Victorian Book Illustration, The Technical Revolution

Detroit, Michigan: Gale Research Company, 1973. BRAND NEW in a BRAND NEW dust jacket. A gorgeous copy in PERFECT condition. NO rubbing, chips, tears, creases, or fading. Sharp corners. Square and tight. NO owner's name or bookplate. Crisp, clean and unmarked - obviously never read. 1973. First Edition. Illustrated. Bound in the original brown cloth, stamped in bright gold on the spine. From the pristine dust jacket: "The development of printing during the nineteenth century from a hand-craft to a technology totally altered the appearance of illustrated books, and brought them to something approaching a mass market. All the significant steps in this technical and social revolution were taken in Victoria's time, which saw the invention of photography and electrotyping at its beginning, and the perfection of the cross-line screen near its end. The gradual introduction of the new processes into commercial use is here traced and explained, with numerous examples. The impact of photography on wood engraving, etching and lithography is at the heart of the technical revolution; and the many techniques of varying efficiency by which photography gradually worked its way into everyday printing make fascinating reading -- both for the technically minded and the social historians. An assessment of the relative importance of various methods used during the Victoriain period is made, and the author avoids concentrating simply on the more spectacular books or those illustrated by outstanding artists. Indeed, the book trade's fast expansion was far more the result of improved printing techniques than of any flowering of individual talent in the artistic world. This book therefore gives an account of the development of illustration and a history of the sort of illustrated books that were available.". First Edition. Hardcover. New/New. 8vo. 182pp. Great Packaging, Fast Shipping.