You’d call it a cut in USA, but back before World War II this is how a halftone block would be prepared for the printer (and for some time after the war). The work tended to be done by specialist engravers: in this case Scottish Studios and Engravers Ltd. of Glasgow. Note that after all that work the block is wrapped up along with a proof and the original sketch and entrusted to the mails.
The films are silent. I find them fascinating, but it is a 26 minute commitment. And just watch that man on the first film doing the “type” on the ad using just a fine paint brush (at about 5 minutes in). Such skills used to be widespread.
In the first part those of you who weren’t around when this was the normal way of doing things can see how a photograph was developed.
[…] For a related business see the videos attached to my earlier post Engraving a halftone block. […]
[…] also Engraving a halftone block, and Die […]
[…] you want to see how such a block was made, please look at the amazing videos at my earlier post, Engraving a halftone block. The functions carried out in the first of these videos would almost certainly have taken place at […]
[…] paint brush and white ink/paint. You can see this being done towards the end of the first video at Engraving a halftone block. (Even more incredibly in this video you can also see the artist/artisan creating the type by hand […]
[…] In that context, I’m constantly amazed by the Glasgow craftsman creating repro-quality type with a paint brush in the first of the three videos at Engraving a halftone block. […]
[…] ink and transfer it to the paper. In order to be able to print a little picture you had to go to an engraver and create a block* (called a cut in USA). To get a block engraved cost money, so unless it was totally specific to a […]