REPRODUCTION OF ILLUSTRATIONS 



at least in a crude form, antedated this period by many 

 centuries, although the impetus to book-making given 

 by the introduction of the printing-press undoubtedly 

 stimulated the development of wood-engraving; and 

 the history of the making of reasonably good wood 

 blocks begins with the history of the printing-press. 



Of course, making impressions from engraved sur- 

 faces must be practically as old as carving itself, dating 

 back to prehistoric times, since the principle involved 

 in wood-engraving is practically the same as wood- 

 carving and metal-chasing, where certain portions are 

 removed, leaving other portions of the wood and metal 

 on a level with the surface. It must have happened 

 many times, therefore, either accidentally or other- 

 wise, that the wood-carver or metal-worker made 

 impressions on cloth or paper from his carvings. Such 

 impressions are still made by metal-engravers from time 

 to time as their work progresses, and there is reason to 

 believe that ancient metal-workers were familiar with 

 this method of printing their work. This being the case, 

 it is probable that designs of carving or chasing were 

 frequently copied by means of impressions upon cloth 

 or leather, which of course is a rude form of printing 

 from the engraved surface. But no records have been 

 preserved showing that this method was ever used ex- 

 tensively in reproducing pictures. 



By the beginning of the fifteenth century wood- 

 engraving had reached a comparatively high state of 

 development, and from that period on, thanks to the 

 printing-press, there is no difficulty in tracing the ad- 

 vances made in the art. In fact the earliest types used 



