British Wood-Engraved Book Illustration 1904-1940: A Break with Tradition (Clarendon Studies in the History of Art) - Hardcover

Selborne, Joanne

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 019817408X ISBN 13: 9780198174080

Publisher: Oxford University Press, 1999

Synopsis

Twentieth-century British wood-engraved book illustration up to the beginning of World War II was among the most versatile and inventive of the graphic arts. In a climate of typographical renaissance, various wood engravers made a significant impact on the appearance of the printed page, transforming good books into works of art and influencing modern standards of book production. This book reveals the methods by which these pioneering artists broke with nineteenth-century illustrative practices. The author surveys the subject in relation to the cultural and historical background, and within a context of mainstream developments in the visual arts, places emphasis on the working relationships of illustrators with both private presses and commercial publishers.

About this title

About the Author

Joanna Selborne is an independent scholar with special interest in printmaking and printing.

Review

beautifully produced and well-researched book./Country Life 17/12/98

`This book exceeds all other surveys on wood engraving in its far-reaching embrace of the cultural and historical background. Joanna Selborne has effectively redug the whole terrain by quarrying publishers' files, art-school records, minute-books of print societies and correspondence in
public and private archives. She has also interviewed some of the artists whose work she discusses, is an expert on printing methods and astute on the complex relations between artist and publisher. In addition, her analyses of specific images are spirited and finely alert to issues of style and
content ... By making us attend repeatedly to the balance between image and text and their position ont he page, Selborne inadvertently sharpens the reader's awareness of the fine printing and generous layout that contribute to the stature of this desirable book.'
Frances Spalding, Times Literary Supplement

`a splendid addition to the libraries of every college of art and university department of Fine Art and Design and the History of Art, as well as of collectors and devotees of the subject. ... The author pilots us with great caution and skill through the various schools of engraving, with
excellent illustrations from each, comparing and contrasting the work and personalities of the artists.'
The Oldie

excellent study .../ this handsome volume is the first major contribution to our understanding of what Gill called British wood-engraving's 'adventure of discovery'./ Colin Campbell/ Spectator/ 02/01/99

the book is the first full-length study of the subject/ Alton Herald/ 04/12/98

`Joanna Selborne has provided a detailed survey of a fscinating subject, well illustrated with a large number of carefully chosen examples to represent most of the artists discussed. It celebrates a very British art form during its most exciting period of development, and will be much enjoyed
by anyone interested in British twentieth-century print-making, illustrations, or publishing.'
Burlington Magazine, Aug 99.

`This comprehensive book is based on the author's doctoral thesis and encompasses fifteen years of research ... Joanna Selbourne has provided a detailed survey of a fascinating subject, well illustrated with a large number of carefully chosen examples to represent most of the artists
discussed. It celebrates a very British art form during its most exciting period of development, and will be much enjoyed by anyone interested in British twentieth-century print-making, illustration, or publishing.'
Burlington Magazine, August 1999.

`beautifully produced and well-researched book.'
Country Life 17/12/98

`a comprehensive study of the historical background of this vital period ... traces the history of wood-engraving in Britain down through the end of the 19th century ... British Wood-Engraved Book Illustration 1904-1940 sheds important light on the development of the illustration medium and
its relation to the typographical innovations of the interwar period.'
AB Bookman's Weekly, July 5, 1999

`excellent study ... this handsome volume is the first major contribution to our understanding of what Gill called British wood-engraving's 'adventure of discovery'.'
Colin Campbell, Spectator

Edition details

• Publisher: Oxford University Press
• Publication date: 1999
• ISBN 10: 019817408X
• ISBN 13: 9780198174080
• Binding: Hardcover
• Language: English
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 458