Christmas card for the BBC
Print
1950 (made)
1950 (made)
| Artist/Maker | |
| Place of origin |
Cecil Bacon, offset lithograph of a scraperboard Christmas card for the BBC
Object details
| Categories | |
| Object type | |
| Title | Christmas card for the BBC (generic title) |
| Materials and techniques | offset lithograph of a scraperboard |
| Brief description | Cecil Bacon, Christmas card for the BBC, 1950 |
| Physical description | Cecil Bacon, offset lithograph of a scraperboard Christmas card for the BBC |
| Gallery label | Cecil BACON (1905-1992)
Christmas card for the B.B.C. 1950
Offset lithograph of a scraperboard
E.771-1994
Cecil Bacon was not a wood engraver but a freelance scraperboard
artist. Besides working for the B.B.C. his commercial clients
included the Radio Times, the Post Office Savings Bank and British
Rail. Scraperboard was invented in the late 19th century but was not
much used until the 1920s, for commercial work. It was designed
for photographic reproduction and was a bold black and white
medium like wood engraving but faster to incise. A number of wood
engravers have therefore used it for their commercial work. There
has however always been a certain amount of criticism against
scraperboard drawings made to look like wood engravings. John
Farleigh, in 1939, wrote 'Every medium has its own peculiar
qualities - its existence can only be justified by this fact. Scraper
board, when used to imitate wood engraving, is vulgar and
pretentious; when its peculiar qualities are recognised it becomes
an intriguing method of making a drawing.' |
| Association | |
| Bibliographic reference | A Fine Line - Commercial Wood Engraving in Britain, Victoria and Albert Museum, 10 Oct 1994 - 26 Mar 1995 |
| Collection | |
| Accession number | E.771-1994 |
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| Record created | April 3, 2009 |
| Record URL |
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