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This book, published by Archetype Publications in association with HES & DE GRAAF Publishers, surveys the history of the techniques of engraving, etching and plate printing - ie that of manual intaglio printmaking processes - from its beginning in the 1430s until today. These developments are observed in the light of the coherence between the technique of the intaglio print (such as its materials and methods of production); the ‘style’ or outward appearance of the print; the creator of the print; and the fashion typical of a particular social group, place and time. Economic, educational and social aspects are discussed, as well as the dissemination of the trade of intaglio printmaking.
The author shows how intaglio printmaking developed steadily from the mid-fifteenth century, with the invention of the roller press and the etching of printing plates. By 1525 intaglio printmaking techniques could be said to have reached maturity and spread east and west following the European trade routes and colonisation. Further developments in plate-making resulted from a series of inventions and reinventions. After the abolition of the guilds on the European continent around 1800, and the introduction of photography and the expansion of the graphic industry, the engraving of images became a mere mechanical procedure. The handcrafted print made way for the large-scale mechanised graphic industry which emerged in the middle of the nineteenth century. Consequently artist-etchers withdrew to an elite position to concentrate on the manual aspects of printmaking, which is the situation today.
This comprehensively illustrated study is the first of its kind to cover all elements of the trade of engraving and etching throughout six centuries. Based on an exhaustive number of primary sources it will be an essential resource for collectors, curators, conservators, printmakers and students of technical art history.
This book is the top recommendation of reference works by the British Museum's Prints and Drawings Department. Check out their reading list of books on the techniques of printmaking and drawing.
This study by Stijnman is an immensely scholarly and interpretative reference work. It is the most exhaustive account of the process and the people involved at the practical level in manual intaglio printing.
— Imago Mundi - Vol 66 part 1 2014
Foreword
Acknowledgements
Introduction
Origin and structure of this study
Art history and printmaking
Main issues
Technique and style
Art technology and prints
Technical and stylistic developments
Graphic art vs. the printing trade
Modern intaglio printmaking
Working method
Art technological source research
Historiography
Conclusion
Antecedents, early developments and dissemination
Engraving
Plates
Tools
Workshops
Engraving techniques
Intaglio printing
Printing support
Printing medium
Inking
Rubbing
Printing press
Casting
Niello proofs
Printing editions
Printing series
Book illustration
Colour
Etching
Basics
Pattern welding
Copper plating
Nitric acid
Etching techniques
Etching iron printing plates
Etching copper printing plates
Dissemination of intaglio printmaking techniques
Dissemination within Europe, and to Asia, Australia and the Americas
The trade in intaglio printmaking
Engravers and plate printers
Economics
Guilds
Engravers
Plate printers
Discussion
Education
Workshop training
Institutional training
Books and articles
Discussion
The workshop
The engraver’s workshop
The plate printer’s workshop
The printmaker’s workshop
Discussion
Suppliers
Dealers in artists’ materials
Materials suppliers
Press manufacturers
Discussion
Producing the Matrix
The printing plate
Metal plate
Non-metal plate
Plate production
Protecting plates
Recycling plates
Transferring the design
Tracing
Pouncing
Squaring
Offsetting
Photography
Image and mirror image
Mechanical procedures
Line
Tone
Crayon
Modern developments
Chemical procedures
Line
Tone
Crayon
Modern developments
Non-manual procedures
Replication of intaglio printing plates
Mechanical intaglio processes
Photomechanical intaglio processes
Digital intaglio processes
Discussion
Printing the matrix
General
Printing support
Paper
Other supports
Printing medium
Constituents
Ink making
Interaction between ink and paper
Printing press
Mechanics of printing
The wooden roller press, 1460-1800
Changing from wood to metal, 1800-1850
The metal roller press, 1800-2000
The printmaker’s press
Mechanisation of intaglio printing
Printing procedures
Preparations
Printing by press
Rubbing and casting
Printing editions
Printing series
Colour printing procedures
Monochrome printing
Polychrome printing
Combination techniques
Hand-colouring
Discussion
Summary and Final Conclusions
Appendix 1: General chronology of intaglio printmaking processes
Appendix 2: Early engravers up to 1500
Appendix 3: Terms in print addresses
Introduction
List of authorised contents and functions in addresses
Glossary
Appendix 4: Bibliography of practical manuals
Manuals and their influence
Abraham Bosse
New manuals
Maxime Lalanne
Stanley Hayter
Working manner
Definitions and criteria
Search methods
Keywords
Abbreviations
Formal terms
Public collections
Private collections
Published and online collections
Reference works
Bibliographical descriptions
Books and manuscripts
Articles
Appendix 5: Indices to the bibliography of practical manuals
Indices to the manuscripts
Index by serial number
Chronological index
General index
Places of publication
Chronological index
Literature
Name index
Subject index