BY HARVEY. FROM “MILTON’S POETICAL WORKS” (BOHN).
Engraved on wood by Thompson.
A little later on, Lavoignat and other engravers came over and worked in London with the Williamses. The result was, that, within ten years of their return, a school of wood-engravers, nearly as good as the English, arose in France, together with a number of draughtsmen, greatly superior to those of England. Among the engravers who should be mentioned are Best, Brévière, Leveille, Lavoignat, Piaud, Pisan, and Poirret. They worked after Gigoux, the Johannots, Isabey, Paul Huet, Jacque, Meissonier, Charlet, Daubigny, Daumier, Gavarni, Monnier, and Raffet.
FROM AN ORIGINAL DRAWING ON THE WOOD BY HARVEY.
BY HARVEY. FROM MILTON’S POETICAL WORKS (BOHN). Wood-engraving, unsigned.
In both countries this new illustration began to make its mark about 1835. Although, in its own way, Bewick's engraving was unsurpassed, still a refinement, a freedom, was introduced by the French artists, and a faithfulness of facsimile by their engravers, many of whom, as I have said, were English, quite unknown at that time in work published in England. So great was the reputation of these illustrators, artists and engravers both, that two Germans, Braun and Roehle, came to Paris to work with Brévière. This international exchange of engravers has kept up, in a measure, till the present time; M. Lepère, for instance, studied in England with Smeeton, while it is well known that the director of the "Graphic" was working in Paris almost up to 1870.
In 1830 I think one may safely say that the first really important modern illustrated book, in which wood was substituted for metal engraving, appeared in France. This was the "Histoire du Roi de Bohème," by Johannot. Though published twenty years later than Rogers' "Poems," with Stothard's illustrations, as an example of engraving it was scarcely any better. But the designs—little head and tail-pieces—were so good that they were used over and over again by "L'Artiste," the organ of the Romanticists, in which they were accepted as the perfection of illustration.
At this date there is to be noted in England, among the best work done, the beautiful alphabet by Stothard, published by Pickering.