By George Becker.
Not many years ago the crudest and most primitive devices were used in
the production of a book cover. The artist, if such he could be
called, who was responsible for the design, seldom went to the trouble
of furnishing the engraver with anything more than a pencil sketch,
which the latter transferred to a brass plate about one-quarter of an
inch thick by coating the plate with beeswax and laying the sketch on
it, face downward. When the paper was removed the beeswax retained the
marks of the lead pencil. He then began the tedious process of
outlining it by hand with a graver and afterward finished it with a
chisel.
But the exacting demands of modern artistic taste, the improvement of
scientific methods and the pressure of competition have marked a
complete transformation in the business of making dies for book
covers. A few pencils and gravers, a vise bench, and a grindstone no
longer make an engraving establishment. Colored sketches of most
painstaking execution, accompanied by a working drawing in black and
white, have taken the place of the old pencil sketch. These artistic
productions, having passed the ordeal of critical examination, are
handed over to the photographer, who, if he understands his part, does
all that the beeswax did, and a good deal more. He takes the
black-and-white drawing above referred to and reproduces it, in the
size desired, directly on a brass plate covered with a sensitive
coating, and then having prepared it with acid-proof preparations, he
passes it over to the etcher.
The etcher in his turn, with unerring judgment in the strength of his
acids, does what the most careful outliner could not accomplish; he
produces a perfect facsimile of the original drawing, with all its
artistic freedom. The process used is practically the same as the zinc
etching process described in the chapter on half-tones and line
plates. The plate, having been etched as deep as is safe, is then
turned over to the router, whose business it is to cut out all the
metal between ornaments and lettering to the proper depth. This done,
the engraver, who in former years practically dug out the entire plate
with his hand tools, comes in to give the finishing touches and
correct any slight imperfection that may remain. It is of the utmost
importance, of course, that the dies should be clear-cut and deep, to
avoid clogging up in printing, particularly in the plates used for
stamping in inks. The experienced and watchful engraver is expected
to detect any spots where the etching process has not fully
accomplished its purpose. Lettering, especially, should be cut clear,
deep, and free from "feather," or ragged edges.
The above process applies to single plates or to plates intended for
printing in one color only, or in gold. Where two or more colors are
wanted, the photographer has to make as many prints as there are
colors in the artist's design, as each one calls for a separate plate.
The proceeding otherwise remains the same, excepting that to the
engraver's task is added the necessity of making sure of a perfect
register or fitting together of the various parts.
The transformation in the demands of publishers and writers has become
so great since the days of the primitive little shop above referred
to, that a die cutter, working on those lines, would be hopelessly out
of the race at the present day. In order to meet satisfactorily the
artistic expectation of the present generation a first-class engraving
establishment must have: an accomplished staff of artists, supplied
with a library of standard authorities on the various schools of art,
as well as a good selection of modern art publications; a skilled
photographer with a complete photographic outfit, including, of
course, a suitable gallery with the best obtainable light, both
natural and artificial; and lastly a complete staff of routers and
engravers, some of whom should be specialists in lettering, while
others should devote their attention exclusively to figures.
Of all the elements that go to make book-cover decoration the
lettering is by far the most important. It should receive special
care, as in some cases it constitutes the entire decoration. In this
respect the critical taste of the present day shows itself even more
strongly than in the matter of decorative ornamentation, and no amount
of ornamentation, whatever its artistic value, can redeem a cover
whose lettering is lacking in style, character, or typographical merit
of some kind. Experience is such a good teacher that I can usually
tell, by looking at a die, not only who designed the lettering, but
also what workman engraved it.
Some dies are intended for stamping in gold or colored leaf and
consequently have to be heated sufficiently to cause the leaf to
adhere to the cloth cover, while others are meant simply for black
stamping or stamping in ink of various colors; but all are engraved on
brass for the sake of durability. Sometimes, where very large editions
are expected, as of school books, steel is substituted for brass.
The die, when finished, is used by the binder in a stamping press.
Color work calls for considerable skill on the part of the stamper,
who should be an expert in mixing inks as the best-cut die will
often show poor results if not properly handled. In fact, the success
of a book cover depends on three individuals,--the artist who designs
it, the engraver who cuts it, and the stamper who prints it.