The Elk

Physical description

An elk, viewed in profile, standing in a sparse woodland landscape, facing to the left of the image.

Place of Origin

Newcastle, England (printed and published)

Date

1790 (first published)

Artist/maker

Bewick, Thomas, born 1753 - died 1828 (engravers (printmakers))

Materials and Techniques

Wood-engraving print on laid paper

Dimensions

Height: 11.8 cm of sheet, Width: 13.5 cm of sheet

Object history note

This engraving features in Thomas Bewick's first major independent publication, A General History of Quadrupeds, first printed and published in Newcastle upon Tyne in 1790. It contains illustrations of animals, alongside brief descriptions of their appearance, habits and habitats, accompanied by a number of illustrative vignettes, used mainly as tailpieces.

Historical significance: Thomas Bewick was the first engraver to exploit fully the advantages of end-grain wood (the wood is cut across, rather than along, the grain). Once it had been proved that the technique could rival the fine effects of metal engraving, the advantages of wood engraving to the book trade were quickly recognised. Allowing both text and illustration to be printed in one operation, it ousted the intaglio process as the favourite for book illustration and was only superseded at the end of the nineteenth century when methods of photomechanical reproduction were developed.

Descriptive line

'The Elk', viewed in profile, standing in a sparse woodland landscape. Wood-engraving print on paper. Illustration featured in 'A General History of Quadrupeds' (first published 1790). Engraved by Thomas Bewick. Newcastle upon Tyne, England.

Production Note

Thomas Bewick's A General History of Quadrupeds was first published in 1790.

Materials

Printing ink; Laid paper

Techniques

Wood-engraving (process)

Subjects depicted

Elk

Categories

Prints; Illustration

Collection code

PDP