The first notice of Jackson's venture appeared in the Gentleman's Magazine 

 of February 1752."^ A letter signed "Y. D." praised the editor "Sylvanus Urban" 

 for attempting to revive the art of cutting on wood. It mentioned that this art wzs 

 in dechne for more than a century, but noted that — 



Two of our countrymen, E. Ktr]{all and /. B. Jacf^son, ought to be exempted from 

 this general charge; the former having a few years ago introduced the Chiaro 

 Oscuro of Hugo de Carpi into England, though he met with no extraordinary 

 encouragement for his ingenuity ; and the art had died with him had not the latter 

 attempted to revive it, but with less encouragement than his predecessor. Mr. 

 Jackson, however, has lately invented a new method of printing paper hangings 

 from blocks, which is very ornamental, and exceeds the common method of 

 paper-staining (as it is termed) by the delicacy of his drawings, the novelty of his 

 designs, and the masterly arrangement of his principal figures. 



The next notice appeared in the London Evening Post of April 30-May 2, 1752: 



New invented Paper Hangings, printed in Oyl, which prevents the fading or 

 changing of the Colours; as also Landscapes printed in Colours, by J. B. Jackson, 

 Reviver of the Art of printing in Chiaro Oscuro, are to be had at Dunbar's Ware- 

 house in Aldermanbury, London ; or Mr. Gibson's, Bookseller, opposite the St. Al- 

 ban's Tavern in Charles-street near St. James's-Square, and no where else. 



Several months afterwards, in the September 1752 issue of Gentleman's Maga- 

 zine, publication of the Enquiry into the Origins of Printing in Europe was 

 announced. 



The Enquiry is an odd book. It combines rewritten versions of two Jackson 

 manuscripts, a study of the origins of printing in Europe and an autobiographical 

 journal covering, we suppose, the years from about 1725 on. The writer, in his 

 introduction, says that he had been attracted by the two notices mentioned and 

 went to see Jackson, whom he already knew by reputation. As a "Lover of Art" 

 he considered it his duty to acquaint the public with Jackson's ideas concerning the 

 origins of printing. These ideas, he felt, were an important contribution. After 

 devoting half the little book to a rambling account of this subject, including a short 

 history of woodcutting from Diirer onward, the author suddenly shifts to the 

 journal. It is regrettable that he condensed it because we do not know what was 



' Vol. 22, pp. 77-79. 



41 



