THOMAS BEWICK. 



91 



peds," published by Catnach about 1790, has a number of cuts from Bewick's 

 workshop. Some of them, such as the Fox and the Sheep, bear evidence of 

 the master's own graver, but the majority were probably executed by Bewick's 

 apprentices from his own designs in the Quadrupeds. " The Life of John 

 Howard" (1790) contains an excellently engraved vignette on the title, being 

 the initials of the printer (W. Thompson), with foliage surrounding them, and 

 is a cut of considerable beauty. 



The plate of the Kyloe Ox possesses many points of resemblance to that 

 of the Whitley Large Ox. The copper measures 13 in. by 8^ in., and 

 represents the tremendous ox in full length. It was executed for Robert 

 Spearman, of Rotheley Park, Northumberland, and bears date "July 22nd, 

 1790. Drawn and engraved by T. Bewick, Newcastle." In this plate the 

 surroundings are more interesting than the animal itself ; the grass, the 

 five-barred gate, and the foliage are most carefully and minutely drawn, 

 the curious combination of wood engraving on copper being as observable 

 as in the Whitley Large Ox and in the plates of Consett's Tour. 



In the "Treatise on Wood Engraving" Chatto gives the woodcut 

 of this Ox in the Quadrupeds as one likely, if copied, to challenge 

 the skill of any engraver — and there are still many — who believes that 

 Bewick as a craftsman is overrated. This and the copper-plate were 

 drawn and engraved entirely by Bewick. Most of his designs were drawn 

 by himself either from the objects, or, as in the case of several in 

 Consett's Tour, from pictorial representations by another artist; and in many 

 instances Bewick drew on the material on which the designs were to be 

 engraved. This is an uncommon practice nowadays, and it appears to be 

 becoming more so as time goes on. A few engravers are still able to make 

 their drawings as well as cut their blocks ; but the use of photography in 

 mechanically reducing drawings to the size required, and transferring them to 

 the wood, renders the service of a draughtsman in many cases superfluous. 

 When it is necessary to have a drawing made on the block, most engravers 



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