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The Art of Wood Engraving, A Practical Handbook

Written and illustrated by Thomas Gilks British
Publisher Winsor & Newton British
1866
Not on view
Gilks was a London-based wood-engraver who worked for a variety of book and newspaper publishers. The technique he practised was by the 1840s widespread throughout Great Britain and permeated, as he noted in the introduction to this influential book, "every kind of literature from the news of the day, to the most costly annual." He was frequently asked to give private instruction and public lectures in the field. He intended this profusely illustrated book as a practical guide to help meet the demand. One contemporary critic from the "Fine Arts Quarterly Review" admired the volume's "simple and complete treatment of its subject."

Artwork Details

Object Information
  • Title: The Art of Wood Engraving, A Practical Handbook
  • Artist: Written and illustrated by Thomas Gilks (British, 1814–1877)
  • Publisher: Winsor & Newton (London)
  • Published in: London
  • Date: 1866
  • Medium: Illustrations: wood engraving and commercial reproductive processes
  • Dimensions: 7 1/4 x 4 13/16 x 3/8 in. (18.4 x 12.3 x 1 cm)
  • Classification: Books
  • Credit Line: Harris Brisbane Dick Fund, 1938
  • Object Number: 38.100.5
  • Curatorial Department: Drawings and Prints

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