Illustration and black-and-white art
The technology of illustration
Illustration was an unashamedly commercial and collaborative artform that brought together the skills of artists, engravers, photographers and printers.
By the 1860s, advances in ‘photo-process’ wood engraving and printing enabled highly accurate reproductions of original artworks. The best results were achieved when engravers worked directly from artworks that had been photographed and projected onto sensitised wood blocks.
Engravers needed exceptional dexterity to translate the original’s subtle shading and tonal detail into the hardwood block. Many engravers were talented artists themselves, including the English-born, French-trained Collingridge brothers, George and Arthur.
Frank Mahony, Albert Henry Fullwood & Sydney Mail, A. J. C. Autumn Meeting, the lawn at Randwick, 1888, nla.gov.au/nla.obj-565906176
Frank Mahony, Albert Henry Fullwood & Sydney Mail, A. J. C. Autumn Meeting, the lawn at Randwick, 1888, nla.gov.au/nla.obj-565906176
(31 March 1888), The Sydney Mail and New South Wales Advertiser (NSW : 1871 - 1912), p. 689, nla.gov.au/nla.news-page16908027
(31 March 1888), The Sydney Mail and New South Wales Advertiser (NSW : 1871 - 1912), p. 689, nla.gov.au/nla.news-page16908027
Henry Lawson believed only two artists could do justice to his writing: Frank Mahony and George Lambert. The portrait of Lawson below, based on Mahony’s original drawing, shows him as the swagman who ‘tramps and tramps and tramps’.
In the Days When the World Was Wide and Other Verses was Lawson’s first published poetry collection. Dedicated to Bulletin editor J.F. Archibald, it features a frontispiece portrait of Lawson ‘on the wallaby track’, drawn by Mahony.
Frank Mahony, Henry Lawson in 1896 [picture], 1896, nla.gov.au/nla.obj-136254778
Frank Mahony, Henry Lawson in 1896 [picture], 1896, nla.gov.au/nla.obj-136254778
Henry Lawson, Bertha Lawson, Edward Garnett, David Garnett, Brian Francis Kiernan, Phyllis Whelan & Frederick Watson, In the days when the world was wide and other verses, Sydney : London : Angus and Robertson ; Young J. Pentland, 1896, nla.gov.au/nla.obj-128443420
Henry Lawson, Bertha Lawson, Edward Garnett, David Garnett, Brian Francis Kiernan, Phyllis Whelan & Frederick Watson, In the days when the world was wide and other verses, Sydney : London : Angus and Robertson ; Young J. Pentland, 1896, nla.gov.au/nla.obj-128443420
The art of illustration
Between 1850 and 1900, the illustrated press relied more on artists than on photographers, due to technical limitations of the camera. As a result, wood-engraved images became the most widely circulated form of art during this time.
Thousands of artists worked for illustrated newspapers, with many going on to successful careers as etchers and painters. Among them were European artists like Félix Buhot and Frank Holl, whose work influenced James Abbott McNeill Whistler and Vincent van Gogh.
Australian publishers often recruited artist–illustrators from England, including Julian Ashton, A. Henry Fullwood and Constance Roth. Notable exceptions were the locally trained artists William Macleod and Frank Mahony.
Learning activities
George French Angas, Chambers' Pillar [picture], 1860, nla.gov.au/nla.obj-134524168
George French Angas, Chambers' Pillar [picture], 1860, nla.gov.au/nla.obj-134524168
Andrew Garran, Picturesque atlas of Australasia, Sydney: The Picturesque Atlas Publishing Co, 1886, nla.gov.au/nla.obj-1759526180
Andrew Garran, Picturesque atlas of Australasia, Sydney: The Picturesque Atlas Publishing Co, 1886, nla.gov.au/nla.obj-1759526180
William Thomas Smedley & Wilbraham Frederick Evelyn Liardet, The Enterprise, and Fawkner's house on the Yarra; Captain Lonsdale's house [picture], 1887, nla.gov.au/nla.obj-135236956
William Thomas Smedley & Wilbraham Frederick Evelyn Liardet, The Enterprise, and Fawkner's house on the Yarra; Captain Lonsdale's house [picture], 1887, nla.gov.au/nla.obj-135236956
Andrew Garran, Picturesque atlas of Australasia, Sydney: The Picturesque Atlas Publishing Co, 1886, nla.gov.au/nla.obj-1759450938
Andrew Garran, Picturesque atlas of Australasia, Sydney: The Picturesque Atlas Publishing Co, 1886, nla.gov.au/nla.obj-1759450938
Activity 1: Reproductive printmaking
The Picturesque Atlas demonstrates the technical skill involved in fine-art engraving and illustration.
Ask students to explore different printmaking techniques, including:
- Woodcut
- Engraving
- Lithography
- Photomechanical processes
Have students reproduce an image using linocut printing.
- They should first make a linocut reproduction of the image from a screen or on a page in front of them.
- Next, to simulate the ‘photo process’, use an old overhead projector to project the same image the onto the lino block as they cut the design.
- Compare the two prints for accuracy in reproduction.
Activity 2: Drawing
The artists of the Picturesque Atlas were highly skilled in drawing.
Have students compare original preparatory drawings with the final engraved versions published in the Atlas. Focus on elements such as line, shading and composition. Encourage students to reflect on how these visual conventions were maintained in the engravings.
More to explore
Kathy Weeden reading her book Phonobet, illustrated by Kim Drane and published by NLA Publishing, at Enlighten at the Library 2024
