FROM "WOOD'S NATURAL HISTORY."
By permission of Messrs. George Routledge & Sons.
From J. B. Zwecker, who was also a German by birth, we had considerable help. He was a highly-educated artist of the Dusseldorf School. He painted in oil and water colour; his work always showed good drawing and design, but was generally heavy in effect. He made a large number of drawings for the "Natural History" and for other publications—his being a ready pencil. He was an accomplished athlete, a genial companion, a kind-hearted man, and an enthusiastic son of the "Fatherland."
Another of the many-sided artists with whom we were connected in this work was W. S. Coleman. On coming to London he called upon us and we were of some service to him, we believe, in introducing him as a wood draughtsman. Beyond his art taste and knowledge, he had considerable skill in a literary way, creating some small books of his own—"A Book on Butterflies," and another on "Birds' Eggs," being amongst the first and best. The Rev. J. G. Wood always said he could rely on Coleman doing his utmost, for when living specimens could not be obtained he would take any amount of trouble in searching for the most reliable representation of the objects required.
We must have had hundreds of his drawings through our hands. He painted both in oil and water colour, his landscapes in the latter medium being always very sweet and tender in feeling. In fact, Coleman's work ranges from a careful drawing of a butterfly—as decoration for a Christmas card—to classic or nude figures full life size.
T. W. Wood, an artist, in no way related to the Rev. J. G. Wood, made many careful drawings for the book—principally of birds and butterflies. Though always technically correct, he was deficient in artistic treatment—in fact, a playful artist friend once dubbed him the "Wooden Wood."
The commission to prepare the pictures for "The Natural History of Man" was also placed in our hands by Messrs. Routledge, in the same manner as for the "Natural History," with this difference, that, with the exception of implements—warlike, domestic and otherwise, huts, etc., which were all copied from the best authorities by other hands, the entire set of drawings were done by one artist, J. B. Zwecker, who, having an excellent knowledge of the human figure, was well qualified for dealing with the Kaffir, Zulu and other South African tribes, of which the first portion of the "History" deals so exhaustively. Zwecker always received his lists and instructions direct from the author; our portion being the engraving of the wood blocks and a general supervision of the printing.