Gravesend
Printing Block
1600-1699 (made)
1600-1699 (made)
| Artist/Maker | |
| Place of origin |
Chapbooks were intended to be relatively cheap so were often made using images that were reused within the same publication or from older ones. This image is features a generic townscape, not necessarily a true representation of the town it is supposed to be depicting. The name of the town was set into the block in type so that it could be substituted for another name for when reused elsewhere. Woodcut was the first process to be used alongside movable type in books from about the 1460s. It was a relief process like the type used for printing text, in which ink was applied to the surface of the block or piece of type, which made printing text and image together feasible and economical.
Object details
| Categories | |
| Object type | |
| Title | Gravesend (manufacturer's title) |
| Materials and techniques | Woodcut block and lead type |
| Brief description | Woodcut block with inset movable type. View of Gravesend, 17th century. |
| Physical description | Woodcut block depicting a view of a town (labelled Gravesend, but possibly generic view), the name made from type. |
| Dimensions |
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| Production type | Limited edition |
| Place depicted | |
| Association | |
| Summary | Chapbooks were intended to be relatively cheap so were often made using images that were reused within the same publication or from older ones. This image is features a generic townscape, not necessarily a true representation of the town it is supposed to be depicting. The name of the town was set into the block in type so that it could be substituted for another name for when reused elsewhere. Woodcut was the first process to be used alongside movable type in books from about the 1460s. It was a relief process like the type used for printing text, in which ink was applied to the surface of the block or piece of type, which made printing text and image together feasible and economical. |
| Bibliographic reference | Victoria and Albert Museum, Department of Engraving, Illustration and Design, Accessions 1909, London: Printed For His Majesty's Stationery Office, 1910 |
| Collection | |
| Accession number | E.2436-1909 |
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| Record created | July 1, 2009 |
| Record URL |
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