Recent Finds

I was poking around the stacks the other day with our summer intern, and because she's taller than I, she was helping me pull out some of the folio size books on the upper shelves. These tend to be the books illustrated with beautiful engravings. So, I thought I'd share some of the more interesting illustrations, created in 1771 and 1784.

I have to confess that I am completely fascinated by engravings. The skill it takes is incredible. Here's how an engraving is made: 

Engraving is an intaglio printmaking process in which lines are cut into a metal plate in order to hold the ink. In engraving, the plate can be made of copper or zinc. The metal plate is first polished to remove all scratches and imperfections from the surface so that only the intentional lines will be printed. Ink is applied and then lightly wiped off so that it only stays in the carved lines. Paper is applied and with pressure, the ink transfers to it. 

It's the engraving into metal or stone that impresses me, and the skill which it takes to accomplish creating a beautifully-detailed image, and as a mirror image, no less!

Here are a few that I chose. 

Here's the detailed engraving.

This is the title page from another of the books I found. It looks like the printer is the same, but one book has his name as Paulo Mascagni and the other Paulus Mascagnius. Hmmm.

I am fascinated that there are engravings of women and babies in this anatomical book. And these are some pretty healthy looking babies!

Usually, it's just men. Of course, this made me think about the logistics of making the engravings.

In an earlier image in the book, I could discern the word "cadaver" in Latin... The detail in these images is astonishing.