yeas 
 chal bas 
 
 bt 
 
 S3d3 
 caret 
 2 
 ee 
 Seseiie 
 
 a 
 aya! 
 ‘ sreneas 
 Sy ror 
 e743 
 
 fre an 
 
 i ni i 
 
 Tt 
 
 Sits? 
 
 ater ap 
 Lebte te ; 
 a cri 7 : 
 
 “asm aie 3 
 
 5 
 yee ee Bet 
 
 erat 
 Dose 
 
 rors 
 are 
 rhe ds O28: 
 aoe 
 
 + 
 paver tau 
 Bits 
 
 : 
 ices 
 ae 
 Be 
 est) 
 z 
 
 Ste 
 
 ea 
 + rk 
 
 ton 
 ts : 
 Les Shere: 
 its og 
 
 rest 
 
 : 
 
 sit 
 
 bse steers ty 
 
 Sis 
 
 te 
 
 a tbiey 
 
 Tatarere 
 
 Se eaCereas 
 38) 
 
 oni 
 
 te 
 
 ri red 
 
 f 
 ett 
 peictt 
 ean 
 t+ 5 
 Jee 
 Praise she 
 eter 
 
 seaahe sa seicet 
 ste f, 
 reine 
 
wa 
 
in ded a 
 ek ae 
 . 
 4 
 pa 
 
 Peels is a % 
 ee ; nn 7 
 4 ; Ma ac 
 4 ¢ B, 0 
 a ad 
 a 4 ‘ ‘ 
 A R J 
 4 ‘J 1 . : , 
 ‘ —_ ‘ at FI 
 ’ } , 
 x wet : =N } 
 ‘ P ‘ 
 Fi Fi 
 
 x 
 + 
 
A wood-cut in color, by the author. 
 
iid hz 
 LHECHNIQUE 
 O; 1S aT sae a 
 COLOR WOOD-TUT 
 
 BY 
 WALTER J. PHILLIPS 
 
Preity on, Wath y Seto aay 
 
 tepegreees es 
 
 Dinh Swadesh Se ie Ss 
 
 ae " Published Avani 1, 196 
 
 hes tos . ce! eh 
 r 
 ; * 
 b= wie ‘ 
 ie ‘ 
 - 2a 
 al « ery 
 Y x 
 a - w ‘ 
 v Pl . 4 
 >. “* si 
 a a 7 2 
 pe ns yd 
 ‘ i, eae doe & 
 ‘ * 
 ak on 
 > : - 
 « ‘ 
 ca 5 
 4 ‘ 
 ~ 7 4 4 , 
 + ea ye ~ 2 
 4 4 
 wt is 
 oie | ‘ " 
 ali" Fae 
 i Be: 
 arr ae 
 < k f “s is . 
 i . } +o 
 * 
 " * » % : 
 » ~ 
 i x p 
 Fee -* ‘ 
 \ BW 
 i 
 Shea 1 
 
Ta eee Lee Te 
 
 am, ‘enchant , Si ee wo 
 Pa Rema? |i . ve EDs j _ 
 Lie~ ape a) a , 
 
 CONTENTS 
 PREFACE 
 AUTHOR'S PREFACE . 
 
 CHAPTER ONE 
 The Print. 
 The traditional Japanese method—Scope of the Wood-cut in 
 color—Gradations and Hard edges—The Subject. 
 
 WL os ES OS 
 
 Wood—Preparation of Wood—Transfer of Tracing to 
 Wood—W ood Substitutes—Cutting Tools—How deep to 
 cut—Islands—Broken Lines—Impressions from the Key- 
 block—Planning the Color-blocks. 
 
 CHAPTER THREE . 
 
 Printing. 
 
 Paper—Sizing Paper—A Brush for Sizing—Pigment— 
 Medium—Brushes—Other Necessities for Printing—Blind 
 Printing—The Oriental Printer—Printing—Gradations— 
 Drying the Prints — Editions — Marketing Prints — 
 Epilogue. 
 
 BIBLIOGRAPHY 
 
 SOME SOCIETIES OF PRINT MAKERS 
 
 ok 
 wsAVE 
 
 abet, 
 
 . 43 
 
 . 61 
 
 . 63 
 
ILLUSTRATIONS 
 
 Frontispiece. A Wood-Cut in Color by the Author. 
 
 A Japanese Artist’s Brush Drawing for a Wood-Cut 
 womendingsofa Box - - - + «- -« 
 
 “Hare,” by Allen W. Seaby, with a Full-Size Fragment in Color 
 
 Full-Size Fragment of an HA ee a es ae by “ 
 ruemibara 7 -  *lC- - 
 
 Full-Size Fragments of Three Color-Prints by the Author, and One 
 by Yeizan Showing Dea SEINE ss SAI 
 Hard Edges eh aetes - 
 
 Domrenne by Kunissda - - - - + 6 4 
 
 Diagram Showing a Block with Clamped Ends, the Japanese and 
 American Manner oF une ae aS oe Cutting % 
 Box- Wood. - ee < he 
 
 eh (On a eT | We. 0) Ci i i cr cr rr 
 Sections Showing Method of Cutting a Fine Isolated Line 
 How to Hold a Graver and a Carving Tool - ~- 
 
 The Positions of the Register Marks - - - - - 
 Types of Brushes Used for Sizing and Printing - 
 
 ‘Mary at the Lake.” Color-Print by the Author, Seats a 
 Impression of Fir-Grain in the Background 
 
 Barens and Printing Pads - - - - - + « « + 
 PerGugeapoiing the Paper - - - + «- 4 4 «4 
 
 “Sic Transit Gloria Mundi.” Color-Print by William Giles, with 
 a Full-Size Fragment in Color. Following page - - ~- 
 
 “The Jetty. Sennen Cove.” Color-Print by John Platt, with a 
 Fragment in Color, Full-Size. Following page - - - - 
 
 “The Shinto Temple of Masaki, Yedo, in Snow,” by Hiroshige, 
 with a full-‘Size Fragment in Color. Following page 
 
 “Wrylye Mill Bridge,” by the Author. Following page - - ~- 
 7 
 
 18 
 20 
 22 
 
 24 
 
 24 
 28 
 
 30 
 30 
 
 a2 
 33 
 34 
 34 
 
 38 
 50 
 50 
 
 56 
 
 56 
 
 56 
 56 
 
ILLUSTRATIONS (Continued) 
 
 PROGRESSIVE PROOFS 
 Following page 60 
 
 The Key-Block Used for the Frontispiece. 
 Impression from the Key-Block. 
 
 The Gray Block. 
 
 Impression from the Gray Block. 
 
 The Blue Block. 
 
 Impression from the Blue Block. 
 
 The Green Block. 
 
 Impression from the Green Block. 
 
 The Brown and Yellow Block. 
 
 Impression from the Brown and Yellow Block. 
 
PREFACE 
 
 'HE ideal of a water-color woodcut is no 
 
 oa | 
 
 a——! 
 
 \NSal ie, longer a feeble parody of the Japanese color- 
 Oy iKSH print that ceased two centuries ago; that 
 ~ cOlor-print was the outcome of a democratic 
 demand, and owed its success to its cheapness, though, 
 strange as it may seem, elaboration sometimes brought 
 it under the ban of the sumptuary laws. 
 
 Towards the close of last century, the reproduction 
 by woodcuts in color of the Chinese and Japanese 
 Masterpieces of painting contributed to an extraor- 
 dinary development of the craft, which compels our 
 admiration and wonder. The creative artist, however, 
 did not avail himself of the greatest technical knowledge 
 to express himself in this medium. Picture-reproduction 
 and literal transcript have always had a pernicious 
 influence on art. It brought about the ruin of “white- 
 
 line” engraving invented by Bewick. 
 
 In Japan the early color-print was the result of three 
 
 - men collaborating—the artist, the woodcutter, and the 
 
 printer. The second phase was the reproduction of the 
 
 Old Masters; here the artist’s guidance being removed, 
 
 the woodcutter and the printer alone remained to 
 
 4 imitate as faithfully as they were able the example 
 before them, even the accidents of time and decay being 
 
 literally copied. 
 9 
 
They achieved supreme execution, but their work 
 was devoid of originality. Finally, the color-print, at 
 first the labour of three men, was reduced to two, when 
 only imitation was required. In the West the artist 
 who desired to make color-prints was forced to do 
 everything himself, as trained craftsmen did not exist; 
 he was seriously handicapped by the want of technical 
 knowledge, but unity of purpose tended to originality; 
 nevertheless some artists, indifferent to this, and only 
 requiring replicas of their work, have not scrupled to 
 go to Japan and employ her craftsmen to reproduce 
 their work, and in so doing have acquired much false 
 glory. This evil practice is fatal to the true cause of the 
 color-print. 
 
 The inherent charm of a water-color print is its 
 elusive directness of execution. In painting, the artist 
 has to struggle with three aspects simultaneously—his 
 idea, form, and color. In the woodcut the two former, 
 design and drawing, respectively, can be disposed of at 
 leisure, which leaves the artist free to concentrate on 
 the perfect harmony of color, and then imprison it for 
 ever, without correction, on the beautiful silky surface 
 of Japanese paper. The directness of water-color 
 printing is akin to fresco painting—neither the one nor 
 the other permits of a false touch or desecrating correc- 
 tion. Both have a virgin quality of surface similar to 
 the undefiled freshness of fruit and flower. The broad 
 silhouettes of form, and gradations of color, make the 
 watercolor print the decorative equivalent in our 
 
 10 
 
homes to-day of what the fresco was in the palace of 
 yesterday. 
 
 Needless to say that the skill requisite to realize this 
 demands a knowledge of the materials and the essential 
 technical details, which will enable the artist to express 
 his visions with unerring certainty—of all the difficulties 
 to be encountered the beginner will find printing the 
 most formidable, and in this matter no one is better 
 qualified to instruct us than Mr. Phillips, who has a 
 complete mastery of his craft. He has the practice in 
 addition to the theory. His prints are not the chance 
 survivors from countless failures. I have had the 
 privilege of watching him print on many an informal 
 occasion, and can speak with confidence, happy in the 
 thought that it was just such prints which had brought 
 
 two strangers together. 
 
 Chenil Studios 
 Chelsea. 
 
 11 
 
AUTHOR'S PREFACE 
 
 I@xj}OME ten years ago I produced a score of bad 
 IMSS] etchings which made me, and many others I 
 We) 2) have no doubt, very unhappy. My thoughts 
 " were in color; consequently I had little sym- 
 pathy with the convention of line as a means of expres- 
 sion; I came to abominate the cold unresponsive nature 
 of metal, the smell of acid and oil, and the dirtiness of 
 printing inks. I meditated sadly upon the fact that if 
 Meryon had not become afflicted with color-blindness, 
 he never could have forsaken canvas for copper, and 
 that Michael Angelo must have loved color, though he 
 never had much time to play with it, for Vasari said 
 that he was so pleased with Martin Schongauer’s print 
 “St. Anthony tormented by the Devils” that he set 
 himself to color it. Then I recalled an article in “The 
 Studio” by Allen W. Seaby on printing from wood- 
 blocks, re-read it, and the mutation from desire to ac- 
 complishment resulted. A magazine article on such a 
 subject may be inspiring, as this was emphatically, but 
 its brevity precludes its use as a manual. I had, there- 
 fore, all the fun of experimenting blindly more or less, 
 which perhaps fired my enthusiasm. Morley Fletcher's 
 book unfortunately did not come my way until recently, 
 or I would have been saved many pitfalls. However, 
 he inspired Allen Seaby, who activated me, so that he 
 merits my acknowledgments. I tender very grateful 
 13 
 
acknowledgments also to my fellow color-printers Wil- 
 liam Giles, Allen W. Seaby, Y. Urushibara, and 
 Frances H. Gearhart, for sympathy and generous con- 
 tributions in an interchange of ideas, and to the three 
 first and to John Platt, A. J. Musgrove, and Martin 
 Hardie of the Victoria & Albert Museum for permission 
 to reproduce their work or prints in their possession. 
 
 Winnipeg, Feb. 28, 1926. 
 
ot 
 q 
 +i 
 a4 
 ‘ 
 i’ : 7 
 oe 
 i 3 
 yo 
 ry 
 r i 
 53 lee 
 : 
 ih, a 
 
THE COLOR WOOD-CUT 
 
 Chapter I 
 
 Peer RDN DE 
 
 4) apposite and euphonious name for the prod- 
 Iz j ucts of this delicate craft. It is variously 
 called the color wood-cut, wood-block print, 
 color-print from wood-blocks, wood-cut in color, and 
 chromoxylograph. To enlightened enthusiasts, how- 
 ever, certain distinguishing features reveal its identity 
 at a glance: no label is necessary. Even our unsophis- 
 ticated friends who annoy us by remarking, “How 
 Japanese,” subconsciously recognize those characteris- 
 tics which are peculiar also to a Japanese print, dimly 
 remembered perhaps. The annoyance arises from the 
 feared implication that we are copyists in subject or 
 treatment, or both, whereas the common qualities that 
 establish the relationship result merely from a similarity 
 of method. Simplicity, which involves direct graphic 
 statement and purity and transparency of color, is an 
 essential feature, and one consequent upon the tech- 
 nique; a virtue easy of attainment. Regarded technically 
 the craft is the simplest ever devised. It is the oldest 
 too. No press is necessary; nothing save a plank and a 
 knife to make the engraving, and paper, color, and 
 17 
 
brushes, with a printing pad (for which many things 
 will serve) to secure an impression. 
 
 In the days of the illuminated manuscript the wood- 
 cut was sometimes used for capital letters, but in out- 
 line only. The print was colored by hand. So were the 
 earlier Japanese prints. Several authoritative historical 
 accounts of the craft have been published, also complete 
 descriptions of Japanese methods. It is unnecessary to 
 deal with history here, but you—potential chromoxylog- 
 raphist, to whom I address these remarks—had better 
 make an immediate, if for the present slight, acquain- 
 tance with traditional practice before we can discuss 
 the physical aspects of the color wood-cut. 
 
 THE TRADITIONAL JAPANESE MetTHop. ‘The artist 
 made a drawing with the point of a brush and Chinese 
 ink on paper of a landscape, an actor, a fish or a bird, 
 and gave it to the block-cutter to engrave, with some 
 instruction regarding color. The block-cutter pasted the 
 drawing face down on a polished plank of mountain 
 cherry wood. (Those who have heard that wood- 
 engravings are cut on the end grain of box-wood or 
 maple must not confuse that process with this. Cherry 
 wood is cut plankwise: with the grain and not across it. 
 The thickness is, roughly, one inch). He scraped away 
 the superfluous thickness of paper, and oiled the rem- 
 nant in order to render it transparent and so clarify the 
 drawing. With a knife and a gouge he cut away the 
 portions of wood uncovered by the drawing to the depth 
 of perhaps one-eighth of an inch, so that eventually he 
 
 18 
 
A Japanese artist’s drawing for a woodcut 
 (From a drawing by Hokusai, in the Victoria and Albert Museum) 
 
_ 
 
had a facsimile of the original drawing in reverse in 
 wood and in relief. He brushed over this a black pow- 
 der pigment ground in water, and finally a little paste 
 to bind it. Damp paper was superimposed and the back 
 of it rubbed with a baren (a pad covered with bamboo 
 leaf). An exact reproduction of the original drawing 
 resulted. He pasted this on the other side of the cherry- 
 wood block, and as before proceeded to lower that por- 
 tion of the surface which in the finished print would 
 be void of a certain color. A second print was taken 
 from the first—the key-block—and pasted on a second 
 block of wood, which he cut for another color. And so 
 the process continued until all the requisite colors were 
 accounted for, ten or twelve perhaps, when a second 
 craftsman, the printer, took charge. The finished print 
 was made up of impressions from each of the blocks 
 dealt with successively. The system of making the 
 several blocks fit, or of registering them accurately, is 
 described later on. 
 
 There is a Japanese print in the British Museum de- 
 picting the various processes in the fabrication of a 
 print. The exponents are young ladies. They were 
 never employed for the purpose, but they grace the pic- 
 ture, and demonstrate things quite effectively. 
 
 The Japanese print of the best period is straightfor- 
 ward and simple: an outline in black filled in where 
 necessary with flat washes of color relieved only by 
 occasional gradations or patterns. Most processes at 
 present in use are based upon it, and many modern art- 
 ists find in the method an adequate vehicle for the 
 
 19 
 
expression of their own ideas. The thin, unemotional, 
 but very expressive line is now expanded to indicate 
 shadow and depth, or manipulated to suggest textural 
 differences. Instead of being entirely negative in color 
 —the Japanese line is gray, occasionally, as with Uta- 
 maro, flesh-red—it has become positive. In Miss 
 Mabel Royd’s or Miss Frances Gearhart’s work, for 
 example, it has the full value of black in the black and 
 white wood-cut, and is originally designed with pictorial 
 completeness. In William Giles’ recent work it has 
 vanished altogether as outline. Apart from its technical 
 significance, in relation to Japanese practice, the reten- 
 tion of outline by modern artists is the result of their 
 appreciation of its esthetic value. 
 
 No modern maker of color-prints yet has attempted 
 to adopt the stereoscopic perspective peculiarly Orien- 
 tal, which is contrary to the laws of our somewhat con- 
 ventional science. The cubists adopted it, and that was 
 one of the most reasonable things they did, for the 
 science of perspective is based on the doubtful axiom 
 that we are equipped with only one eye—and that im- 
 movable. Hold a small box in the position depicted 
 below, near to the eye, then vote for the more accurate 
 presentment of what you see. 
 
Of course this applies to very near objects only. But 
 neither system is accurate applied universally. 
 
 While some of us follow somewhat blindly the tradi- 
 tions of Nippon, others actually employ Japanese crafts- 
 men. /\n original print, however, one which may be 
 signed by the artist with a clear conscience, is defined as 
 one designed, cut, and printed by the artist, and exclu- 
 sive societies, such as the Society of Graver-Printers 
 in Color, of London, admit only these to their exhi- 
 bitions. 
 
 SCOPE OF THE Woop-CuT IN Cotor. Artists are 
 perennially implored to consider “the limitations of the 
 medium.” Whoever invented this expression exag- 
 gerated the limitations of the English language. Weare 
 not concerned with what effects cannot be produced 
 with our materials. As a matter of fact it is possible, 
 if futile, to reproduce a water-color painting with 
 fidelity. A great many color blocks would be needed, 
 the hard edges of printing surfaces, the impressions of 
 wood-grain, and other characteristics would have to be 
 obscured: all of which we are rightly adjured to retain 
 and to cherish. Mr. Platt very clearly calls this senti- 
 ment “the regard for material.” 
 
 Happily simplicity, a great virtue in art, is here a 
 necessity, or at least the result of the limitation of the 
 number of blocks used. The skill attained by the Jap- 
 anese craftsmen in the early nineteenth century, led 
 them into useless technical complexities. Now it is 
 almost entirely a reproductive medium. The pages of 
 the “Kokka” abound in fine examples. All who fre- 
 
 21 
 
quent picture shops are familiar with the Japanese 
 reproductions of drawings by Charles Bartlett, Eliza- 
 beth Keith, and Bertha Lum, and have enjoyed the per- 
 fect collaboration of Frank Brangwyn and Yoshijiro 
 Urushibara. There is no question of degeneration. 
 Urushibara has never been surpassed from the point of 
 view of technique, it is only that the Japanese masters 
 of painting have ceased to regard the color wood-cut as 
 a means of original expression, in which the materials 
 contribute to the beauty of the design as well as to its 
 fabrication. We must so regard it. Lest I should seem 
 to do Urushibara an injustice, I must add that in addi- 
 tion to his reproductive work he is responsible for some 
 of the most interesting original prints of recent years. 
 
 GRADATIONS AND Harp Epces. A beautiful feature 
 in the color wood-cut, and one unique in printing, is 
 color gradation. The impression of wood-grain is also 
 unique and must be considered, not only as regards tex- 
 ture and visibility, but for the occasional possibility of 
 the expression of form. A soft wood, with hard annu- 
 lations, such as fir, prints very clearly. 
 
 The hard edges of all cut shapes—tiines as well as 
 color masses—are not peculiar to the wood-cut, but 
 modifications are possible, and hard edges provide the 
 necessity for sound and simple drawing. 
 
 Mr. Seaby’s “Hare” (page 22) admirably illustrates 
 color gradation, achieved in the gray background by 
 gradating color on the wood in the same way as on paper 
 in watercolor painting, and in the change from brown 
 
 22 
 
Hare” By Allen W. Seaby 
 With a full-size fragment in color 
 
e* 
 
to white in the hare’s fur by scraping the wood with a 
 knife, thus creating a necessary texture also. 
 
 In Urushibara’s line print (page 24) the leaf veins are 
 soft on one side—an effect gained by slightly bevelling 
 the wood with a knife or with sand paper. 
 
 Local gradations are made in printing. Two brushes 
 are sometimes used, one charged with more potent color 
 than the other. Line blocks are nearly always printed 
 with some variation of tone, and often in color too. 
 The lost edges of the hair in the fragment of “Gloam- 
 ing” (page 24) were obtained by printing the dark 
 brown wetly with a generous amount of pigment on 
 quite damp paper, and over-printing the gray (the 
 water), thus causing a spread and gradual dissemination 
 of the superfluous brown. 
 
 An obvious method for mitigating hard edges is to 
 engrave shade lines as you draw them with a pen, a 
 pencil, or an etching needle. 
 
 Tue Supject. Any subject is suitable provided it is 
 of sufficient interest, but the design must be very care- 
 fully considered, and plenty of time and thought given 
 to its construction. It isa responsible undertaking, the 
 making of prints. You may be guilty of perpetrating 
 an ineffable painting, but make a print of it and your 
 crime is a hundred times worse. Subjects may be sought 
 from among your paintings, or in your sketch-book, or 
 you may deliberately make drawings with a print in 
 view. Any medium may be used for recording suitable 
 ideas. The Japanese artist invariably drew with a brush, 
 
 23 
 
but since a long and arduous apprenticeship gave him 
 facility with this instrument, and you have not had that 
 advantage, I would not recommend it. “It looked very 
 simple,” wrote Mrs. Bertha Jaques, in her delightful 
 monograph on Helen Hyde, “and I secretly thought it 
 easy to do; but repeated trials convinced me that 
 such skill is not Heaven-born with the unpractised 
 occidental.” 
 
 While a line and wash drawing would suit Mr. Platt, 
 Mr. Giles would work from a painting in full color. 
 Whatever the medium a cartoon in color is usually 
 made, wherein form is very carefully defined, and due 
 regard has been given to the simplification of its color 
 scheme, its tonal effects and shapes, to accord with the 
 number of blocks to be used. Some of the tonal and 
 chromatic subtilties which you seem to sacrifice here 
 may be picked up again in printing. 
 
 The first block you engrave must serve as a key for 
 those that follow, and therefore must embrace as much 
 of the design as possible. It may not be a pure line block 
 at all. Make it a prevailing color if you like—in a 
 figure the color of the flesh shadows; in a sunlit land- 
 scape the sun shadows—purple or gray. 
 
 Whatever color you select trace it out upon a sheet 
 of, say, rice paper in soft pencil, or pen or brush and 
 water-proof ink. Place this tracing between sheets of 
 damp newspaper, and let it absorb moisture whilst we 
 meditate upon the many varieties of wood, and a little 
 longer upon the key-block. 
 
 24 
 
block by Y. 
 
 ine 
 
 fragment of a li 
 
 S1Ze 
 
 oa 
 
 Full 
 
 ibara. 
 
 sh 
 
 Uni 
 
From “A Courtesan” by Yeizan From “The Bather” 
 A print in the possession of by the author. 
 Mr. A. J. Musgrove.’ 
 
 From “Norman Bay” 
 by the author. by the author. 
 
 From ‘“Gloaming” 
 
 Full-size fragments of three color-prints showing three methods 
 of mitigating hard edges. 
 
Two or more planes in a picture often necessitate the 
 cutting of two line blocks. 
 
 A key-block may be cut with every form outlined, 
 irrespective of tone or color, and in the final printing 
 may be eliminated wholly or in part. 
 
 Outline may be avoided also by a system of additions 
 in which succeeding color-blocks are printed to form 
 a key for the next: thus 1 is the key for 2, 1 and 2 for 3, 
 1, 2 and 3 for 4, and so on. 
 
 An alternative method: Make your cartoon in color 
 on stout tracing paper, which may be conveniently 
 stretched in a double frame, and trace each color as 
 required directly upon the wood. | 
 
 20 
 
CUTTING 
 
From a print by Kunisada in the possession of the author. 
 
Chapter II 
 
 CUTTING 
 
 IOOD. We require a wood of an even texture 
 YING { j —that is, of a consistency by virtue of which 
 fej the grain will present no more resistance 
 — to the knife than the interstices—yet hard 
 enough to withstand a certain amount of wear, and to 
 permit of crisp edges to the finest lines. Cherrywood 
 is one of the few that possesses all these qualities, and 
 although there are many varieties, each is reasonably 
 good. The Japanese cutter used mountain cherry, 
 heavier than the wild cherry that grows in England, 
 which Mr. Seaby has used and of which he has written. 
 Canadian cherry is between the two in appearance but 
 it is more brittle, and it is cut in a way which suits the 
 lumber trade rather than the engraver. However, 
 selected planks are sometimes perfect. 
 
 Kauri is a wood from New Zealand whose suitability 
 for this purpose was discovered and exploited by Mr. 
 Giles. It is remarkable for apparent absence of grain. 
 
 Walnut, maple, chestnut, pear, and oak have all been 
 used, but American oak and walnut are unsuitable. 
 Though the ideal method is to use blocks sawn from 
 one plank for one print, a soft wood is often substituted 
 
 29 
 
for the color blocks, for reasons of speed and economy. 
 Lime, whitewood and gumwood (Circassian walnut) 
 are good for this purpose. | 
 
 All woods must be well seasoned. They must also be 
 handled and stored with judgment. Do not, for example, 
 leave wood exposed to direct sunlight or to heat or 
 damp unless you wish it to warp. If warping does occur © 
 it may be corrected by damping the concave and drying 
 the convex sides. 
 
 I have a set of blocks of which the key is English and 
 the colors Canadian cherrywood. The former is no 
 more than half an inch thick and somewhat green, and 
 is just as competent an instrument as the barometer for 
 recording variations in atmospheric humidity. Its length 
 varies from eight and a quarter inches to eight and a 
 half according to the weather, towards which the other 
 blocks maintain a rigid indifference. Consequently, un- 
 less I choose my day, printing must be preceded by some 
 very careful adjustments. 
 
 Warping, shrinking and expansion will play tricks 
 with any system of registration, therefore buy wood by 
 the plank, an inch thick, so that you may be sure of 
 having seasoned wood to use. 
 
 PREPARATION OF Woop. Wood must be planed first — 
 and then scraped. For the latter purpose try discarded 
 safety razor blades. One scraping is not sufficient. 
 Dampen the wood and loose fibre ends will appear: 
 these must be shaved away. Prepare both sides. 
 
 30 
 
B- 
 Cc. 
 D-A block Fitt 
 clamped en 
 
 Diagram showing block with clamped ends, the Japanese 
 and American manner of cutting planks, and the cutting 
 of boxwood. 
 
 = 
 Wtf / 
 oy 
 
 NY, 
 
 Ys 
 WS 
 AS 
 
 Ue: 
 
 Various cutting tools. 
 
“ 
 
- Risk isk of warping is diminished by clamping the ends, 
 as in the diagram. 
 = Tf possible the wood surface should admit of at least 
 re an inch margin around the design, for a purpose which 
 wil be explained hereafter. 
 
 _ TRANSFER OF TRACING To Woop. Make some starch, 
 ‘rice, or flour paste, and brush it over the block evenly 
 ae more than once. Do not hurry over it. Recover your 
 tracing, which will be damp enough by now, and lay it 
 bes dce up on your drawing board. Take up the block in 
 
 your hands and lay it, pasted surface down, upon the 
 _ tracing. Smooth out the creases if there are any, but 
 Se refully, because some papers will stretch very easily. 
 
 | Now you have the tracing reversed, on the wood, and 
 - when dry it is ready to cut. 
 
 Woop Susstitutzs. Linoleum is used as a substitute 
 
 _ for wood, but the word is often anathema to the serious 
 _ engraver, who regards it justly as lacking in character 
 
 and vitality. 
 
 _ Mr. Giles has perfected a method of surface printing 
 
 - oe metal plates, which is capable of great refinement 
 
 See ae Toots. The difference between a wood-cut 
 id a wood-engraving lies in the fact that the former is 
 fashioned with a knife, the other with a graver. The 
 knife deals efficiently with wood cut plankwise, the 
 33 er with wood cut across the grain—end-grain it is 
 d. My knife has a flexible blade. I hold it as I 
 
 hold a . pencil or a pen, and it is almost as serviceable a 
 31 
 
drawing instrument. Its best and most frequent stroke 
 is towards me. But any pointed blade will do if it is 
 sharp enough. 
 
 You need an oil-stone and a strop. The latter is a 
 thick piece of leather mounted upon a slab of wood, and 
 dressed with crocus powder. A few rubs of the blade 
 on this every few minutes will keep the edge keen, and 
 the oil-stone will be needed rarely. 
 
 You may now commence to cut your block. Rest it 
 upon the table in front of you, with a folded piece of 
 cloth beneath it if it has no clamps. If the design is not 
 perfectly clear rub oil over it. 
 
 Select a line. The wood on both sides of it must be 
 cut away. The original wood surface is the printing 
 surface, and that part of it not actually occupied by 
 your design must be lowered. Your isolated line must 
 stand up alone. For two good reasons the Rnife cuts 
 must be at an angle. First, with a broad base a fine line 
 has a good chance of survival, and second, another cut 
 must be made to clear the line—the two completing a 
 V-cut, which is clean and expeditious. 
 
 Sa san Va SRE 0 7 ASE 
 one cut twocuts three cuts the line cleared 
 
 The direction of the stroke is necessarily varied, 
 since it is impossible to continuously, in cutting, turn a 
 large plank to accommodate a particular stroke. 
 
 32 
 
When all lines have been cleared in this way, there 
 are still surfaces left which must not print. Remove 
 them with gouges and a small chisel. 
 
 Wood-carver’s tools are quite suitable, though the 
 smaller sizes are better fitted with round ends such as 
 the wood-engraver uses—they then have the advantage 
 of being manageable with one hand. Their full length 
 should be from four and a half to six inches, to suit the 
 size of your hand. They should be held in this way: 
 
 OW TO HANDLE 
 mie LNG TOOLS 
 ae the G Yaver 
 
 % wpe ~~ Soy 
 a \ 
 
 aE 
 
 — 
 
 Get a carpenter to show you how to hold the wood- 
 carving tools; a diagram will not help you much, though 
 I have provided one. There must be something against 
 which the plank may be pushed, or you cannot use a 
 gouge conveniently. A screw will do, projecting about 
 half an inch above the table top, but a strip of wood 
 
 33 
 
nailed to it is more useful. A careful and experienced 
 craftsman never cuts himself because he keeps his tools 
 sharp and never takes chances. Keep your left hand 
 out of the way of a possible slip and remember that a 
 blunt tool is more dangerous than a sharp one. 
 
 Clear the wood away from the furthest limits of the 
 design—about one inch beyond them, but at one corner, 
 most conveniently the bottom right-hand corner—cut a 
 right angle with half-inch arms and clear the wood from 
 within them. On the left bottom edge of the block cut 
 a half-inch line (don’t bother to measure it) level with 
 the lower arm of the right angle. These cuts must be 
 vertical, and may be made with a chisel and mallet; they 
 are to hold the trimmed edges of the printing paper later 
 on and serve as register marks. The diagram makes this 
 matter clear. 
 
 34 
 
Printing anc Sizing D 
 
 Types of brushes used for sizing and printing. 
 
Thus the outer edges of the design are cleared, ensur- 
 ing a finished print with a perfectly clean margin. 
 
 How Dzzp to Curt. Regarding the depth to which 
 waste areas need be lowered: do not exceed one six- 
 teenth of an inch at the edges, but as you get away from 
 them go deeper. The middle of a reduced section should | 
 be the deepest, because damp printing paper will sag 
 where it has no support. However, the very first im- 
 pression taken from your block will show you how far 
 you are right. 
 
 Istanps. ‘There is no need to excavate the whole of 
 a very large waste area. The middle of it may be left 
 standing, but the edges of this “island” must be rounded 
 with a chisel, and afterwards sandpapered to prevent 
 blind impressions on the printing paper. 
 
 Broken Lines, or parts otherwise spoiled, may be 
 mended by inlaying a fresh piece of wood. It isa thank- 
 less task, and one cannot help but admire the Japanese 
 craftsman who would inlay a piece of boxwood delib- 
 erately where very fine cutting was necessary. The 
 method is to shape your “peg,” then dig a hole to fit it, 
 or vice versa. Glue will help. 
 
 When the cutting and the clearing are finished wash 
 off the remains of the rice paper and prepare to print. 
 
 IMPRESSIONS FROM THE Key Brock. At this stage cut 
 
 a cardboard mask of the size of the print including mar- 
 
 gins. Place it on sized printing paper (the process of 
 
 sizing is explained subsequently) and cut around it to 
 35 
 
secure printing sheets of the correct size. Cut sheets of 
 newspaper an inch or more larger all round than the 
 printing sheets, and brush water evenly over them. 
 Place alternate sheets of newsprint and printing paper 
 ona board and cover with another. After half an hour 
 remove newsprint except the sheets at the top and bot- 
 tom of the pile. In perhaps an hour the printing sheets 
 will be damped consistently and ready for printing. Use 
 a black pigment for printing. Lamp-black ground in 
 water, or in gum water, will do. Brush it over the block, 
 and add a little paste—very little. There must be no 
 superfluous paint or paste between lines or anywhere 
 else. The pigment on the block should be damp but not 
 wet. Apply a sheet of printing paper—the right-hand 
 bottom corner fitting the right angle, and the bottom 
 edge the cut line in the left-hand corner. Rub lightly 
 with the printing pad over a protecting sheet of butter 
 
 Paper. 
 
 While the sheet is still damp—providing no correc- 
 tions are needed—paste face down upon another block. 
 
 Paper expands in varying degrees when damped, and 
 for this reason the last caution needs emphasis. Never 
 paste down a dry key impression: If you do, the shock 
 will come when all the engraving and printing is done. 
 The offending color may be a quarter of an inch short 
 of requirements, and a hiatus of that dimension in an 
 otherwise perfect correlation is quite annoying. It is 
 well therefore to have a new block freshly covered with 
 paste ready to take the impression immediately it is 
 
 36 
 
pulled. Or if a number of impressions are dealt with 
 keep them between damp sheets. 
 
 It is sometimes necessary to allow the impression to 
 dry in order to draw color shapes upon it which have 
 not been outlined on the key block. In this case be sure 
 when pasting down that the paper is of the same degree 
 of humidity as when it was printed. 
 
 Care must be taken to cut away sufficient wood be- 
 tween the edge of the design and the edge of the block 
 to ensure that the margin of the print shall be safe from 
 paint smudges. 
 
 PLANNING THE Cotor Biocxs. When the key is in 
 pure outline the planning of the color blocks is a 
 straight-forward matter exemplified by almost any Jap- 
 anese print. Local color broken only by pattern and 
 modified perhaps by gradations, fills in the spaces out- 
 lined. Broadly speaking one block is cut for one color. 
 Even the addition of light and shade does not complicate 
 matters unduly. But the subtile tonal and chromatic 
 changes for which we now look in landscape may be 
 represented only by the cutting of more blocks and by 
 overprinting. | 
 
 The tendency is to simplify, to cut down the number 
 of blocks. Instead of using a blue and a yellow and a 
 green you try to eliminate the green block and get that 
 color by printing blue over yellow. Tone is a factor 
 which prevents the extended use of overprinting, 
 however. The blue of the sky is not intense enough to 
 give a vivid green, say, for the foreground. But the 
 
 37 
 
carnations of the flesh are invariably and best done in 
 this way. Gray in landscape is a valuable undertone. 
 In “Wylye Mill Bridge” the ground color is gray with 
 only the high lights (in the sky) picked out. Though 
 by overprinting a better surface finish is sometimes 
 acquired, avoid too much of it. It is bad technique— 
 though it happens—to have a number of colors print- 
 ing one over the other. The paper becomes sodden, 
 which causes delay. 
 
 Make sure the grain of the wood is consistent in qual- 
 ity and direction with the texture of whatever the 
 color surface represents. In selecting wood for a line 
 block let the grain run in the general direction of the 
 lines, if possible, since a line cut along the grain is less 
 likely to chip than one cut across. 
 
 Rather than use a cheap, thin, and more or less trans- 
 parent paper for working proofs, use ordinary printing 
 paper, or a fairly heavy paper anyway. If it is too thick 
 and opaque after pasting down it may be stripped very 
 easily. When dry separate the superfluous stratum with 
 a knife at one corner and rip it off boldly. Subsequent 
 oiling is necessary. The reason for my preference for 
 heavy paper is that it permits of greater accuracy in 
 printing. A thin paper will sag over every depression 
 and so cause mistakes in dimension. 
 
 Considering one color only, cut around all the 
 masses that contain it and remove the intervening 
 shapes. Only the surface covered by that one color 
 must remain intact. 
 
 38 
 
“Mary at the Lake” Color-print by the author, 
 showing the impression of fir-grain in the 
 background. 
 
Cut along the middle of a fine line which defines a 
 color mass. Do not neglect to cut carefully around the 
 corner of the paper which in the process of printing 
 fitted the right angle (the register mark) which you cut 
 on the key block, and along the edge which fitted the 
 line. Make exactly similar cuts to those on the key 
 block. Done properly this is a perfect system of register; 
 on the other hand it is often the cause of much tribula- 
 tion to the careless worker. 
 
 Two colors far enough apart may be cut on one block. 
 
 A. simple arrangement of a few colors is generally 
 effective where the surfaces are simple and as far as 
 possible unbroken. Study the possible effects of wood 
 grains, and avoid such mistakes as a vertical grain in a 
 sky, or a diagonal grain in a sheet of water. On occasion 
 it is desirable to select a piece of wood whose grain will 
 not print readily; and conversely a wood like fir which 
 prints a most definite grain pattern, has its uses. 
 
 When all the color blocks are cut you are ready to 
 print. 
 
PRINTING 
 
Chapter III 
 PRINTING 
 
 Ps 
 
 EVIES\\\4\PER. Japanese papers are the only suitable 
 W\9-XS%) papers obtainable at present. They are made 
 expressly for hand printing, and are tough 
 enough to withstand hard usage in a damp 
 condition, a quality imparted by the long fibre from 
 which they are manufactured. Of these Hosho is the 
 most venerable. It is made from fibre taken from young 
 mulberry shoots, and may be recognized by the water- 
 mark-lines, roughly one inch apart, covering the whole 
 sheet. It is not so tough as Torinoko, a paper designed 
 to hold up under the protracted processes of reproduc- 
 tion practised in Japan; which sometimes involve an 
 extraordinary number of printings. Torinoko is manu- 
 factured from fibres of a species of mallow. Its surtace 
 is glossier and more perfect than that of Hosho, and it is 
 usually heavier. The difference in texture of printed 
 surfaces on these papers makes this description neces- 
 sary. With Hosho, pigment apparently remains on the 
 surface, though actually it penetrates the paper. With 
 Torinoko pigments become incorporated with the paper 
 to a greater extent, so much so that it is often impossible 
 to move them once printed. The best period of Japa- 
 nese color-prints was pre-Torinoko. A number of 
 artists still prefer Hosho, the whiter paper; it is by no 
 means superseded. 
 
 43 
 
The hard grained surface of European etching or 
 drawing papers takes an unpleasant mottled impression 
 —one spotted with white, or whatever color the paper 
 may be—an effect which the pseudo-craftsman often de- 
 scribes as atmospheric, and similar to that resulting from 
 a badly prepared wood-surface which is covered with 
 holes and indentations. But occasionally a printmaker 
 makes a brave effort to use it. 
 
 The satin texture of printed pigment, discernible in 
 good prints, can be attained only by the use of a perfect 
 wood surface, Japanese paper properly sized, pigments 
 ground in water and applied with paste, and much ex- 
 perience. If you examine the back of such a print you 
 will see that the pigment penetrates the paper, and 
 seems to have become a part of it. 
 
 A certain amount of size may be soaked out of Euro- 
 pean papers it is true, but this leaves them too fragile to 
 handle in a damp condition. They are made up of too 
 short fibres. 
 
 Sizinc Paper. The following mixture (Mr. Urushi- 
 bara’s recipe) is sufficient to size about fourteen sheets 
 of Torinoko paper (Imperial) on both sides: 
 
 A luni itecaae Gy avenge l~Q 07. 
 Gelatine Wen ee 4 0%. 
 W ater is ues cnn te 35 028. 
 
 Hosho paper should be sized only on one side, with 
 half the quantity of water. 
 Heat the water but do not let it boil. Add the gela- 
 tine and when that is completely dissolved add the alum. 
 44 
 
Different papers and different woods require slight 
 modifications of the recipe. So does a change in atmos- 
 pheric conditions. The necessary amount of modifica- 
 tion is slight and is best decided by experience. Mr. 
 Urushibara advises a pinch more of alum for soft woods 
 such as whitewood, or for a soft paper or for a dry 
 climate. 
 
 A. BrusH For Sizinc. A broad brush is needed, 
 neither thick nor long in the hair. My own is of Jap- 
 anese manufacture, six inches in width, the hair one 
 and a quarter long and three-eighths of an inch thick. 
 
 Lay a sheet of Hosho paper upon a drawing board 
 flat upon the table, smooth side uppermost. With your 
 brush full, but not too full of warm size, cover the paper 
 evenly. It is a delicate process; use the brush as care- 
 fully as though you were painting a portrait. Starting 
 at one edge continue until you reach the other with a 
 band the full width of the brush. The second stroke 
 must touch the first but not overlap it. If possible do 
 not go over the same place twice. 
 
 Do not flood the paper. 
 Keep the size warm. 
 
 The brush strokes should follow the same direction 
 as the lines which constitute the watermark. 
 Lay a second sheet over the first, and proceed in the 
 same way. 
 Creases made during sizing are permanent. There- 
 fore carefully avoid making them. 
 45 
 
Leave the pile of sized sheets for a while, so that the 
 size may spread evenly through it, but not too long, say 
 half an hour. 
 
 Now lay each sheet to dry wpon newspaper spread 
 upon the floor, or suspend it from a line strung across 
 the room as clothes ave hung up to dry. Use wooden 
 clips for the latter purpose. 
 
 The rate of drying varies of course. Once in my 
 experience in England, notoriously humid, a whole win- 
 ter’s day and a night failed to harden a sheet, whereas 
 an hour on a Canadian summer’s day will suffice. Eng’ 
 land’s comparative humidity, however, fills the printer’s 
 heart with joy. It had much to do with the acknowl 
 edged pre-eminence of the English School of Water- 
 Color Painting. It is early to claim pre-eminence for 
 English chromoxylographists, but the craft flourishes, 
 and many boldly make the claim. In that country one 
 is never bothered unduly by printing paper which dries 
 prematurely, or by wood so dry that much energy must 
 be expended in getting it into proper condition. 
 
 Torinoko paper must be sized on both sides with the 
 weaker mixture. 
 
 PIGMENT. Buy only colors of proved permanence, in 
 powder form—not necessarily finely ground, but dry. 
 
 Mr. Howell C. Brown, of California, and his brother 
 have done good work in testing various makes of pig- 
 ments. Some results of their labor are recorded in the 
 Original Color Print Magazine for 1925. They have 
 
 46 
 
established the reputation of one color at least—Cad- 
 mium Red—which is a notable addition to the modern 
 palette. 
 
 Luminosity is a quality dependent as much on tech- 
 nique as on the physical properties of individual pig- 
 ments. When you are experienced in prints you will 
 notice that, held to or against the light at a particular 
 angle, the richness of printed color is very much en- 
 hanced. Mr. Giles has written of this phenomenon, 
 which he calls dichroism, borrowing the term from 
 mineralogy. 
 
 Opaque and transparent pigments must be differen- 
 tiated, both as regards design and over-printing. Opaque 
 colors printed over others often are effective. The addi- 
 tion of white to give body and opacity to transparent 
 pigment is justified on occasion. Mr. Urushibara has a 
 print in which slim grasses and flowers with hovering 
 butterflies are overprinted on a ground of solid black. 
 Some artists justly question the propriety of using colors 
 which change in artificial light, regarding the fact that 
 pictures are more often viewed thereby than by day- 
 light. Blue, for example, unless with a greenish bias, 
 loses most of its quality. 
 
 Some colors print very easily and smoothly, but oth- 
 ers sometimes need the addition of glue or gum to ease 
 their transference from wood to paper. The color is 
 ground in water, conveniently on a ground glass slab 
 with a muller. 
 
 Mepium. The medium or binder is paste, made with 
 starch, flour or rice. The first is most easily made, but 
 
 47 
 
its adhesive properties are apt to injure the surface of 
 the paper if too much is used. Rice paste does no harm 
 in that way. 
 
 To make starch paste, mix dry starch with enough 
 cold water to make a stiff cream. (A teaspoonful of 
 starch makes a cup of paste). Add boiling water, stir- 
 ring the while, until the liquid thickens. If it does not 
 thicken, boil it. 
 
 For printing add water after the thickening occurs, 
 until you have a liquid of the consistency of milk, be- 
 cause further coagulation takes place when the paste 
 cools. Rice flour or powder should always be boiled 
 with water. 
 
 Gum arabic may be used as a binder, with glycerine 
 or paste, for special purposes, where, perhaps, a little 
 more intensity of color is desired. 
 
 An intense black may be obtained by grinding the 
 crude pigment in warm glue size. This is the Tsuya- 
 Zumi of the Japanese. According to Mr. E. F. Strange 
 the glue-water medium used was made in the propor- 
 tion of about one-third of an ounce of glue to three- 
 fourths of a pint of water, in which a little alum had been 
 dissolved. This mixture coagulates of course unless it 
 is warmed, and may be kept some time in that condi- 
 tion without deterioration. While in use the vessel 
 containing it should be kept standing in a pan of hot 
 water. 
 
 BrusHes. A variety of brushes are suitable for 
 spreading color over the blocks. An inch hog-hair brush, 
 
 48 
 
such as is used for oil-painting, is adequate for smaller 
 areas, but a wider and thicker brush is better. Probably 
 the best is the badger brush made especially for this pur- 
 pose by the Bryce-Smith Company of London. An inch 
 brush of that type is an inch long in the bristle and 
 three-quarters of an inch thick. 
 
 Cut up newspaper two inches larger all round than 
 the printing paper. Dampen them evenly with a brush, 
 but not so much as to show a watery sheen on the sur- 
 face. On each sheet lay a piece of printing paper, right 
 side down (always stack your printing sheets in this 
 way), and leave the pile to stand with a board on top 
 for, say, one hour. A sheet of zinc or glass is really 
 preferable to a board, which very soon warps under this 
 treatment. 
 
 Take out the damp news:sheets, and distribute them 
 between top and bottom of the pile. Ina humid atmos- 
 phere one or two sheets only are necessary; the rest 
 may be removed altogether. Leave for at least one hour 
 and a half. Damp paper will not mildew for three days 
 at any rate. The most convenient time for damping is 
 the evening previous to the day of printing; the papers 
 may remain piled safely all night. 
 
 Japanese printers dip the printing sheets in water and 
 hang them up to drain. The time allowed for drainage 
 is about twenty minutes, but it depends obviously on 
 the state of the atmosphere. Blotting paper may be 
 used for absorbing superfluous moisture. 
 
 49 
 
OrHer NEcEgssitTizes FoR Printinc. The printing 
 pad, or baren, as it has come to be called, is not yet 
 standardised in the West, as it has been for more than 
 a century in Japan. The Japanese baren is a most effi- 
 cient tool, but dependent upon a steady supply of bam- 
 boo leaf which forms its outer covering. The body is 
 made up of a disc of cardboard, overlaid by a closely 
 woven web of twisted bamboo leaf. Horsehair is some- 
 times added. The cover, flat on the underside, is twisted 
 on the other, and its two ends tied to form a handle. 
 Buy one if you can—there is nothing so good. 
 
 A substitute, of hard wood, is easily constructed. My 
 own is merely a disc with one ribbed face, with a block 
 of wood forming a grip screwed or glued to the other. 
 The disc should be four or more inches in diameter, and 
 a quarter to one inch in thickness. The ribs may be 
 anything from four to twenty to the inch. The larger 
 ribs necessitate a thicker wood, and are made on a 
 planing machine. The small ones are cut on a wood- 
 engraver’s ruling machine, or they may be dug out lab- 
 oriously by hand with a V-tool or a graver. They 
 should be moulded into fairly shallow rounded shapes, 
 
 LA _L.—— OT OOO 
 
 because a cup-shaped depression will occasion suction 
 in rubbing, that is, besides forcing the printing paper 
 down to the wood it will tend to raise it again, which is 
 awkward. At intervals wipe the face of the baren with 
 
 50 
 
Aa 
 we \ PB . . 
 = rN / NS _—— A B 
 Zp 
 K, 
 
 \ tT 
 
 a OW) 
 
 : | 
 
 WI \) 
 
 Ny 
 
 | fpf 
 
 Mh IH) 
 
 Yi} 
 MA 
 
 Printing—applying the paper. 
 
oo 
 
an oil rag, unless like the oriental a rub on the back of 
 your head will give a similar result. 
 
 It is advisable to interpose a sheet of butter paper in 
 printing, as a protection to the print, though it is not 
 always necessary. 
 
 You will need also a rag or a sponge for cleaning the 
 blocks after each impression. 
 
 I have not yet mentioned any of the host of substi- 
 tutes for the baren, except my own, which I have found 
 to be effective. Mr. Giles has one constructed of ribbed 
 glass, with a wooden grip glued to the disc. Sharkskin, 
 book-muslin and other kinds of cloth have been recom- 
 mended as a substitute for bamboo leaf. Cloth of any 
 kind is especially futile, at least that is my experience; 
 apparently other artists have found it useful for it is 
 frequently mentioned. Such unlikely tools as a photog- 
 rapher’s squeegee (a rubber roller), and a cocoa tin lid, 
 give results. 
 
 All this equipment must be arranged tidily on the 
 table before you—the block directly in front with a wad 
 of wet paper or rag under each corner so that it cannot 
 slip; to the left your baren on a sheet of butter paper, 
 the oil rag beside it; to the right your glass color-slab and 
 muller, and brushes, and beyond them your bowls of 
 paste and clean water; beyond the block the pile of 
 printing sheets. 
 
 Do not think me fussy when I specify tidiness. It is 
 essential. The wet materials only too easily soil the 
 dry ones, which in turn soil the print unless you are 
 
 51 
 
watchful, and they must be separated as widely as pos- 
 sible. Cultivate cleanliness also in printing. Wash 
 rags, brushes and paint slab after each color, and always 
 work with clean water. 
 
 Burnp Printinc. This is a process of embossing for 
 which a block is cut with thought of a delicate relief but 
 no color. Much pressure is needed in printing. It is 
 evident that such blocks must not be cut in reverse, 
 and that the pattern to be printed must be impressed on 
 the back of the print. Rain might be effectively sug- 
 gested by this method, and some textures and patterns. 
 
 THE OrrENTAL Printer kept his coor in pots, 
 already ground in water and ready for use, and he sat 
 on the floor “with his legs neatly tucked away beneath 
 him,” as Mrs. Jaques describes Muratta san, “and was 
 nearly lost to view behind piles of papers, blotters, 
 printing blocks, a whole battalion of old blue and gray 
 bowls and brushes.” But I cannot sit comfortably on 
 the floor, and I like to mix color as I need it on the 
 
 ground glass slab. 
 
 Printinc. Brush the water-color vigorously over 
 the block, which should be damp—but not wet—on the 
 surface so that color will not dry too quickly on it. Add 
 a little paste and brush again, this time more carefully 
 and evenly, the final strokes as delicate as possible, cov- 
 ering the whole printing area and in one direction. 
 
 As to the amount of paste, a block six inches square 
 would require as much as would flow on a Canadian 
 nickel (or an English threepenny-bit). Too much paste 
 
 | 52 
 
—I am speaking of starch paste—will pull fibre ends 
 from the paper or, worse still, a fatal slice of its surface. 
 The latter catastrophe happens only when the paper is 
 soft owing to weak size, or when you neglect to wipe 
 from the wood the gathering film of superfluous paste 
 which in a very short time becomes sticky enough for a 
 fly trap. Rice paste does not offend so badly in this 
 way. Paste, pigment, and especially water must be used 
 sparingly; there should be no free moisture or super- 
 fluous color anywhere, neither in the hollows nor 
 between lines. 
 
 Make sure the pigment does not lie in streaks. 
 
 Immediately the color is laid satisfactorily take up a 
 sheet of damp paper in the fingers leaving ‘your thumbs 
 free to hold the right hand bottom corner in the depres- 
 sion you made to receive it, and the bottom edge on the 
 left side snugly against the other register mark. Let the 
 sheet fall gently over the block, holding on at the regis- 
 ter marks to ensure its correct placement. 
 
 Unfortunately my early education in this craft was 
 deficient. I have developed certain bad habits; among 
 them a method of laying paper on a block—a method 
 which on one occasion excited an unreasonable amount 
 of hilarity in my friend Mr. Giles. I will describe it for 
 what it is worth, but I will not recommend it unless you 
 cannot manage the other. The block is turned so that 
 the register marks appear at the top. The paper is 
 picked up in the normal manner, that is with thumb and 
 forefinger, but is held between the lips so that both 
 
 53 
 
hands are free to guide the corner and the edge into 
 their exact positions. 
 
 Now lay a sheet of butter paper over all and rub with 
 your baren. If it is a line block little ‘pressure will be 
 needed, but a large area like a flat background or an 
 unbroken sky will require energetic rubbing. Don't rub 
 small disconnected patches; take long sweeps up and 
 down in the latter circumstance,beginning at the left 
 side, and let the direction of the stroke be at right angles 
 to the ribs of the baren. Do not go over the same ground 
 twice if you can possibly avoid it. Too much or too 
 vigorous rubbing will make spread lines or edges on ‘your 
 print; that is, the paper will be forced over the sides of 
 cut shapes, picking up pigment which never belonged 
 to the surface. 
 
 Peel the paper off the block gently, and put it under 
 a damp sheet. 
 
 Before doing that, however, let us examine it. The 
 first print will show whether any waste area needs fur- 
 ther excavation. The first impression of a line block 
 usually discovers the need for more work with the knife 
 and the gouges; that of a key-block should be compared 
 with the original drawing. If masses of color appear 
 mottled, too much water was used; if blotched, that is 
 faint and dark in patches where you expected a smooth 
 tint, then the paper or the color on the block was too 
 dry. There is no need to let a printed color dry before 
 adding a contiguous one. They will neither run, nor 
 offset. 
 
 54 
 
The order in which the blocks are printed depends 
 upon many things. Generally the largest color area is 
 printed first and the lines last. The former needs a 
 damper paper, and each exposure to the air helps the 
 paper into condition for the lines. But at times one 
 color must be imposed on another and the order cannot 
 be reversed; a transparent color may be required to give 
 a bloom to an opaque one, for example. Sometimes it 
 is advisable to print the line block first, in which case 
 the sheets must be redamped for the colors. 
 
 GrapaTions. To print gradations load only one cor- 
 ner of the brush with pigment, the rest of it with a little 
 water and paste. If the gradation covers a large space 
 this is unnecessary: start with a full brush where intense 
 tone is intended and work towards the light; you will 
 find if you manage properly that you will finish with a 
 comparatively clean brush. It is sometimes expedient 
 to print the gradation first, and a flat tone over it. For 
 small areas, such as the boy’s red cheeks in “The Bather” 
 (page 24), use a dry brush with a small quantity of 
 strong pigment, already mixed with paste, on damp 
 wood. 
 
 The practice of mixing powder and paste on the 
 slab before use is effective for intense tones, and small 
 patches of color, and it saves time on most blocks. ‘The 
 ideal surface, however, is obtained only by brushing 
 paste over color already spread upon the block, and this 
 method should always be used for large masses of color. 
 
 The best impressions are taken when the wood has 
 become a little sodden with paint and paste and its pores 
 
 55 
 
closed. It follows that the more impressions taken off 
 at one sitting the better. After trial proofs have been 
 pulled and studied, and the final state of the print 
 decided upon, let your first set number as many as may 
 be finished conveniently in two days. 
 
 When your papers become too dry always stop print- 
 ing and slip them between damp sheets of newspaper. 
 It will never do to persuade yourself that a slight dry- 
 ness does not matter, or that with only a few more to 
 do you might as well go on. It is the little extra 
 trouble occasioned by the determination to have 
 every step perfectly accomplished that makes all the 
 difference between success and failure. From begin- 
 ning to end everything must be right, every small 
 process efficiently performed, all mistakes corrected, not 
 slurred over, and success, you will find, is easy of attain- 
 ment. 
 
 Trial proofs show mistakes made in cutting; faulty 
 register marks for example, which must be corrected; 
 smudges which indicate shallow clearing of waste 
 spaces; overlapping edges, and so forth. 
 
 I have described this process because I have found it 
 the most satisfactory; not the easiest, but the most beau- 
 tiful. Other binders than paste may be used. Some 
 artists invariably use oil on dry and unsized paper, in 
 the form of printers’ inks, of doubtful permanence, or 
 artists’ oil paints in tubes, conserving a great deal of 
 energy. For years I used water-colors in tubes or pans, 
 latterly with a little paste, on unsized paper. The print 
 so made differed from the powder-and-paste print in 
 
 56 
 
“Sic transit gloria mundi” by William Giles with a full-size 
 fragment in color. 
 
of 
 eal P : 
 4 y 
 ; ; 
 \ 
 ‘ 
 F ; ; ¥ ? 
 r« ‘ 
 ; 
 te i 
 ~ 
 ath 
 . 
 5 
 b 
 i 
 
 : ld 
 i 
 : 5 
 
 Be: i 
 j 
 
 . 
 
 f oh ‘ 
 “ © 
 
 ‘ 
 De. x 
 ‘ 
 : 
 Fi 
 ? 
 
“The Jetty, Sennen Cove” by John Platt, with a full-size 
 fragment in color. 
 
pote 
 - Beets sts nen 
 
 _ och tinoninent 
 oe = 
 
 “toto 
 ee 
 
 “The Shinto Temple of Masaki, Yedo, in Snow” by Hiroshige 
 with a full-size fragment in color. From a print in the 
 possession of the author. 
 
 « 
 
wne 
 
“Wylye Mill Bridge” by the author 
 
( é a ‘ 
 ‘ ‘ \ é 
 ’ ‘ 
 i 
 4 j 1 = 
 ‘ 
 : s 
 . 
 i 
 i 
 .- 
 , 
 ° 
 a 
 j 
 4 er 
 ‘ 
 r 
 ‘ 
 x 
 . 
 “ he . 
 i ‘ 
 ~~ 
 ' 
 yy 
 
surface quality. It has an unpleasant glaze due to the 
 gum, and records also all the imperfections of the wood, 
 because, being very finely ground, the pigment pene- 
 trates its pores, and even with the aid of paste has insuf- 
 ficient body. 
 
 GOLD AND Sitver. The gold and silver in Japanese 
 prints are brass and lead powders mixed with glue and 
 printed directly from the wood block. A better method 
 is to print with a sticky mixture: glue or gelatine size, 
 or gum, mixed with some pigment if you like, and to 
 brush bronze or lead powder over the print with a soft 
 brush, immediately. 
 
 DryING THE Prints. The finished prints must be 
 laid out to dry, and then ironed on each side. Use a 
 fairly hot iron, and cover the print during the process 
 with a piece of rice paper or tissue. Or, preferably, place 
 the prints separately between drying boards (straw 
 boards) in a pile under a weight. This process may last 
 a week in a humid climate, so that the first has the 
 advantage of speed. 
 
 Eprtions. It is usual among print makers to limit the 
 number of proofs taken from one set of blocks, though 
 hard wood will stand up under very extensive printing. 
 Thousands of good impressions can be pulled. White- 
 wood, which is very soft, failed me on one occasion 
 after four hundred printings, wearing on the edges and 
 surfaces, too, but it was a poor piece of wood. That is 
 the only example of serious deterioration within my 
 experience. An edition of one hundred proofs is com- 
 
 57 
 
mon. It is indicated on each proof in this way: the 
 first is marked on the lower margin in pencil 1/100, the 
 second 2/100, and so forth. The proof is also signed 
 in pencil immediately below the design on the right, and 
 frequently the title is added. 
 
 re a eee 3S 00 Polavary)d TER « 
 
 Proofs are marked “second state” when further work 
 has been done or some alteration made after a number 
 have been issued, and if the second state is final it may 
 comprise a complete edition disregarding the number 
 published in the earlier state. Extra proofs are some 
 times made for special reasons, which are indicated 
 thereon. 
 
 MarkeTING Prints. The most effective way to mar- 
 ket prints is through a print publisher, but many of them 
 naturally look askance at an unknown artist. If this 
 should happen to you, submit your work to interested 
 societies for exhibition—a list of them is appended 
 -—-where the critics in the light of their physical well- 
 being and according to the extent of their knowledge, 
 may appraise them conveniently. For an intelligent esti- 
 mate of your technique go to another artist working in 
 this medium. 
 
 EpitocuE. I have tried to describe the whole process 
 of making a wood-cut in color as minutely and as faith- 
 fully as possible. Follow the instructions as faithfully 
 and you may succeed. Difficulties will assail you only 
 when you lack in concentration and persistence. It is 
 
 58 
 
most important to perform each operation perfectly. 
 Be content with nothing less than perfection. Careless- 
 ness in pasting a drawing down on wood for example, 
 must be paid for in time, material, and energy. There is 
 nothing more exasperating than cutting through paper 
 that has failed to stick when sections of it fall away to 
 leave you without guide lines. Every careless gesture 
 entails a penalty—but cultivate patience. 1n printing, 
 remember that cleanliness and order wait upon success. 
 
 59 
 
PROGRESSIVE PROOFS 
 The frontispiece, a wood-cut in color, was cut on five 
 blocks of Canadian cherry wood. A photograph of each 
 block is reproduced on the following pages, together 
 with an impression from each. 
 
The Key block 
 
& 
 
 block 
 
 va 
 
 from the Key 
 
 10n. 
 
 impress 
 
 An 
 
The gray block 
 
 The first block printed, because, its printing area being greater than that of the 
 other colors, it needs a slightly damper paper. Observe the position of the register 
 marks which duplicate those on the key-block. The remaining colors were printed 
 in the order in which they occur on the succeeding pages. 
 
The blue block. 
 
An impression from the blue block. 
 
 53 
 
The green block, with patch of red. 
 
Brown and yellow block. — 
 
An impression from the brown and yellow block. 
 
e° 
 
BIBLIOGRAPHY 
 
 Victoria and Albert Museum Handbooks. Japanese Color: 
 prints by Edward F. Strange. London, 1910. 
 
 _ Containing comprehensive chapters on the history, sig- 
 nificance, and technique of the craft as considering Japan, 
 with some sixty half-tone reproductions of outstanding 
 prints. 
 
 Victoria and Albert Museum Catalogues. Tools and Mate- 
 rials Illustrating the Japanese Method of Color-printing. 
 By Edward F. Strange. London, 1913. 
 
 A short but accurate account of Japanese practice, with 
 diagrams of the tools employed, and descripitive paragraphs 
 regarding colors and the various vehicles used with them. 
 
 Washington. U.S. A. National Museum. Report of the 
 Smithsonian Institute for the year ending 30th June, 1892. 
 Japanese Wood-cutting and Wood-cut Printing. By T. 
 Tokuno. Washington, 1893. 
 
 The Japanese Color Wood-cut. By Walter Baedeker Mahlow. 
 Die Kunst Schule. February, 1925. 
 
 Wood-cut Printing in Watercolors After the Japanese Man- 
 ner. The Studio, London, 1894, and some articles published 
 subsequently in the same journal. 
 
 Wood Block Printing, By F. Morley Fletcher. Pitman, Lon- 
 don. | 
 
 The first book on the recent revival of the craft in 
 Europe, and since its publication the standard work on the 
 subject. It contains many illustrations, including an original 
 print by the author. 
 
 61 
 
The Original Color-print Magazine, published in London by 
 William Giles, Chenil Studios, Chelsea, 1924, 1925, 1926. 
 An annual publication, with an original print as supple- 
 ment, containing articles on the craft and on relative sub- 
 jects by living artists. A most valuable book. Among its 
 contributors are the editor, William Giles, Allen Seaby, 
 Y. Urushibara, Morley Fletcher, Claude Flight, George H. 
 Viner, and W. J. Phillips. 
 
 Color Printing with Linoleum and Wood Blocks. By Allen 
 W. Seaby. Dryad Handicrafts, Leicester. 
 A useful manual, written primarily for schools. 
 
 The Modern Color-print. Malcolm C. Salaman, London. 
 An appreciation of the work of British color printers, 
 with an account of William Giles’ new relief-metal process. 
 
 62 
 
SOME SOCIETIES OF PRINT MAKERS 
 
 The Society of Graver Printers in Color. Acting Secretary, 
 H. W. Bromhead, 18 Cork Street, Burlington Gardens, 
 London. 
 
 The Color Wood-cut Society, Mrs. E. C. Austen Brown, 16 
 Fulham Road, London. 
 
 The Society of Print Makers of California. Secretary, Howell 
 C. Brown, 120 N. El Molino Avenue, Pasadena, California. 
 
 The Canadian Society of Graphic Arts. Secretary, C. F. 
 Comfort, 87 St. Clair Avenue E., Toronto, Ontario. 
 
 63 
 
> » Ln > “~ 
 5 — “ev 
 *", Pp olf 
 ‘ eRe ts 
 oe Pi ‘oh ze a Si 
 ‘ 
 ? 
 . \ 
 : 
 tes 
 / 
 \. 
 ’ 
 *