Wood-Engraving

WilliamJamesLinton(1812–1897)wasawood-engraver,poet,prosewriterandpoliticalactivist,whofirstworkedinLondonbutemigratedtotheUnitedStatesin1866.Hebeganhiswood-engravingapprenticeshipattheageofsixteenunderthewell-knownLondonengraverG.W.Bonner.Linton'smaturework,championingtheuseof'whitelining'andfavouringtheuseofhorizontalengravedlinesandcreatingtonebydifferinglinethickness,continuedinthetraditionofThomasBewick(1753–1828),thefoundingfigureofwood-engraving.Thepublicationofthisbookin1884markedtheculminationofLinton'scareer,thoughhecontinuedtoresearchandwriteonthesubject.Themanual,originallypublishedinonlyfivehundredcopies,isbeautifullyillustratedwithLinton'sownengravingsandisarichsourceforanyoneinterestedinthetechnicaldetailsaswellasthehistoricaldevelopmentofthisspecialistcraft.