woodcut tradition mimicked line engraving and was confined chiefly to tiny blocks 

 wrought with the utmost delicacy. The main influence came from the 17th cen- 

 tury — in particular from the etchings and line engravings of Sebastien Le Clerc and 

 from the etchings of Jacques Callot, whose simple system of swelling parallel lines, 

 with occasional cross-hatchings, was adopted by both line engravers and wood- 

 cutters. 



Le Clerc, whose style was influenced by Callot, had produced a vast number of 

 illustrations involving subjects of almost every type; his designs, therefore, were 

 ready-made for publishers who wanted good but low-priced illustrations. Wood- 

 cutters copied his engravings shamelessly, line for line. The overblown high 

 Baroque style in ornament, swag, and cartouche was also drawn upon as a source 

 for decorative cuts. In an attempt to imitate the full tonal scale of engraving, the 

 woodcutters used heavier lines in the foreground to detach the main figures from 

 the background, which was made up of more delicate lines. Background lines 

 were often narrowed further by scraping down their edges, an operation that 

 caused them to merge imperceptibly into the white paper. In this way, although 

 the natural vigor of the woodcut suffered, an effect of space and distance was 

 achieved. Because of the small scale this technique was difficult, especially when 

 cross-hatching was added, and special knives as well as a phenomenal deftness were 

 needed to work out these bits of jewelry on the plank grain of pear, cherry, box, 

 and serviceberry wood. 



Jackson's initial impression of the state of woodcutting in France is described 

 in the Enquiry (p. 27) : 



From this Account it is evident that there vi^as Uttle Encouragement to be hoped 

 for in England to a Person whose Genius led him to prosecute his Studies in the 

 ancient Manner; which obliged Mr. Jacl{son to go over to the Continent, and see 

 what was used in the Parisian Printing-houses. At his arrival there he found the 

 French Engravers on Wood working in the old Manner; no Metal Engravers, or 

 any of the same Performance on the end of the V/ood, was ever used or counte- 

 nanced by the Printers or Booksellers in that City. He tells us that he thought him- 

 self a tolerable good Ha.nd when he came to Paris, but far inferior to the Perform- 

 ances of Monsieurs Vincent le Seur and ]ean M. Pappillon . . . 



Jackson admits benefiting from the friendship and advice of these wood- 

 cutters, then goes on to describe their work with a ruthless frankness. Le Sueur, he 



18 



