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    THE HISTORY OF WOOD-ENGRAVING. 173

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    Ny» In Its Ancient And More General Sens...

    any part . Had such-a work as the ' Treatise on Cattle' been printed at a common without the blocks having been lowered ,

    the cost of printing press would have been at least double , and the engravingafter so great a number of impressions had been taken ,

    , would have been considerably injured if not quite spoiled . Of all modern artists the late J . M . W . Turner , _E . A ., and W .

    Harvey , alone appear to have succeeded in giving to their vignettes a form suitable to the composition . Of living draughtsmen and

    engravers ( for , be it remembered , there is as wide a difference between these two professions as between those of an architect and of a builder )

    we forbear particularizing any , where so many are excellent ; and perhaps at no period of the world's history have the great works

    of the grand old masters been so multiplied as during the last twenty so that persons of moderate means have been enabled

    to enjoy years that ; which formerly was reserved only for the gratification of the rich . We believe indeed that nothing is better

    calculated to form our taste than the study of good engravings , for they introduce us to an extensive acquaintance with the fine arts , and

    pave the way for an extended knowledge of an innumerable number of paintings . For our own part , Gothish as the remark may seem ,

    we would as soon examine a gallery of engravings as a collection of " fine old masters" and we believe that in not a few

    , instances they serve as interpreters of the mediaeval painters , standing ( though in a far higher sense ) in the same position to

    them , that a clear glossary does to Chaucer or Spenser ; two amusing and excellent observers of men and manners , but , at the

    same time , two remarkably tiresome writers to read in the olden tongue We are . not aware to whose foresight and sagacity we are indebted

    for the formation of the Metropolitan School of Practical Art , formerlcarried on at Somerset Houseand eventually removed , in the

    y , summer of 1853 , to Marlborough House , where it was opened on a new system in the October of that same year ; which system worked

    so well , and produced such excellent results , that in June , 1857 , the school was again removed to the larger and more convenient

    premises of Kensington Gore Museum . The folio wing list of subjects now being taught to the pupils will

    give a very fair idea of the course of instruction pursued at this school of art : —Drawing and Painting ; FigureArchitectural , and

    , Mechanical Drawing ; Modelling the Figure ; Modelling Ornaments ; Porcelain Painting ; Ornamental Design ; Moulding and Casting ;

    Wood Engraving and Lithography . The two latter are exclusively for females , and are taught by Mr . Thompson and Miss Clarke .

    The prizes for persevering and intelligent students are numerous , and consist of moneymedalsand books . Mrs . M'lvan , who has

    charge of the female students , at , Gower Street ( some 200 in number ) ,

    says " that her pupils continue to receive offers of employment front

    The History Of Wood-Engraving. 173

    THE HISTORY OF WOOD-ENGRAVING . 173

• Citation
  • English Woman’s Journal (1858-1864), May 1, 1858, page 173, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse.ac.uk/periodicals/ewj/issues/ewj_01051858/page/29/