The Art of Graveing and Etching : wherein is exprest the true way of graveing in copper : allso the manner & method of that famous Callot & Mr. Bosse in their severall ways of etching

1662
Not on view
Title page with decorative border, pages numbered 1–48, with 10 full-page illustrations.

This manual tells the reader how to etch and engrave copper printing plates. The text and illustrations are based on Abraham Bosse's "Traicté des manières de graver en taille-douce sur l'airin," which had been published in Paris in 1645. The dedicatee, Sir Robert Peake, was a London printerseller with whom Faithorne had studied, then fought on the Royalist side in the English Civil War. When their garrison surrendered to Parliamentarian troops, both were imprisoned in London, then exiled to the Continent. Living in Paris, Faithorne gained new skills and connections that supported the printshop he established after returning to London in 1652. Following the Restoration of Charles II 1660, Faithorne was made copper engraver to the king, and this book participates in the general revival of the arts that the monarch encouraged.

Artwork Details

Object Information
  • Title: The Art of Graveing and Etching : wherein is exprest the true way of graveing in copper : allso the manner & method of that famous Callot & Mr. Bosse in their severall ways of etching
  • Author: Translated and published by William Faithorne the Elder (British, London ca. 1620–1691 London)
  • Artist: After Abraham Bosse (French, Tours 1602/04–1676 Paris)
  • Artist: After Jacques Callot (French, Nancy 1592–1635 Nancy)
  • Dedicatee: Sir Robert Peake (British, ca. 1607–1667)
  • Published in: London
  • Date: 1662
  • Medium: Illustrations: etching, engraving
  • Dimensions: 6 1/4 x 4 3/16 x 3/8 in. (15.8 x 10.7 x 1 cm)
  • Classification: Books
  • Credit Line: Rogers Fund, 1918
  • Object Number: 18.7.1
  • Curatorial Department: Drawings and Prints

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