The Keepsake, published by Charles Heath, 1827-57, started the fashion in England of small books illustrated with delicate engravings on steel, but it must be noted that although there is engraved work in them, the greater part of the work is really etched. Exquisite work in this style was done by W. Finden, D. Allen, C. Rolls, T. C. Lewis, J. H. Robinson, E. Goodall, H. and R. Wallis, W. R. and D. Smith, W. Humphreys, John Pye, T. S. and F. C. Engleheart, F. and J. Goodyear, and these engravers were supplied with beautiful subjects by several of the eminent contemporary artists, J. M. W. Turner, Stothard, Samuel Prout, and numbers more.
Among the best examples of finely illustrated books of this period the two volumes of Rogers’ Italy and Poems may safely be noted. They were published in London in 1830, and the very best results were aimed at in their production. They are uniform, and usually bound in red watered silk.
Large numbers of small books illustrated profusely with line engravings were published about the middle of the nineteenth century. They often have engraved title-pages, with little pictures in them, the full page illustration being inserted throughout. The names of both artist and engraver are usually added at the lower edge of the print.
There are Oriental Annuals, Landscape Annuals, New Year’s Gifts, Friendship’s Offerings, Comic Offerings, Juvenile Forget-me-nots, and a host of similar periodicals, and good work is to be found in all of them. They were either bound in thin panel stamped leather or else in watered silk, and in either case the binding is of interest, and wherever it exists it should be carefully preserved. A quaint little woodcut often appears in these books, printed with the text.
Besides the engravers whose names I have already mentioned, there are many others whose work appears more particularly in small periodical publications; among these may be noted J. C. Armytage, Geo. Corbould, Charles and J. Heath, James Mitan, John Sharpe, R. J. Baker, W. Greatbach, J. C. Edwards, W. Fry, W. Chevalier, S. Davenport, H. Robins, C. Warren, T. J. Williams, J. Cousins, W. Miller, S. Sangster, R. Rhodes, F. Bacon, R. J. and E. Portbury, T. Willmore, R. Brandard, J. H. Kernot, W. D. Taylor, and G. Hollis.
After about 1850 small line engravings in books began to disappear, and now they are rarely if ever done. In fact, line engraving has been killed by mezzotint and photography, and now takes refuge in its original goldsmiths’ use, or in book plates.
Line engraving in France did not appeal to popular taste until a comparatively late period. The block engravings in the “Horae” of the fifteenth century, although they were line engravings, were cut in the manner of wood blocks, and the method of printing from them was different to that used in the case of ordinary metal engravings. In the seventeenth century there were several beautiful books illustrated by line engravings by Sebastian Leclerc, L. Gaultier, J. Sauné, F. Chauveau, Le Mire and H. J. Duclos.
In the eighteenth century in France the graceful designs of Ch. Eisen and J. H. Fragonard found many worthy interpreters. La Fontaine’s fables and stories provided a suitable literature for these illustrations, and among them may perhaps be found the high water mark of small line engraving. Indeed, the work is all so good that any choice becomes almost invidious; but quite beautiful work was done by J. B. Patas, Choffard, N. Le Mire, De Longueil, L. Bosse, Delvaux, Johannot, Leroux, Lefebre, Ficquet, Mottet, Prevost, J. B. Tillard, J. L. Delignon, C. L. Lingée, Dupréel; and then come L. Halbon, J. Aliamet, J. Dambrun, J. B. Simonnet, P. Trière, C. S. Gaucher, and many more, some of whom worked also in the next century.
In the nineteenth century the French level of small engraved illustrations remained exceptionally high, especially in the earlier half, but many of the plates have much etching mixed up with line work; this may very likely mean that the work was done on steel, which will admit of the production of large editions; but steel is very difficult to engrave, although it is quite easy to etch. Among the line engravers who used accessory etching I have noted Pauquet, Aze, P. Choffard, and De Villiers.