light produces great eye-strain and bad work. ”

“ It is doubtful, however, whether process reproduction would have been developed very far if its use had been confined to those occasions, and those only, when exact facsimile was of vital importance. Process reproduction owes its success to its commercial possibilities more than to its real merits, for, in spite of the frequently reiterated boast of those engaged in business that nothing can be a commercial success that does not [pg 8] “supply a want,” by photographic reproduction a speed and cheapness have been obtained which have seduced both artists and the public. ”

“ The craftsman is advised to practise by engraving something definite, something that [pg 39] can be used. Aimless cutting and digging about on bits of wood leads nowhere, for it is a very simple matter to cut a line that need not be cut in any particular place, whereas to cut the lines exactly to the subject, to produce something that is required is not only getting experience, but the result is known at once in success or failure.
Fig. 16 ”

“ Any other durable substance can be used instead of leather. On this solid yet easy base the block held by the left hand can be turned about at will. It should be not less than five inches across. To have it smaller may mean difficulty when engraving large blocks. A magnifying glass is not recommended unless the eyesight is defective. When there is defective vision it is safer and better to use a glass and avoid strain, so it must be included as a probably necessary thing. A double lens should be used, and should be large enough to cover a block of 2 or 3 inches. ”

“ Although in connection with the printing press the wood-cut has not the same usefulness as the wood-engraving on account of the soft wood necessarily used and the impossibility of doing the finest work with the same degree of precision, nevertheless, as an independent art that of wood-cutting is on an [pg 53] equality with any other, and, in one respect, the fact that only soft wood can be used is an advantage; for such wood, pine or pear, is more easy to get than a hard foreign wood like the Turkish box-wood. ”

“ God nor the nature of man that any one should love himself more than his neighbour or his neighbour more than God. The present state of affairs is an unnatural and abnormal thing. It is a disease. And any one can by the grace of God cure at least himself and put his own affairs in order. ”

“ In practice the greatest freedom is obtained when the point extends but little beyond the thumb, but as some allowance must be made for repeated sharpening away on the oilstone, the half-inch extension is recommended. When purchased they are generally much longer, 6 inches, but this length is much too great to allow the tool to be used with ease. ”

“ PLUGGING If some small mistake has arisen such as a deep bruise, false cut, slip, etc., it can be made good by plugging, that is, by the insertion of a new piece of wood where the mistake has occurred. ”

“ Use the gouge as a chisel, never forgetting to have the cutting edge pointing towards centre of block. If used towards the edges pieces of wood will suddenly chip away and the last stroke of the mallet will, perhaps, ruin the work, though an experience of this kind is seldom repeated. ”

“ It is of course impossible to stem the tide of commercial degradation until Poverty, Chastity, and Obedience take the place of Riches, Pleasure, and Laisser-faire as personal and national ideals. Such a change of heart cannot occur merely as the result of economic or social or philosophical propaganda ”

“ In the domain of art the remedy is the same as in any other. The thing good in itself must be found and loved. Relative values must give place to absolute, the lovely and lovable to the beautiful. “Does it pay?” ”

“ Much annoyance may thus be avoided, for it is easy to produce an awkward absurdity, which, though not apparent to other people, spoils one's own enjoyment of the work. All lettering must be reversed. A view of the drawing in a mirror before commencing to engrave will reveal any incorrectness in reversing. ”

“ DRAWING The highly-polished surface of the wood will not take the pencil or brush unless prepared, and the best medium for this is flake-white and finely ground brickdust in equal proportions. An amount sufficient to cover a threepenny piece is enough for a block of 6 inches by 4 inches ”

“ WOOD ENGRAVING Ten engraving tools are as many as will be required for ordinary purposes. The beginner can start with five, but labour is often saved by having a sufficient number. They should be about 31⁄2 inches in length, according to the size of the worker's hand, and when held in correct position the point of the tool should not extend beyond the end of the thumb more than half an inch. ”

“ They are used in the same manner as spit-sticks and often preferred to them, but they lack the smooth ease of cutting which is the special feature of spit-sticks.
Fig. 4 The scauper, the tool of greatest width, is used for clearing away the wood round the engraving. It is desirable that the belly part [pg 23] of this tool should be sufficiently rounded: a point too square will not cut through the wood easily. An extra tool with a square point, about the size of the largest tint-tool, may be found useful for taking out corners. ”

“ Engrave the lines one under the other, not one above the other; for circles it is much more easy to start the cut at the top than to start underneath, though to be able to start underneath is sometimes useful. ”

“ This requires skill and care, for the new piece of wood must fit in exactly, otherwise a white line will show all round it. For very small plugs the simplest method of making a hole is to get a carpenter's nail, round or square type, according to the shape of the plug required, file the sides to the right size and flatten the bottom, finally getting the edges and bottom sharp and smooth on the oil-stone. Drive this into the wood, about 1/16 to 1/8 of an inch according to the size of the plug. ”

“ Good light is essential at all times.
Fig. 10 Fig. 10 shows the roller and slab used for inking the engraving when taking a proof. A [pg 27] leather roller is best but difficult to make; composition is generally used. An old method, the method of Caxton and quite good, is to use a dabber. The ink is dabbed on instead of rolled on. It can be easily made, a covering of thin leather filled with rags for padding, which must be quite firm, being all that is required (Fig. 11) .
Fig. 11 ”

“ Fig. 9 Fig. 9 shows a globe filled with water, to be used at night to concentrate the light on to the work. The light of the lamp is directly behind the globe. A bull's-eye lens can be used as a substitute and is equally good. ”