#mezzotints

[lindahall]

Thomas Wright – Scientist of the Day

Thomas Wright, an English educator, garden designer, and would-be cosmologist, died Feb. 25, 1786, at the age of 74.

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The Resurrection of Christ Charles Howard Hodges (British; 1764–1837) after Peter Paul Rubens (Flemish; 1577–1640) 1807 Mezzotint Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam

[uwmspeccoll]

Today in the Life of Sir Walter Raleigh

Today we highlight two events in the life of Sir Walter Raleigh that happened on today’s date, August 17. In 1584, Queen Elizabeth granted Raleigh a seven-year royal charter authorizing him to explore and establish a colony in the “New World.” On today’s date in 1585, the first group of colonists sent by Raleigh under the charge of Ralph Lane landed off the coast of present-day North Carolina to establish the famously-lost Roanoke Colony on Roanoke Island. 

Also on this date twelve years later in 1597, Raleigh, along with Robert Devereux, 2nd Earl of Essex, set sail on an unsuccessful naval expedition known as the Islands Voyage to destroy and then occupy Spanish holdings in the Azores. This was the last major naval campaign for England under Queen Elizabeth I. Although Raleigh is considered one of the most notable figures of the Elizabethan era, his life was studded with a series of failures and loses, the last one of course being his head in 1618.

The first five images shown here are from Life of Sir Walter Raleigh by the Scottish historian Patrick Fraser Tytler, published in Edinburgh by Oliver & Boyd and in London by Simpkin & Marshall in 1833. All are wood engravings except for the portrait of Raleigh, which is an etching: 1.) Raleigh’s Seal of Office on the half-title engraved in wood by John Jackson; 2.) Portrait of Raleigh etched by John Horsburgh; 3.) Raleigh’s private seal and autograph; 4.) Portrait of Raleigh as he walked at the funeral of Queen Elizabeth I; wood-engraved portrait of Raleigh’s Islands Voyage co-leader Robert Devereux by John Jackson.

The next portrait is an engraving by Philip Audinet that serves as the frontispiece for The Life of Sir Walter Ralegh, Knt. by Arthur Cayley, Jr., published in London by Cadell and Davies, 1806. The final frontispiece portrait is a mezzotint by Charles Henry Jeens in The Life of Sir Walter Raleigh by English librarian and biographer Edward Edwards, publish in London by Macmillan and Co. in 1868.

[rickinmar]

Mugford. Marblehead.

[kecobe]

Calm Joseph Mallord William Turner (British; 1775–1851) April 23, 1812 Ink on paper, mezzotint over etching Indianapolis Museum of Art, Indianapolis, Indiana

The Liber Studiorum Part XI

[lindahall]

George Adams, Jr. – Scientist of the Day

George Adams, Jr., an English instrument maker and author, died Aug. 14, 1795; he was born in 1750, with no known birthday.

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[uwmspeccoll]

Studying 19th- and 20th-Century Printmaking

Yesterday we were visited by Sarah Schaefer's Art History class "Introduction to Prints and Printmaking: History and Techniques." They reviewed a wide range of printmaking techniques and styles from the 19th and 20th centuries in books and individual prints held in Special Collections. We found it so visually interesting and instructive that we decided to keep a selection from this presentation on display in our reading room as an impromptu pop-up exhibit until the end of the week, April 5.  If you’re in town, Please stop by and see it 10 am to 5 pm!

On display are etchings, engravings, mezzotints, aquatints, woodcuts, wood engravings, lithographs, chromolithographs, steel engravings, and serigraphs. You may view and handle:

An extra-illustrated book from the 17th-century bound with all kinds of printmaking techniques from the 17th to the early 19th century.

Original wood engravings by the two earliest popularizers of the medium, Thomas Bewick in Britain and Alexander Anderson in the U.S.

Mid-19th century lithographic prints by the French printmaker and caricaturist Honoré Daumier.

An 1849 work by two great promoters of chromolithography in books, Owen Jones and Henry Noel Humphreys.

Velvety mezzotints by John Martin for an 1827 publication of Paradise Lost.

Scores of steel-plate engravings from an 1860 publication on Distinguished English and American Female Poets.

Original woodcuts designs, wood-engraved images, and distinguished typeface designs in the works of early English and American fine presses from 1892-1904, including Kelmscott, Essex House, Vale, and Elston.

Original serigraph prints by one of the earliest promoters of silk-screen printing as an art medium Max Arthur Cohn (who, btw, was the father of UWM professor emerita of Art History, Jane Waldbaum).

A 1982 fine-press production of Alice in Wonderland by the great American book designer, letterpress printer, and master wood engraver Barry Moser, with an extra suite of original, signed wood engravings.

And while you're here, you may also view our retrospective exhibition on the work of the American color wood engraver, book designer, and letterpress printer Gaylord Schanilec, "Luminous Books: The Work of Gaylord Schanilec," which remains on view through May 17.

Click on the images for their identifying captions.

View posts on other recent instruction sessions.

[lindahall]

Francesco Bianchini – Scientist of the Day

Francesco Bianchini, an Italian astronomer, was born Dec. 13, 1662.  

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