REPRODUCTION OF ILLUSTRATIONS 



the woodcut. And most of the artists themselves pre- 

 ferred this method for reproducing their work, having, 

 among other advantages, the ones that the artist was 

 no longer restricted as to size in making his drawing, 

 and also that he need no longer reverse figures and com- 

 position. He was at liberty to follow his natural ten- 

 dencies in drawing, whether large or small, the size of 

 the reproduction being determined by the camera and 

 consequently being made large or small with equal 

 facility. 



THE HALF-TONE 



This "line block," "zinc etching," "zinco," as it 

 was variously called, had practically every advantage 

 of the wood block, and could even be used on coarser 

 paper. But, like all other preceding forms of engraving, 

 it could not produce gradations in tones except by lines 

 and dots. Such surfaces as photographs, for example, 

 could not be reproduced directly, but must be redrawn 

 in pen or crayon. Any picture where tones were pro- 

 duced by lines, however, or even very minute dots, 

 could be reproduced by this "direct" process. Even 

 the minute and almost microscopic dots of a lithograph 

 picture or a pencil on coarse paper could be reproduced, 

 and by using hard metal, such as copper, and printing 

 carefully on fine paper, even the very fine lines of an 

 etching could be reproduced also. In fact, most of the 

 so-called "etchings" scattered broadcast at present in 

 cheap publications are really only "zinc etchings," 

 which are about the cheapest, instead of the most ex- 



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