Nicholas J. Quirk and Nicholas Paul Quirk

The wood engraving on the title page

Brotherhood of Engravers No 1.

was designed by Nicholas J. Quirk

and engraved by Charles M. Oleson

DEPARTMENTS

Treasurer's Notes by Kathee Kiesselbach . . . . . . . 4

Call for Bundle #41, Winter 2009 . . . . . . . . . . 4

Bundle Participation? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .30

New Members . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .31

Changes & Updates . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .31

Announcements & Notes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .32

Advertisements. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .37

BLOCK BURINNo. 40 Summer 2008

& FEATURES

Notes from Jim by Jim Horton. . . . . . . . . . . . . 5

What I Did This Summer by Carl Montford . . . . 8

Old Wood Engravers by Judith Jaidinger. . . . . . .11

WEN Bundle # 40, Summer 2008 . . . . . . . . . .22

Block & Burin is the newsletter of the

Wood Engravers’ Network (WEN).

This issue: Block & Burin # 40, Summer 2008.

Cover: Benjamin Love (See page 36 for details).

Copy Editor: William Rueter

For information on Block & Burin contact:

Tony Drehfal, Editor,

W221 East Wisconsin Ave., Nashotah, WI 53058

Phone: 262-367-5191

E-mail: adrehfal@wctc.edu

For information on WEN contact:

James Horton, WEN Organizer

3999 Waters Road, Ann Arbor, MI 48103

Phone: 734-665-6044

E-mail: Jimhorton@sbcglobal.net

Services of WEN:

• Twice yearly mailing/print exchange

(April & November)

• Membership Guide

• Resources and Materials Guide

• Lending Library

• Workshops and Exhibitions

• Website: www.woodengravers.net

Since 1994, WEN is an organization for the education

and enjoyment of relief printmaking and in particular

engraving upon end-grain wood.

Block & Burin uses the Stone Print typeface family.

Sumner Stone graciously donated the fonts to WEN.

The Editor reserves the right to edit copy to fi t as necessary.

4

Treasurer’s Notesby Kathee Kiesselbach

Call for Bundle #41Winter, 2009

• Contributions are due by February 15, 2009.• Send bundle contributions to Sylvia Pixley, 601

Borgess Ave., Monroe, MI 48162

• Quantity: Minimum of 76 (one extra for the Ar-

chive). Our membership is at 180 at this writing

should you wish to dis trib ute to all members.

• Size: Maximum 9" x 12"

(We are mailing in a 10" x 13" envelope).

• Anyone submitting prints is ensured of re ceiv ing

entire Bundles and moving to the front of the line

for future Bundles.

• We recommend sending printing in for ma tion

with your contributions. This is just a suggestion;

not mandatory by any means. This information

accompanies your print which is stored in the

Princeton Uni ver si ty Graphic Arts Library. This

archive holds all WEN ma te ri al.

• We encourage members to sign-up for pro duc ing a

cover for Block & Burin. We will cov er expenses.

• We welcome (and need) your submissions of

ar ti cles, interviews, ads and announcements for

pub li ca tion in Block & Burin. Send articles, ads

to,

Tony Drehfal

W221 East Wisconsin Ave.

Nashotah, WI 53058, USA

e-mail: adrehfal@wctc.edu

Please send written submissions as unformatted

text fi les via email, it makes the layout far more

simple. Please make an effort to use Microsoft Word

for your written submissions. Images should be

mailed, or contact Tony for scanning specifi cs.

Since my last report of April 1, we have received

$122.50 from the Minnesota Center for Book Arts

for Here We Are, and a generous $200 donation from

The Porcupine’s Quill. Both members Fiorella Mori

and Garth Hammond included gifts with their dues.

Thank you both.

We have reimbursed Tony Drehfal for $51.23

for postage, and paid out $854.57 to Leitzke Printing

for the printing of the Block & Burin for Bundle 39.

Sylvia Pixley has been reimbursed for $4.80 for post-

age, and $361.02 for the mailing of Bundle 39. We

reimbursed Bill Myers for $257.36 for the packing

and shipping of Surroundings to the artists.

For the 2008 summer workshop, we paid

Abigail Rorer an honorarium of $1,000 for being

our visiting artist. We reimbursed Jim Horton

$303.86 for workshop fees. We spent $14.80 on

bank checks.

We reimbursed new member Benjamin Love

$104.04 for his generous printing of the cover for

the Block & Burin for bundle 40.

We have a Paypal Account for overseas members

to easily pay their dues (dues@woodengravers.net).

Several members from overseas forgot to send their

checks in US dollars, which cost us the exchange rate

plus fees at the bank. With Paypal, they will have the

easy option of paying in US dollars. As of October

15, 2008, 12 additional members have paid their

2008 dues ($35 for US, $40 for overseas, paid in US

funds), bringing our total funds to $2,119.07.

Respectfully submitted,

Kathee Kiesselbach

5

Notes from Jimby Jim Horton

Greetings WEN Members.

We are all witnessing so much bad news in the

world. So many mean and negative things are said in

the political arena. It is hard to keep one’s balance.

I fi nd that I have to be very mindful to just keep my

own mind clean (though I often fi nd myself angry

and sad). I have to come back to the reality that if

our money all disappears, our cups will still “run-

neth over.” We still have love, and part of that love

is the ability to create and explore the wondrous

cosmos. That we have eyes to see and touch it is such

a miracle. If you ever have doubts about a higher

power, you just need to come back to that realiza-

tion. My favorite time of the day is in the wee hours

of the morning, to huddle up with a cup of strong

coffee and a blanket. I go to that center where I see

pure light. Later that light can be cast on the fi gure

that I draw, or the block of wood that feels so deli-

cious in the hand. I could be poor, and be the richer

for the poverty. Maybe we all will?

A few weeks ago, I saw Sharen Linder at the

Great Northern Letterpress Sale and Flea Market,

held in Mt. Pleasant, Iowa. Thirty printers had

tables of printing wares for sale, and the buying and

swapping was great fun. I sold presses, quoins and

the like. My truck had mechanical problems, which

was not a bad thing; otherwise I might have hauled

twice as much stuff home. I also sold some of Tom

Veling’s end-grain blocks. One of my purchasers

was Sharen, and as our host-to-be, she mentioned

working on dates for the annual WEN Summer

Workshop. She has had lots of homework to do

on this, but it looks like later July (though nothing

is set in stone yet). We will try to tell you more in

the “Dues Due” mailing coming before the fi rst of

the year.

The past summer’s activity was the Frogman’s

Print & Paper Workshop in Vermillion, South

Dakota. Deborah Mae Broad and I had some

twenty-two students, mostly grad students and

young instructors, adding wood engraving to their

experiences. All seemed amazed by the fi neness

of line and the beautiful clarity of the prints. We

illustrated a book, and bound it there, and all went

forth with something to treasure. Sarah Whorf was

in the class, though in reality, she could have taught

Frogman’s Wood Engraving, Letterpress & Artist Books Class Photo

6

the class. She kept us all laughing and she printed

many small little gems outside of the box. Any

little scrap of wood instantly became a little print.

It might be a fi shing lure, or a fanciful gadget, but

it was an inspiration to see such productivity, and

the prints are little gems. It points out to me that

I probably think too much. One can just grab the

block and go, and that is just as viable as the planned

and researched approach.

Deborah Mae is perhaps the most unusual

character I have ever met. She also draws seemingly

effortlessly, but when you hear her talk of the steps

she goes through to make a wood engraving, your

jaw drops, and she lost me about ten steps back. The

way she prepares the block, the way she approaches

the printing is so meticulous and experimental,

that you can then understand why her prints are

so amazing. She layers in screen-printing under

her wood engravings for tone and color. Of all the

hundreds of printmakers at this workshop, I think

her huge wood engravings stand apart. She has

crossed the line from the small to the monumental.

She can equally do a small illustration for our book

that was so wonderful in its intimacy, that she sets

the bar for everyone else. She also keeps me laughing

(or shocked) the whole way. She is so ornery and

gutsy, that you can understand how she keeps her

farm running. One of the things that just tickled me

is her making students spit out their gum when they

approached her for advice! I love it! If you haven’t

ever guessed, I love her, and always will.

One of the great joys of these workshops is see-

ing the way this younger generation draws. Maybe it

leans too heavily on the grotesque and the world of

shocking fantasy, but you can’t argue that they have

imagination and skill. So for all our world of digital

quick fi xes, the world of drawing is alive and well.

This was also in evidence at the Augusta Heritage

Center Workshop.

Abigail Rorer was our guest artist. Abby (to

her friends) is just this rooted, genuine “New

England Yankee.” Her drawings are stunning in

their expertise, and just sheer beauty. I always say

that she is to America, what Hilary Paynter is to

Deborah Mae Broad

Johntimothy Pizzuto, Sarah Whorf, and Cynthia Alderete

7

England, that is, a national treasure, and so amaz-

ing that her work stands head and shoulders above

the pack. Like most wood engravers, though, she is

as real a person without pretension as you can get.

When she talks of her working in a studio heated

with wood in the winter, huddled with a blanket

over her feet, you can sense where her heart is. She

also is an adventurous spirit, seen contra dancing in

the wee hours. She spearheaded buying at auction

a Mexican dinner hand-prepared by R.P. Hale. You

have heard me mention R.P. many times. He is the

most fascinating character, with one of his many

skills, drawing and wood engraving. He claims that

he is the seventh generation in his family to have en-

graved on wood. He marbled the paper that we did

for the Augusta book. Professor Cliff Harvey came

down from Morgantown and took over the binding

for us. Again, we all walked away in marvel of his

creativity. Other WEN members in attendance were

Eric May and Anders Sandstrom, both of whom are

awesome artists.

The updated WEN traveling exhibition was on

display at the Randolph County Arts Center gallery.

It was well attended, and much good feedback was

relayed to us. Thank you all for the contributions,

and thank you again Joel Moline for the wonderful

matting and preparation.

So, in thinking of Chicago next summer, know

that it will probably have something to do with Co-

lombia College, the Newberry Library, a guest artist

from England, the Museum of Art, and of course,

Chicago is one of the true showcases of American

culture. I will also be teaching at John Campbell Folk

School and Hollander’s School of Book and Paper

Arts. One can fi nd info on all these on-line.

So WEN is casting its fortieth mailing into the

larger world. Tony Drehfal has such expertise and

care with his designing and editing Block & Burin

(assisted by Will Rueter). To have Judith Jaidinger

to write this long anticipated article is amazing

and something I always wanted to see. Kathee

Kiesselbach is a force! She has her hands in so many

directions that she wrote the book on multi-tasking.

Sylvia Pixley, we all know and love from day one.

So WEN is no longer on a tight, rigid schedule.

More and more, you will see our deadlines being

nebulous. We are aging, and busier than ever. But

we hope to keep getting this mailing to you. Our

goal is something worthwhile, gives you pause for

beauty, and perhaps, inspires you in your own work.

If we haven’t, and you can draw, we would love to

meet you someday.

Back Row: Cliff Harvey, Anders Sandstrom, Eric May, Maggie Rhudy, Rosa McElheny, Sheri GessertMiddle Row: Carol Pelletier, Abigail Rorer, Molly Branton, Charlie WatersFront Row: R.P. Hale, Jim Horton

8

What I Did This Summerby Carl Montford

It has been quite a while since we had to write an

essay on “What I did this summer”, but I mentioned

to Jim Horton what happened this summer and he

asked me to relate it to all of you.

From a 6,500 mile road trip to steam roller

printing, it truly was a summer to remember. Our

road trip was originally motivated by my wife’s high

school reunion, but of course frequent stops to see

relatives and friends along the way lengthened the

duration of the trip considerably. After reaching

our easternmost point we turned the car around

and headed back west to Seattle, at that point some

3,500 miles away. I had been given a tip to stop in

Knoxville to visit Yee Haw Industries, which is a

wonderful place that produces broadsides from

woodcuts, wood and metal type, and prints them

on their large Vandercook proof presses. Their col-

lection of woodcuts, wood type etc. is amazing. I

talked to one of the artists there, and of course the

conversation lapsed into “how do you do it?” talk.

He explained some of the larger work is actually cut

directly into MDF manufactured wood. I saw some,

both the cuts and the prints, absolutely amazing,

think I’ll try that soon.

The next stop I had planned all along, it of

course was the famous “Hatch” in Nashville. Being

serious about spending some time there, we rented

a hotel for the night, and I spent the following

Yee Haw Industries

Hatch Show Print

9

morning in and amongst their gigantic collection of

broadside prints, presses, woodcuts and type, about

the same as Yee Haw, but much larger. Having met

the owner and operator in Seattle, he greeted me as

a long lost friend, which of course impressed this

writer. His name is Jim Sheradon and he is a very

talented and gracious gentleman. He invited me

to inspect all of the cuts, type, presses and all the

equipment. Of course, being housed in a lovely very

old brick business building in the old part of down-

town Nashville added to its appeal. They have been

in business since the latter part of the 19th century

printing broadsides for the “Grand Ole Opry”, and

are affi liated with them to this day. Jim said they

own the building they are in now as opposed to

leasing, so are about as permanent as can be. The

accompanying pictures show just a smattering of

broadsides they have printed over the years and

were still designing and printing as I watched. For

all you wood engravers and woodcutters, a visit to

the Hatch would, in my opinion, be very stimulating

to your artistic sense.

Arriving back in Seattle after fi ve weeks of driv-

ing and visiting, I went right to work on the next

big event of the summer, Steam Roller Printing, at

the school where I teach in downtown Seattle. The

school is SVC (School of Visual Concepts) and has

added letterpress classes to their curriculum some

seven years ago. Each year we have a traditional

Wayzgoose, swapping letterpress supplies and

equipment, selling our wares, and enjoying a few cu-

linary delights, along with some spirits of one kind

or the other. But this year, we added Steam Roller

printing. We and several other design organizations

here in Seattle were given the assignment to design

and cut a lino cut block, 3 ft x 4 ft! That in itself was

quite a task given this old wood engraver usually

works in blocks no bigger than 3 x 4 inches. Many

hours were spent cutting these blocks, but the day

arrived and the excitement grew, partly because so

many of the artists had not done this before, and

partly because of the effort to organize this event

was hoped to be successful. We rented a Steam

Roller (actually an industrial asphalt roller). Tables

were set up for inking the lino cuts, then laid down

face up on a bed of 3/4 inch plywood, paper on top,

pad next and another piece of 3/8 inch plywood.

This sandwich was then laid down on the parking

lot surface for printing. I built a small ramp to bet-

ter let the roller ride up on the “sandwich” without

skidding. The Steam Roller was then cranked up

and ran over the block once forward and then

backed down off the block. The pictures I hope you

can see show peeling off the print from the block,

Steam Roller Printing at SVC

10

much to the delight of the crowd surrounding the

event – of course with toes back at a safe distance.

At the end of the day many prints of each of the

blocks were hung from the balconies of the school

building: quite an impressive sight. This was all

mostly the brainchild of our letterpress department

founder, Jenny Wilkson, but of course with the help

of many, many students and technical assistants.

The owners have been extremely supportive in all

of these yearly events. I was involved in another

Steam Roller escapade in Tacoma, Washington, on

March 1st of this year. Along with many other small

press proprietors. I cut my block for that event in

3/4 inch Birchwood plywood along with the help

of several of my group, the Rain City Engravers (see

Announcements & Notes, page 34). But for the SVC

event, I was called upon to print a keepsake on the

Reliance iron handpress that I and another gentle-

man restored a summer ago, so I was not able to

spend much time Steam Rollering!

All in all, it was a great summer. Much ahead

to keep me busy: the Seattle Antiquarian Book Fair,

the next SVC class starting in September which is

“Type Design and Printing on the Iron Handpress”,

I’ll be team teaching with Juliet Shen, who has her

own graphic studio and teaches Typography at SVC

also. Other private classes in my own studio are also

in the coming fall and winter.

I’m looking forward to the coming year in WEN

happenings, but no more 6,500 mile road trips for

this guy.

SVC Keepsake

11

Old Wood Engraversby Judith Jaidinger

My introduction to wood engraving came about by

chance when I was an eighteen year old student at

the School of the Art Institute of Chicago in 1959-

60. I had to choose between etching, lithography

and wood engraving for a required printmaking

course. I don’t recall my reason, if any, for select-

ing wood engraving. I hadn’t the least idea what a

wood engraving was and had never seen a wood

engraving print.

Adrian Troy was our instructor. In class we were

each given a block of pear wood and told to do a

series of lines over the entire block using a No.3

tint tool. In keeping with the purist philosophy of

Mr. Troy, we were never shown a fi nished block or

print. After covering the pear wood with a number

of thin, scratchy lines, we were sent to the school

store to buy a small piece of boxwood. We were to

draw a design on paper and then transfer it on to

the block. My fi rst block was a fl at pattern design

with three fi gures. I engraved straight parallel lines

into areas of the design. We then rolled out ink on a

sheet of glass with gelatin brayers and inked up our

blocks. My fi rst print was done on Japanese tissue

burnished with a teaspoon.

The results of my fi rst printmaking effort were

very disappointing. The image was backwards, and

that had been a shock. The print was dark and the

paper limp, hardly what I expected after the effort

I had put into the block. My disappointment only

lasted a short time. Although I was not satisfi ed

with the print, I had fallen in love with the process

of engraving the wood. I had never before seen or

felt a piece of wood that was as hard and smooth as

glass. Engraving that surface was demanding and I

found the challenge of trying to control the results

exciting and very satisfying.

I studied wood engraving at the School of

the Art Institute for three years. The three years

consisted of practicing the process and techniques

we learned in the fi rst weeks. We were taught wood

engraving of the “purist” school and never used a

print press or any other paper other than Japanese

tissue.

The Sander Wood Engraving Company was

located a short distance from the school at that time.

(542 South Dearborn Street, in the block known as

“Printers Row”.) We were told that we could go there

to purchase wood and tools but were cautioned

against looking at any of the work being done there

for fear that we would be infl uenced by commercial

engraving and therefore corrupted. Needless to

say, my fi rst trip to the den of corruption was an

exhilarating revelation. I was able to peek over the

shoulders of engravers bent over their desks and

Judith working a Zacher Studio

12

view work that was fascinating, intricate and beau-

tifully cut. I still remember being astonished at the

variety of tones that these commercial engravers

could achieve with their line work. I also learned

that a wood block could be put on a printing press

and printed on solid high-contrast paper.

In the fall of 1965, my husband at the time had

to go to Sander for some materials for the Art Insti-

tute. While he was there he had a conversation with

Joseph Sander and he mentioned my taking wood

engraving at the Art Institute. Joe said he would offer

me an apprenticeship. Although I needed a job, I was

hesitant about taking it because of being warned by

Mr. Troy about having my fi ne art sensibilities being

Zacher Engraving Company in its heyday

13

tainted by commercial engraving. Never the less, I

needed a job and curiosity won out.

I didn’t realize it at the time but I was entering

a traditional man’s trade. The only suggestion that

this wasn’t entirely true was that I was shown to a

desk painted in a pastel shade of pink. It seems that

there had been a girl before me but she left to get

married. This is the only time I had ever heard of

a girl being in the trade. At the time that I started

everyone in the place was a man except for the re-

ceptionist in the offi ce. All the engravers there were

seasoned veterans and kidded me but who were also

polite. At the same time I was sure they weren’t go-

ing to take me seriously. Joe never assigned me to a

journeyman so I just nosed around and practiced on

scraps wood with wonderful old tools and started

to imitate what I saw around me.

The engravers I worked with were all master

engravers. Paul N. Quirk (1898-1983) was the senior

and most respected engraver. I will talk about him

later, because it was only after I left Sander that we

struck up a relationship where I learned all about

him and his family. The other engravers were Glen

Jesky, Ray Goltz, and George Wons. All of them

possessed techniques and styles that were uniquely

their own. They did not engrave in the style of en-

gravers from the turn of the century. Their approach

was the same as modern illustrators who breathed

life into the old craft.

Along with the engravers there was the pho-

tographer Willie Brown, who took pictures of the

merchandise, prepared the photosensitive emulsion

on the wood blocks and then burned the photo-

graphic negatives onto the blocks. Alfred the printer

pulled the fi nal proofs and maintained the presses.

It was also his job to route off the dead wood on

the fi nished blocks and he maintained the tools by

shortening, grinding and sharpening. Alfred is the

one who taught me how to shorten a tool by holding

it in a vise, knocking the end off with a hammer,

and then grinding it on wheels with different grit

making sure not to lose the temper of the steel by

getting it too hot. He also showed me how to use a

router, taking off the excess wood, but cautioning

not to slip into the engraving of a fi nished block.

Routed & Trimmed Block

14

The slightest bump could ruin an engraving that

had hours of work into it. Alfred was the fi rst person

to show me how a proof press worked so that I was

fi nally able to proof one of my own blocks on high

contrast paper. What a revelation. I never used a

spoon again.

A typical day started with everyone quiet. On

Wednesday afternoons the radio was on with a

re-broadcast of the “Midnight Special” on WFMT.

It was hours of recorded folk songs, satire and

comedy routines. If Joe Sander was in, everything

was normal. If Joe went out on a sales call around

11:00 in the morning, the engravers stopped work

and went into the conference room for a game of

cards. Sometimes a bottle was brought out. Ray

would go out to see his bookie on another fl oor. It

was defi nitely a man’s world.

Alfred also proofed color registered blocks.

This is what inspired me to try color. I had just fi n-

ished a large block with a fi gure with a mask. I made

the smaller blocks of blue and yellow and Alfred

said he would show me how to print it after work-

ing hours. So on Thursday night we set it up and

printed the two colors and then the fi nal black to

fi nish it off. Because it was getting late, Alfred had to

leave and Willie, who had been working in the dark

room, came to help me fi nish the last of the proofs.

We had them piled all over the workroom to dry.

Right in the middle of things, Willie started mak-

ing advances and I panicked. Shaken and scared, I

ran out the offi ce door leaving everything behind in

complete disarray. Outside the offi ce I decided to use

the stairway down the four fl oors instead of waiting

for the wire cage elevator. I took the elevated train

home and all the way on the journey I was thinking

that I probably had lost my job. The most diffi cult

thing was going to work the next morning, wonder-

ing if my prints were still all over the place. Willie

had collected all the prints and discreetly put them

on my desk. It seemed that Willie didn’t want to

lose his job either. I don’t know if any of the other

engravers found out about the incident, but if they

Here are some examples from a Sander Engraving Company Catalog. “Take particular note of the graceful manner in which these rings were illustrated, it is the result of many years of specializing in illustrating jewelry.”

15

did they never let on. Willie and I never spoke of

it again, but our relationship changed from good

natured to cautious.

I remember the layout of Sander’s workroom

being huge. All the engravers desks were at large

windows facing east. There was a room for the large

automatic Vandercook proof press and a separate

room for grinding. Willie had his own space for

preparing blocks and a dark room. There was a

small press that the engravers used for doing sample

proofs of their blocks.

The place also had a large room which had a

long conference table and shelving all around. There

were books and catalogs from every era including

the most modern. On one wall were shelves that

contained original Bewick blocks that looked to

me like little lumps of coal. Some of the engravers

played around trying to print their uneven surface

but were never very successful at it. There were fi le

cabinets that contained original proofs of Sander

engravings from the past to the present. These

shelves held wood engraving treasures. Old man

Quirk had many scrap books, containing other

engravers’ work, certainly ones he admired very

much. All of this material was available for anyone

to study and appreciate. For me it was a priceless

source of knowledge that had no restrictions.

A lot of the work for the engravers was doing

illustration for ads. Sander had the account for

Owens Corning Glass Co. They did the illustrations

for their scientifi c catalogs of test tubes, beakers and

thermometers, etc. The objects were engraved on

wood with white lines and then proofed on white

chrome coat paper that had a high contrast shiny

surface but with a clay undercoating. We retouched

them for accuracy, by scratching the black fl aws off

the clay surface, and then they were sent out to be

made into electrotypes. When they came back the

white lines became the black lines for printing. We

trimmed off the burrs to make sure that they would

print without any fl aws. These were then sent to

the printer.

Joseph and David Sander owned the business.

Joseph was in sales and traveled. I only met David

twice: once when he brought some people in for a

tour of the place and the other when I was working

at Zacher and he interviewed me about working on a

series of Leonard Baskin blocks. Ethically I couldn’t

agree to the deal and never found out whether or

not the project came to pass.

I never found out the details but a rumor had

gone around the company that there was a major

16

crisis in the Joseph Sander family and this is when

David announced that he was moving the company

to Indiana. I suddenly found myself unemployed.

It was Glen Jesky and Ray Goltz that suggested I try

to get a job at Zacher Studio, because they were still

doing wood engraving. They gave me the address,

1019 West Jackson Boulevard, and I went and ap-

plied as an apprentice and got the job. This was

the beginning of my second stint as a commercial

wood engraver.

So, I was hired at Zacher, and met their one

full-time engraver, Trimble Schroeder, known as

“Shake”. It was awkward at fi rst because he had

never trained a “girl” before. I was about 26 or

27 then and was a divorced single mother with a

daughter to support. Shake had started as an ap-

prentice at Zacher when he was 15 years old and

had been there for 40 years. He is the one who truly

started me as an apprentice in commercial blocks.

Ordinarily an apprenticeship was fi ve to seven years,

but that was in the old days. Because I was familiar

with the wood and already engraving he started

me out immediately. I did small simple pieces such

as jewelry, car accessories, textures for things like

fabric, wood grain, hairy seat covers, etc. These were

all for catalog pages.

Sometimes, if we had a lot of work backed up,

Shake would call in two other engravers in their late

70s to help out. My job was to fi nish off the tone

or line work and trim the edges of the engraving,

once I had routed off the dead wood. Then I would

ink up the old litho stone and pull a proof on the

Washington press. It was the only press at Zacher.

Shake taught me how to use a ruling machine and

how to set it up to match the multiple line gravers.

The apprentices at Zacher had to keep scrap books

of all their practice blocks. I got to see Shake’s book

but never saw another.

Evolution of a Woodcut“The accompanying illustrations, presented through the courtesy of N.J. Quirk, Chicago’s wood-engraver, include a 133-line half-tone made from a portrait of “Pershing the Peacemaker” painted in France, a fi rst fl at proof of wood-cut, a second fl at of the same block, and a fi nal proof of the woodcut. Mr. Quirk has been very successful in preserving the original likeness.”

17

One of the stories that Shake would tell was

that young apprentices, who had made mistakes

on their blocks, would go into the washroom, open

the window and toss them out into the river below.

That was in the old days when Zacher was in a dif-

ferent location. During the Depression many of the

engravers were forced to leave and fi nd other work

because of the shortage of money. The owner of

Zacher, Charlie Swan, would hold up a job and the

engravers were forced to bid against each other in

order to get the work. It resulted in bitter resent-

ment that was still felt when I got there. The old guys

would talk about it all the time. When the owner

died they had carved a little coffi n that Shake would

drag out and some very irreverent comments were

made, then everyone laughed.

So many widows would come by hoping to sell

their deceased husband’s tools, not realizing that

the craft was on the way out and the tools were no

longer needed. It made a sad and lasting impression

on me. During the war years Shake worked as a fi re-

man, Joe Cierny got a job at the First National Bank,

etc. Shake was the one that came back to Zacher and

stayed with them until the end. Zacher went out of

business in the late 1970s.

Joe was a wonderful engraver and worked with

a very delicate touch. Shake’s work was stronger

with a lot of contrast. Shake had never gone to high

school and never had art lessons. Most of the young

apprentices never did. I had to admire what these

guys were able to do. Shake always encouraged my

art work and many times I was able to work on my

blocks on company time.

When I worked at Sander, Nicholas Paul Quirk

was the oldest and most respected engraver around,

but it wasn’t until years later that I had a close friend-

ship with him and his wife. Evidently, David Sander

Nick Quirk, Jr., Apprentice Wood-Engraver, at work in his home workshop. (Photo taken on April 8, 1916)As a young man, Paul had a small carbide cannon and one 4th of July fi red it off and took off most of his right forefi nger. The surgeon sewed his fi nger to his stomach area. Weeks later the fl esh formed a pad on the fi nger and made it possible for Paul to continue engraving.

18

had put a woman in touch with Paul about wood

engraving instructions. In turn, Paul wrote to me

asking if I could write to her about her questions

and help her with the project she had started and

I replied that I would. It turned out that she was a

cloistered nun in New Jersey and she was engraving

pistol handles. To make a long story short I still

write Sister Mary Ellen Timothy. At that time my

relationship with Paul began.

His basement was his workshop where he did

free lance work. Paul was gracious enough to open

his home and let me use his Vandercook proof

press because I had none. He listened to opera and

engraved while I pulled editions of my blocks. I

watched him engrave and he showed me countless

little tricks of the trade, such as how to bring up

wood that had bear downs, how to plug a block,

etc. At lunch time Claire, his wife, would make

lunch and we had many chats about Paul’s father,

Nicholas J. Quirk, who was a wood engraver and

was a member of the greats, including Timothy

Cole and John Evans.

When Paul’s health had a setback, they decided

to move and asked if I wanted to purchase his proof

press, router and ruling machine. Naturally, I said

yes and I use them today in my basement shop. I

have his tools as well. In fact, I inherited many other

engravers’ tools as they died off. I also have about

four of the tool chests that each engraver built for

their personal use.

The Quirks told me about black boxes in their

garage that had been there since the 1930s. Would

I care to go through them and see if I wanted

anything? The garage turned out to be a treasure

trove. There were boxes stacked to the ceiling. One

of their grandsons and I took an entire day and

went through everything. There were letters from

other engravers, (Timothy Cole, etc) original signed

proofs, newspaper and Inland Printer articles,

signed photographs (Charles Lindbergh, Woodrow

Wilson, etc.) and countless artwork by illustrators

that worked on the Chicago Tribune. It turned out

that old man Nicholas (Nick) also did paintings for

the Chicago Tribune, where they always had an illus-

tration on their daily front page. He was especially

interested in military and nautical themes, mostly

ships. They told me that he was a very patriotic

man and was involved in writing to national politi-

cians, among them Presidents and other Heads

of Washington, asking them for autographs on

photographs. He, along with Paul, engraved their

Example of Paul Quirk’s Engraving

19

portraits along with their signatures. He then sent

the engravings to each individual, receiving thank

you letters, and kept the letters to be used for refer-

ences and promotional venues.

The Quirks told me how the old man went

to a downtown hotel to see Charles Lindbergh.

He wanted to get some photographs signed but

the crowd was so huge he couldn’t get near him.

So, he started to cry, literally. Everyone around

him was so startled by the commotion that it got

Lindbergh’s attention and he came over to him.

Old Nick got the signatures on the photographs as

planned. Two separate engravings were made and

I believe originals are in the museum in St. Louis. I

have proofs of them, plus the original photos with

the signatures.

To me, the most interesting thing is something

I found a couple of years ago. Sorry to say, I never

asked any of the old engravers how an apprentice

was taught to engrave tone. It was taught strictly as

a trade. I know that an apprentice started out very

young and an art background / education was not

20

necessary. Paul Quirk had lessons at the Art Institute

of Chicago, but my old boss Shake, who started at

the age of 15, had no art training whatever. But then

I discovered these old prints from the late 1800s and

fi nally fi gured out what they were about. There is a

notation on top of a print reproduction of an old

painting that reads, “Whyinell don’t you fi nish your

practice block?” Then I found the same print with

background engraving on it. Then I found another

print with the same practice tones. I put two and

two together and realized that this was the way an

apprentice was taught to make those wonderful

soft tones. Were these actual blocks with the photos

on them or did they work directly on the paper? I

don’t know whether or not they would waste a good

block on apprentice work. Maybe they practiced on

paper fi rst?

The Smithsonian Museum of American His-

tory contacted me, and I donated most of these

things to them in 1996. As I am getting older, I real-

ized that this stuff needed a home. The Smithsonian

is a place where the collection will be conserved

and protected, and available for people doing

research.

When Zacher closed, I inherited all the remain-

ing wood, tools and tool chests. When Shake died I

paid his widow for his tools and chest, just as I did

Paul Quirk’s tools. The connection I have when I

handle these tools is comforting. There are tools

from Germany, France, England and America. They

are of every size imaginable with countless initials

carved on their handles. It is wonderful to know that

I have had the privilege of working side by side with

some of the best engravers in the commercial end

of things. I have tools that have been handed down

literally from generation to generation. Using these

tools, I have been able to carry on, through my work,

a wonderful legacy of the old wood engravers.

Practice Block Detail

21

Most of the images that appear in this feature were reproduced from photocopies that Judith Jaidinger mailed the editor of Block & Burin. Many of the originals are now part of the Quirk Collection at The Smithsonian’s National Museum of American History (NMAH), located in Washington, D.C.

“The Quirk Collection represents a significant body of work by N.J. Quirk (1863-1940) and his son Nicholas Paul Quirk (1898-1983), together with nu-merous business cards and specimen sheets from their fellow wood engravers and printing concerns, mostly in the midwestern United States, but also from Canada and Japan. Engraved wood blocks, electrotype plates, photographs, original artwork, proofs, prints, brochures, catalogs and other examples of commercial illustration and wood engraving, plus associated reference material, are included. Subjects represented include portraits (including six Presidents, Joseph Conrad, and Charles Lindbergh), machinery, jewelry, maritime and military work, holiday offerings …”

Judith Jaidinger donated the Quirk Collection to the Smithsonian’s National Museum of American History in 1996.

Gratitude and many thanks to Helena E. Wright, Curator of Graphic Arts, NMAH, Smithsonian Insti-tute, and her marvelous staff of dedicated workers, for provided some digital fi les, including the wood engraving on the title page.

Bookplate for the Timothy Cole Collection at Vassar CollegeThis letter was published in The Inland Printer in 1916.My Dear Nick Quirk: I hasten to acknowledge your nice letter and the proof. These long days fi nd me with very little time for anything but work. I am up at 4:30 A.M., and after various necessary chores I manage to get to my block at 6, and with half an hour for dinner I continue, with intermissions for gentle exercises of arms, legs and other such like squirmings, till about 7:30 P.M., then supper and a good long walk before bedtime. Do you get to work at 6 A.M.? You need a lot more practice in cutting tints and to get the mastery of your line; at present the line masters you. You must draw a lot. How old are you now? I fancy you must be about twenty. Do not be fl attered by what those idiotic editors may say, but study serious drawing, and read good books. Avoid by all means all strong drink, with smoking or overeating. Excuse my haste.Sincerely yours, Timothy Cole

22

The Philosopher d.o.p. David Moyer (actual size)

The Philosopher d.o.p. was engraved on lemonwood and printed on Domtar Solutions 80#, ivory acid-free

text paper, using black ink. The d.o.p. in the title is an abbreviation of “The disconsolation of philosophy”

as part of a larger series of engravings. This is an edition of 200.

Bundle No. 40Summer 2008

The prints contained in this issue of Block & Burin

have been scanned from WEN Bundle No. 40. This

section does not intend to substitute the value of

viewing the original prints as printed by the artist

on fi ne paper with quality inks, but is meant to pro-

vide a facsimile for WEN members not receiving

bundles. Because of space and reproduc-

tion limitations, some images have

been reduced in size, and color prints have been

reproduced in shades of gray. In some instances

a print represented in the bundle may have been

excluded in this section as requested by the artist.

All original prints from the bundles are archived at

the Princeton University Graphic Arts Library,

Princeton, New Jersey, with Agnes

Sherman serving as curator.

23

Untitled Benjamin Love (actual size)

Benjamin’s edition of 135 for WEN was printed on a “Sigwalt 6x9 press with a lot of make ready”. The image was engraved on end-grain maple and printed on Rives BFK heavy paper using Daniel Smith traditional relief ink. The edition was printed at the Red Circle Press (Boise State University).

Design in Nature Earl Nitschke (actual size)

Design in Nature was printed at the Enigma Press in

an edition of 100 for WEN.

24

Upstate New York Farm Anna Hogan (actual size)

Anna engraved Upstate New York Farm “many years ago”. This edition of 77 was printed by Ed Rayher, at

Swamp Press, located in Northfi eld, Massachusetts.

25

WEN Buzzard John Benson (90%)

The WEN Buzzard was printed in an edition of 125

with 10 artist proofs. The print is a linocut printed

using Van Son ink on Rives lightweight paper,

using the brayer-baren hand printing technique.

The image relates to a multi-bird lithograph and

a multi-bird linocut that were printed in the past

2 years.

AIDS Service 2007 John Benson (55%)

John’s linocut was printed using Braden Sulphin ink

& the brayer-baren hand printing method. This is an

edition of 600. “This is the 20th cover I have produced

for the annual service. The image is of a monogram,

of God being the center, with bands of the Grace of

God radiating outward, at one point protecting a soul

(the recipient of the cover), with the 4 angels who

protect the world and 2 bands of angels who are only

eyes who watch over the world protectively.”

26

The Axmen Richard Woodman (65%)

The Axmen is printed on Classic Crest smooth text paper with Akua water based intaglio inks blended to a

sepia hue. This image was engraved on Resingrave™ using burins and rotary burs. The Axeman is “A kind

of take on ‘The Three Musketeers’ depicting a group of northwest loggers, circa 1900.” This is an edition

of 90 printed for WEN.

27

Dingbats… Elke Inkster (50%)

Dingbats Ornaments & fanciful initials is a bookmark,

printed on tan paper with black and red ink by Elke

Inkster at the printing offi ce of The Porcupine’s

Quill, located in the Village of Erin, Ontario.

Chaffi nch Sylvia Portillo (70%)

Chaffinch is printed on Arches velim paper, using

Van Son CML #22011 Black oil base ink (VS795).

This is an edition of 100 with 76 prints for the WEN

bundle. Sylvia reworked her book illustration to fit a

4” x 6” Resingrave™ block. The edition was printed

on a Showcard press. A Pigma Micron 02 pen

was used to replace the bird’s toe nail, which was

accidentally removed while cleaning up high spots

on the block after running the first proof.

28

Untitled Scott Baldwin (actual size)

This colonial playing a fi fe is one of a series of heads

Scott is working on to improve his technique.

Dragon Eye William R. Stolpin (45%)

Dragon Eye was printed on a Line-O-Scribe press with

some older sheets of Hosho-Echizen paper, trimmed

to size, using black Handschy litho ink. This is an edi-

tion of 100 with 98 prints for the WEN bundle. “The

mounted linoleum block was cut as a demonstration

to the students in the Relief Printmaking class I teach

at the Flint Institute of Arts, in Flint, Michigan. The

prints are chopped with the mark of my studio “DAS”

and my personal printers mark (ie: my logo).”

29

Spirit Bird John McWilliams (65%)

John printed Spirit Bird on Rives paper, in an edition

of 78, for this bundle.

Poppy #1 Sylvia Pixley (65%)

Poppy #1 is printed on cream colored Mohawk Su-

perfine cover, using Braden Sulphin PDI Dense Black

ink. Sylvia “will print enough for everyone plus 20

for myself.” “This is a 2”by 2” Corian sample block

– one of 5 in an on going series of fl owers.”

30

Bundle Participation?Show your stuff!

A Note to All WEN Members on Bundle Participation: and in particular, those new mem bers that might still be con fused as to what and how the print ex change works.

A Bundle is a name we dubbed the mailings that

take place twice yearly (March and September). A

Bundle is a pack et of prints, or a “non-dig i tal” show

that comes to your door. They are not in tend ed for

sale or spec u la tion. They are meant for people to

share the joy of print mak ing with others who know

and appreciate what went into their pro duction.

We have many levels of expertise rep re sent ed.

There are es tab lished pro fes sion als along with

be gin ners. There are a few who ap pre ci ate prints,

but don't practice print mak ing them selves. We

hope the Bun dles are a means of ed u ca tion. We

do not pub lic ly judge or crit i cize the work that is

con trib ut ed, though we are al ways open to com-

ments, and cer tain ly, in di vid u al con tacts can be

made to these art ists with your more per son al com-

ments and ideas. We avoid politics ... just the love

of see ing ink on paper that came from an art ist's

hand. Some times we are awed by the quality of

the work. Some times we learn from the raw ness

of a “Be gin ner's Mind” as the Zen mas ters call it,

that hasn’t been in fl u enced by stan dard prac tic es

and shows the ex cit ing marks of ex per i men ta tion.

“A print is the halfway point be tween a thing and a

thought,” as Fritz Eichenberg once said. To hold it

close to the eye, and see the artists in ti mate jour ney

of cre ation is no small thing. In these days of digital

im ag ing, it is a rare and val ued thing ... perhaps

more so than ever.

We are always happy to hear of sales and

contacts that re sult from people see ing some one’s

work in the Bun dles, how ev er, that is not the prime

reason we exist. We know that giving away work is

not exactly going to put food on the table (and cer-

tain ly artists have to do so). WEN is just one place

where, if you have something extra to give, with the

spirit of “What goes around, comes around,” you

do nate. We are an ap pre cia tive audience. When

you do con trib ute to a Bundle, unless you in di cate

that it not be used for exhibition, you are giving

people the right to show it to others in educational

displays. If it were to be re pro duced for com mer cial

use, per mis sions must be sought.

Bundle participation is not man da to ry for

being a mem ber of WEN. If you paid your dues,

you will receive a jour nal, all an nounce ments, a

welcome to come to any of our activities (such as

summer work shops), exhibit in any WEN connected

ex hi bi tions and receive some prints that have been

donated by mem bers. You might not re ceive all the

prints (as mem bers only have to submit a total of 76,

not enough to go around to all). Why that number?

Some of these art ists print by hand, slowly, and

to even give away 76 of such work, is asking a lot,

though some do con trib ute the max i mum. How do

you get the full ar ray of prints? You do so by con-

tributing at least 76 prints to a Bundle. If you do so,

you are put at the head of the list when the stacks

of prints are sorted into en ve lopes for mailing. If

you never contribute (which there is no pres sure to

do so), you will get whatev er is left over. That list is

31

sorted by the se niority of when you joined. If you

are a newcom er, obviously, you are go ing to be at the

end of the line. But con trib ute, and you are at the

front of the line. This keeps a healthy array of new

artists coming in. If con trib ut ing ev ery few years,

you are still get ting just about ev ery thing.

We do ask that the work going into a bundle

is by your hand. You may contribute brochures,

advertisements or a prospectus. All ma te ri als are

welcome as long as you feel it would be of interest

and benefi t to the group. We have received intaglio,

lino and plank-grain wood cuts, which are welcome.

Any questions, do con tact us.

New Members

Paul S. Gentry

589 S. 4th St.

Independence, OR 97351-1913

Phone: 503-838-4396

E-mail: paul.s.gentry@gmail.com

www.gentryfi neartengraving.com

More to come as we await his questionnaire.

John Ross

6282 Howey Dr.

Holladay, Utah 84121

Phone: 801-277- 2815

E-mail: johnross@msn.com

More to come as we await his questionnaire.

Eric John Hoffman

630 Oaklawn Ave.

#138 Cranston, Rhode Island, 02920.

Phone: 401-742-5700

E-mail: vested11@cox.net

www.hoffmanprints.bloodspot.com

Eric learned to engrave from Stephan Fisher and Barry Moser in the past two years. He has a degree in printmaking from Rhode Island College. Eric sent me a delightful print from nature, of which he is most inclined to do, saying he loves the patterns of nature.

Benjamin Love

1011 Lemp St.

Boise, Idaho 83702-2724

Benjamin is an undergrad student at Boise State Uni-versity, studying sculpture and printmaking.

Changes & Updates

Change of address:

Kevin Kiwak

PO Box 125

Sandisfi eld, MA 01255.

Change of E-mail:

Richard Woodman: resingrave@verizon.net

32

Announcements & Notes

A Wood Engraver’s AlphabetGerald Brender à Brandis

Published by the Porcupine’s Quill

“Wood engraver Gerald Brender à Brandis has long

been an avid gardener and botanist; his excyclo-

paedic knowledge of the plant world animates the

exquisite microcosm of A Wood Engraver’s Alphabet. This collection is intended both for the student

of the complexities of nature’s creations and the

patron of the intricate art of wood engraving. The

images are presented in the form of an alphabet

book but the simple, and sometimes elementary,

appreciation of the alphabet format will not suf-

fi ce here. The abundance of the botanical world,

and the multitude of choice available to represent

each letter, allows the mind of the artist and reader

alike to roam free. A short introduction by the artist

illuminates the choices he has made and includes

historical tidbits abut the lexicon of fl owers.”

This description, from the back cover of A

Snapdragon (Antirrhinum majus)

Morning Glory (Ipomoea ‘Heavenly Blue’)

33

Wood Engraver’s Alphabet, a new book published by

The Porcupine’s Quill, introduces a marvelous new

collection of wood engravings created by the Cana-

dian artist Gerald Brender à Brandis. This book is a

fl oral treasure of wood engraving, a garden of visual

delights. Gerald’s alphabet starts with the Adder’s

Tongue, Bird of Paradise, Chrysanthemum, Day Lily

and English Bluebells, and ends with the Winter-

green, Foxglove, Yellow Fumitory and Zinnia.

Each print is alive with movement, arcing white

engraved lines interplay with the bold blackness of

the inked block, forming illuminated leaves, stems,

petals and earth. The Toronto Star aptly described

Gerald as a wood engraver “whose densely tex-

tured intricacy vibrate across your vision, drawing

you into a microscopically magic world.” A Wood Engraver’s Alphabet by Gerald Brender à Brandis is

highly recommended.

For more information about G. Brender

à Brandis’ A Wood Engraver’s Alphabet, visit the

Porcupine’s Quill on-line at: http://www.sentex.

net/~pql

Wyatt Pantograph

New WEN member, Claire Wyatt, is looking for a

permanent home for a vintage pantograph, once

used by her late father Leo Wyatt, famed designer,

engraver and calligrapher. He used the pantograph

in the designing of bank notes in the 1950s, while

living and working in Cape Town, South Africa. The

tale of the Wyatt pantograph was shared by Claire

in a recent e-mail.

“I am looking for a ‘home’ for it in the sense

that I would like it to be permanently housed some-

where for posterity. When my Dad died in 1982

my mother was quite devastated. She decided, in

her grief, to pack up the whole of Leo’s studio and

dispatch it to Castle Matrix in Eire where they had

friends who had renovated an ancient castle which

they were hoping to set up as an Arts Centre. The

idea was that one of the rooms there would be the

reconstituted Leo Wyatt Studio, in the form of a

museum. I am only grateful that my mother never

found out what really happened to all Leo’s things.

They were never even unpacked but the crates were

dumped in derelict outbuildings, pilfered by roving

children and loony ‘lodgers’, fl ooded, desecrated by

moth, rats, mould and mites and dispersed, over 20

years, all over these cob-webbed sodden buildings

34

guarded by a pack of huge dogs. It is like a court-

yard in which the dogs were corralled and where

the nettles grow head high. I don’t really blame

any one of the O’Driscolls, who were beleaguered

by horrible illnesses and death, and then Liz was

left on her own with a small pension. The castle

downstairs where she lives is quite derelict. The

upstairs is fi ne, quite dry and intact. She is a bit of

a Miss Haversham.

I took it upon myself to track her down (no easy

task, in the end I just went and winkled her out) and

we searched all the outbuildings with a torch and

a large anti-cobweb Chinese sword (Sean collected

military memorabilia), fi nding nothing until the

last room, and then in bits and pieces. I spotted on

the fl oor some of Leo’s lettering and a little dish I

remember always being on his desk from the time

we were children. That was so exciting, as you can

imagine. Many of the things Betty had mentioned

in her itinerary we never found and there was one

cellar room we couldn’t access as Liz couldn’t fi nd

the key. I’ve been back twice. It is a most unsettling

experience / environment, not made less so by the

fact that Liz believes there to be spirits living there

of the malevolent kind! We found the pantograph

in that last cellar room the second time round but

it was too large to put in the car we had.

I have brought everything salvageable back,

but it’s all in a dire state, and much has had to be

disposed of. His tools and a few other things we are

cleaning up and hope to display somewhere. What

more can we do faced with the reality? I’m only glad

to have removed it from that dark place. So now it

remains as to what to do with the pantograph. I

could just bring it here (my home) but where would

I put it? Hence my wish for assistance to fi nd the

pantograph a home, as Betty wanted. I have con-

tacted all kinds of people but it seems singularly

undesirable in current times, sadly. So, dear Sir,

that’s the very Irish story.”

If you are interested in helping Claire fi nd a

home for the Wyatt pantograph, you can contact her

at this e-mail address: koppernob@hotmail.com

Rain City Engravers

On the second Saturday of each month, the mem-

bers of Rain City Engravers meet in a West Seattle

studio to share their engraving and printing adven-

tures along with a few treats. This studio belongs to

Carl Montford, RCE founder and a long-time mem-

ber of WEN. Filled with antique presses and type it

offers the perfect environment for RCE meetings.

Before RCE there was no Northwest organiza-

tion for those interested in wood engraving and

printing, nor was there a group whose interests

35

include promoting the appreciation and the

advancement of wood engraving and printing

skills. Carl’s idea to fi ll this need for his students

has fl ourished. On June 10, 2007, RCE celebrated

its fi rst anniversary. Happy anniversary Rain City

Engravers! Some RCE members have also become

members of WEN.

Sylvia Portillo

RCE and WEN member

Available mid-October: New copies of An Engraver’s Globe by Simon Brett, published by Primrose Hill

Press. $75 each plus $8 shipping & handling.

Shipped media mail unless an upgrade is requested

– price upon request.

Contact:

Abigail Rorer

16 Oliver Street

Petersham, MA 01366

(978) 724-6672

loneoakpr49@earthlink.net

or

Molly Branton

127 E. Lynnwood Avenue

“Copy” Block and Tools of the Wood EngraverThis image was published in The Inland Printer in 1903

36

Award Winner

Majesty, Order and Beauty, The Aliquando Press`s

edition of the journals of T.J. Cobden-Sanderson,

has won two of six awards at the opening of The Art of the Book `08 exhibition, sponsored by the

Canadian Bookbinders and Book Artists Guild,

which will tour Canada during the next two years.

Will Rueter’s private press also celebrates 45 years

and 100 books with The Aliquando Century, a small

traveling exhibition of Aliquando Press work.

A catalogue is available from Will Rueter:

dovecot@hwcn.org.

Editor’s Notes

It has become a trend that you are receiving your

copy of Block & Burin a season (or two) later than

the issue’s title indicates. This summer edition has

fi nally made it to you sometime between fall and

winter. It has been suggested, more than once, that

the edition’s seasonal names be changed to fall and

spring, but I hesitate to change the tradition estab-

lished by the fi rst editor of Block & Burin.

The work done for the Wood Engravers’ Net-

work is through volunteer effort. Sylvia, Kathee,

Will, Jim & I, along with all the contributors who

provide content for Block & Burin, all have our own

calendar of activities, of family and career, that keep

us busy. At many times during the production phase

of the creation of Block & Burin there are delays.

There are times when our work for WEN has to wait

because something more important or urgent has

taken priority over our lives.

I have learned to relax, and live with these de-

lays and when asked, “When will the next issue be

ready?” will respond, “It’s ready when it’s printed.” I

am fortunate to have a very forgiving audience who

wait patiently for their Block & Burin and Bundle

mailing to arrive, and who write me wonderful

notes in response to this publication’s contents. I am

grateful for everything my WEN friends contribute

to what is truly “our” publication.

Cover Printing Notes: I used five Daniel Smith

inks: Venetian Red, Traditional Relief Black, Silver,

Phthalo Yellow (couldn’t read the can – assump-

tion on my part!), and Mediterranean Blue. Three

presses were used; a Conrad etching press printed

the blue, yellow and silver; a Rembrandt proofi ng

press was used for the bell; and a Chicago letterpress

was used for the Block & Burin 40. The covers were

printed on #80 Cougar Cover Opaque White.

Engraving for the Hawtin Company, Chicago

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ILLUSTRATED BOOKS

Geraldine WaddingtonBooks &Prints

g.waddington@dial.pipex.com