GRAPHICS. 163 
dust are used for the harder stones. Preparatory to the design the stone is 
first ground dim; and after the design is completed, the outline is cut in 
with the cutting-hand ( pl. 22, fig. 36 to the left). The manner of applying 
the stone, cemented to a support, to the hand, is shown in fig. 9. With the 
flat hand (jig. 36 to the right) level, and with the rounded index (jig. 37), 
rounded depressions are hollowed out; shallow depressions are excavated 
with the flat pearl (jig. 38 to the left) and deeper ones with the round pearl 
(fig. 88 to the right), and points are made with the pointed hands. Of 
every sort of hand and pearl there are many different sizes, to suit the 
degree of fineness of the drawing. It will of course be understood that 
the cutting, properly speaking, is effected, not by the instrument, but by 
the emery or diamond-dust applied to it. When the engraving is finished, 
the gem is afterwards polished again. This brief notice of the subject will 
show that the whole art consists in presenting the stone in the proper direc- 
tion to the cutting tool, which has no other than a simple rotary motion; 
and that everything depends on the light and certain motion and the delicate 
feeling of the artist’s hand. This and the want of any contrivance to facilitate 
the execution, render gem-engraving one of the most difficult of arts. 
B. Wood-Engraving. 
The art of wood-engraving is likewise of great antiquity ; for the Chinese 
eut their written characters in wood and then printed them, a thousand 
years before our era; and even the Hindoos had their wood-cuts more than 
a century before Christ. In Europe wood-cutting was improved, and 
brought into frequent use by the making of playing-cards, in the beginning 
of the fourteenth century, when these cards came into fashion; after which 
it was applied to the representation of sacred personages and scenes in the 
Biblia pauperum. The oldest cut of the kind is supposed to be the St. 
Christopher of the year 1423. The legends on these pictures occasioned the 
invention of the art of printing. A variety of the art of wood-cutting is 
furnished by the so-called chiaroscuros or camayeux, which were invented 
in Germany in the time of Direr, and were improved in italy by Hugo da 
Carpi. For each picture he used three or four blocks, the first of which 
contained the outlines and the deepest shades, and each of the others one of 
the middle tints up to the lightest of them. This gave to the impressions 
the appearance of drawings. Raphael, Titian, Rubens, and many others, 
caused their works to be multiplied in this manner. We have many cele- 
brated masters belonging to the earlier period of wood engraving, e. g. 
Meidenbuch, Pleydenwurf, Schnitzer, Hans von Kulmbach, Mich. Wolge- 
muth, Albr. Direr, Kranach, Holbein, Altorfer, &e. After 1610, wood 
engraving greatly declined, and at length was applied only to tapestry and 
calico printing. It was reserved for recent times to restore the wood-cut to 
its early dignity. The chief impulse was given in England, and especially 
by the founding of the Penny Magazine. It was to contain a great many 
illustrations, but was to be published very cheaply and at very short inter- 
vals, which rendered it necessary that the pictures should be printed along 
with the letter-press. This of course could be effected only by the aid of 
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