WOODBLOCK ENGRAVING
'Song of the Printer' is a wonderful 19th Century poem, written by compositor Thomas MacKellar. It records the passion and power of the printer to move the world with the skill of their hands.
Hand-set in 10pt Baskerville, I wanted to communicate this poem though combining image and type in a way that was authentic to the time in which it was written. This is my first attempt at a wood-engraved illustration. It quickly became clear just how skilled one must be to achieve accurate, detailed engravings on a material that could at times be stubborn and unpredictable.
I thoroughly enjoyed being absorbed by this process. Despite my untrained hands, I was delighted at how legible my engraving turned out to be, once printed. It proved challenging to match the height of the woodblock to that of the metal type. Several attempts and adjustments later, I began to truly appreciate the knowledge, experience, and craftsmanship of the early printers who made it look so easy.
This poem appears in my book 'A Printer's Process', which documents my research into the development of printing technologies, and the introduction of current technological advancements to this traditional process. Read more about this project here.
