Pen-Drawing for Process
the result. It is an example of the bitumen pro- used to eat away the metal of the block—that the
cess, whose original sin of exaggerating those pencil- gelatine renders every jot and tittle of a drawing,
marks which it has reproduced at all, is cloaked by and would by the nature of the process rather
the intervention of hand-work all over the block. exaggerate than diminish ; and that in those pro-
cesses in which acids play a
'f J&SSjef part, the process-man must be
. ; '= • always watchful lest his zinc
s \ ^ plate be " over-etched," lest the
upstanding metal lines be eaten
away to a scratchy travesty of
the original drawing.
It should not be forgotten
that, to-day, hand-work on pro-
cess-blocks is become very
usual. To paraphrase a well-
worn political catch phrase, the
old methods have been called
in to redress the vagaries of the
new: the graver has been re-
tained to correct the crudities
of the rocking-bath. To be
less cryptic—the graver is used
nowadays to tone down the
harsh and ragged lines of the
etched zinc.
The other illustration will
convey the idea. Here is a
by the swelled gelatine process zinc block grounded with bitu-
men and etched by the aid
You can see how carefully the graver has been of acids. The original drawing was made upon
put through the lines to produce a greyness. The HI' Whatman paper, with Stephens' ebony stain,
drawing was now sent for re-
production by the swelled
gelatine process. This is a
much more satisfactory block.
Everything that the original
contained is reproduced. The
sullen blacknesses of the pin-
nacled rocks are nothing ex-
tenuated as in the first
example, where they seem
comparatively insignificant,
and the technical qualities of
pen and pencil can be iden-
tified throughout. The same
remarks apply even more
strongly to the small illustra-
tions from the Note at Gorran.
But such a pure pen-draw-
ing as that of Charlwood,
shown here in blocks by
(i) Messrs. Dawson's Typo-
graphic Etching, and (2) by
M. Chefdeville's sympathetic
treatment of the albumen pro-
cess, would have come almost by the albumen trocess. louis chefdeville
equally well by bitumen or by
an ordinary practitioner's treatment of albumen. and an F nib of Mitchell's make. The size of
It offered no technical difficulties, and there is that drawing was ten inches across: the sky
exceedingly little to choose between these two drawn in with light parallel lines. A first proof
blocks. Careful examination would show that a showed a sky and a sea of middle distance both
very slight thickening of line had taken place rendered harsh and wanting in aerial perspec-
throughout the block by the gelatine method, and tive. A graver was put through those parts, cutting
this must ever be the distinguishing difference be- up the lines into dots and putting them into their
tween that process and others in which acids are proper relation to the rest of the picture.
'55
the result. It is an example of the bitumen pro- used to eat away the metal of the block—that the
cess, whose original sin of exaggerating those pencil- gelatine renders every jot and tittle of a drawing,
marks which it has reproduced at all, is cloaked by and would by the nature of the process rather
the intervention of hand-work all over the block. exaggerate than diminish ; and that in those pro-
cesses in which acids play a
'f J&SSjef part, the process-man must be
. ; '= • always watchful lest his zinc
s \ ^ plate be " over-etched," lest the
upstanding metal lines be eaten
away to a scratchy travesty of
the original drawing.
It should not be forgotten
that, to-day, hand-work on pro-
cess-blocks is become very
usual. To paraphrase a well-
worn political catch phrase, the
old methods have been called
in to redress the vagaries of the
new: the graver has been re-
tained to correct the crudities
of the rocking-bath. To be
less cryptic—the graver is used
nowadays to tone down the
harsh and ragged lines of the
etched zinc.
The other illustration will
convey the idea. Here is a
by the swelled gelatine process zinc block grounded with bitu-
men and etched by the aid
You can see how carefully the graver has been of acids. The original drawing was made upon
put through the lines to produce a greyness. The HI' Whatman paper, with Stephens' ebony stain,
drawing was now sent for re-
production by the swelled
gelatine process. This is a
much more satisfactory block.
Everything that the original
contained is reproduced. The
sullen blacknesses of the pin-
nacled rocks are nothing ex-
tenuated as in the first
example, where they seem
comparatively insignificant,
and the technical qualities of
pen and pencil can be iden-
tified throughout. The same
remarks apply even more
strongly to the small illustra-
tions from the Note at Gorran.
But such a pure pen-draw-
ing as that of Charlwood,
shown here in blocks by
(i) Messrs. Dawson's Typo-
graphic Etching, and (2) by
M. Chefdeville's sympathetic
treatment of the albumen pro-
cess, would have come almost by the albumen trocess. louis chefdeville
equally well by bitumen or by
an ordinary practitioner's treatment of albumen. and an F nib of Mitchell's make. The size of
It offered no technical difficulties, and there is that drawing was ten inches across: the sky
exceedingly little to choose between these two drawn in with light parallel lines. A first proof
blocks. Careful examination would show that a showed a sky and a sea of middle distance both
very slight thickening of line had taken place rendered harsh and wanting in aerial perspec-
throughout the block by the gelatine method, and tive. A graver was put through those parts, cutting
this must ever be the distinguishing difference be- up the lines into dots and putting them into their
tween that process and others in which acids are proper relation to the rest of the picture.
'55