Echoes From the Past

A few weeks ago, MedChi hosted a practice session for the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra's Youth Orchestra. During their practice time, I usually do some work in the Rare Books Room, so I can be close by if there are any questions. 

The children that afternoon ranged from eight to twelve years old, and made up the two violin sections which were practicing. As I sat in the Rare Books Room, the sounds of their music came drifting down the marble staircase. It was perfection.

I was mostly looking for illustrations and engravings from older books that we can somehow use in our work. One of the things that I found really charming in the books was the shadows of the images on one page on the opposite page. A lot of old books with illustrations like this have a piece of tissue paper between the image and the page to prevent the shadowing.

Another thing that never ceases to amaze me is the detail in the images in these books, which were mostly printed in the 1800s. I think about the person engraving the prints, and how much talent they must have had. You can just barely see a shadow of something like a deer that has come from the opposite page.

Not only were they artists, they had to have a steady hand, and be able to engrave everything backwards.