The Mass Image: A Social History of Photomechanical Reproduction in Victorian London

317 Pages·2008·4.713 MB·English

by  Gerry Beegan

The Mass Image
October-2007 MAC/THE Page-i 9780230_553279_01_prexiv
This page intentionally left blank
The Mass Image
A Social History of Photomechanical
Reproduction in Victorian London
Gerry Beegan
October-2007 MAC/THE Page-iii 9780230_553279_01_prexiv
©GerryBeegan2008
Allrightsreserved.Noreproduction,copyortransmissionofthis
publicationmaybemadewithoutwrittenpermission.
Noparagraphofthispublicationmaybereproduced,copiedortransmitted
savewithwrittenpermissionorinaccordancewiththeprovisionsofthe
Copyright,DesignsandPatentsAct1988,orunderthetermsofanylicence
permittinglimitedcopyingissuedbytheCopyrightLicensingAgency,
90TottenhamCourtRoad,LondonW1T4LP.
Anypersonwhodoesanyunauthorisedactinrelationtothispublication
maybeliabletocriminalprosecutionandcivilclaimsfordamages.
Theauthorhasassertedhisrighttobeidentified
astheauthorofthisworkinaccordancewiththeCopyright,
DesignsandPatentsAct1988.
Firstpublished2008by
PALGRAVEMACMILLAN
Houndmills,Basingstoke,HampshireRG216XSand
175FifthAvenue,NewYork,N.Y.10010
Companiesandrepresentativesthroughouttheworld
PALGRAVEMACMILLANistheglobalacademicimprintofthePalgrave
MacmillandivisionofSt.Martin’sPress,LLCandofPalgraveMacmillanLtd.
Macmillan(cid:2)isaregisteredtrademarkintheUnitedStates,UnitedKingdom
andothercountries.PalgraveisaregisteredtrademarkintheEuropean
Unionandothercountries.
ISBN-13:978(cid:3)0(cid:3)230(cid:3)55327(cid:3)9hardback
ISBN-10:0(cid:3)230(cid:3)55327(cid:3)3hardback
Thisbookisprintedonpapersuitableforrecyclingandmadefromfully
managedandsustainedforestsources.Logging,pulpingandmanufacturing
processesareexpectedtoconformtotheenvironmentalregulationsofthe
countryoforigin.
AcataloguerecordforthisbookisavailablefromtheBritishLibrary.
AcatalogrecordforthisbookisavailablefromtheLibraryofCongress.
10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
17 16 15 14 13 12 11 10 09 08
PrintedandboundinGreatBritainby
CPIAntonyRowe,ChippenhamandEastbourne
October-2007 MAC/THE Page-iv 9780230_553279_01_prexiv
To J, K, K, K and L
October-2007 MAC/THE Page-v 9780230_553279_01_prexiv
This page intentionally left blank
Contents
ListofIllustrations viii
Acknowledgments xi
1 Introduction:MassReproductionandtheMassAudience 1
2 ImagingtheCity:LondonandtheMediainthe1890s 31
3 WoodEngraving:FacsimileandFragmentation 47
4 ProcessReproductionandtheImageAssemblyLine 72
5 ThePictorialMagazineandtheCityofLeisure 99
6 TheIllustrationoftheEveryday 131
7 ThePhotographonthePage 160
8 LearningtoReadtheHalftone 186
Notes 210
Bibliography 273
Index 291
vii
October-2007 MAC/THE Page-vii 9780230_553279_01_prexiv
List of Illustrations
Jacket Cover “From a Photograph,” “The Meisenbach Company,” British
Printer, 7.39, May 1894, 176. (Photorelief halftone print from retouched
photograph,detail)
1 “TheyKnowaGoodThingWhenTheySeeit,PhotobyMiss
Gidley,”Sketch,24.300,October26,1898,40.(Photorelief
halftoneprintfromretouchedphotograph,detail) xiv
2 “Mr.MaxPembertonReadingtheSketch,”Sketch,20.249,
November 3, 1897, 51. (Photorelief halftone print from
retouchedphotograph,detail) 6
3 “MissAdaReeveasJulieBon-Bonin‘TheGayParisienne’From
aPhotographbyHana,Strand,”Sketch,14.170,April29,1896,
1.(Photoreliefhalftoneprintfromretouchedphotograph) 25
4 “ASnap-ShotatMyInterviewee,”“Out-of-the-wayInterviews:
1. A Flower-Girl,” Sketch, 3.36, October 4, 1893, 516.
(Photorelief halftone print from extensively retouched
photograph) 30
5 “VendorofCheapMusic:‘Erey’are,lidy!‘I’llbeyerSweet’art.’
OnePenny!,”PhilMay,Mr.Punch’sLifeinLondon,London,
EducationalBookCompany,1908?,105.(Photoreliefline
printfrompen-and-inkdrawing) 35
6 “InthePark,FromaPhotographbyThieleandCo.,Chancery
Lane,”Sketch,20.248,October27,1897,39. (Photorelief
halftoneprintfromretouchedphotograph) 43
7 “AGloomyandThoughtfulAir,”E.S.,Sketch,3.31,August30,
1893.(Photorelieflineprintfrompen-and-inkoriginal) 45
8 “QueenVictoria,”IllustratedLondonNews,1.1,May14,1842,
8.(Woodengraving) 50
9 “TheRussianCourtfromaDaguerreotypebyBeard,”Illustrated
LondonNews,18.496,June21,1851,598.(Woodengraving,
detail) 57
10 “DelphianSibyl,byMichelangelo,”TimothyCole,OldItalian
MastersEngravedbyTimothyCole,NewYork,TheCentury,
1893,219.(Woodengraving,detail) 66
viii
October-2007 MAC/THE Page-viii 9780230_553279_01_prexiv
ListofIllustrations ix
11 “WilliamIngram,”Publisher’sCircularNewspaper,Magazineand
PeriodicalSupplement,9,June14,1895,5.(Woodengravingon
photograph) 70
12 “TheEngravingRoomofthe‘Graphic,’”JournaloftheSociety
ofArts,January30,1891,176.(Photorelieflineprintfrompen
andinkoriginal) 74
13 “ProcessStudioatJohnSwainandSon,”F.G.Kitton,
“TheArtofPhoto-EtchingandEngraving,”BritishPrinter,
7.40,July1894,218–31,218.(Photoreliefhalftone
printfromwashoriginal.) 78
14 “RetouchingwithGraver,”F.G.Kitton,“The
ArtofPhoto-EtchingandEngraving,”BritishPrinter,
7.40,July1894,218–31,228.(Photoreliefhalftoneprint
frompenciloriginal.) 93
15 “FineEtchingPlate,”“PictorialReproductionUp-To-Date,”
British Printer, 13.77, September 1900, 223–31, 230.
(Photoreliefhalftoneprintfromretouchedphotographwith
extensivehandengravingontheblock) 97
16 “Hon. Gwendolyn Fairfax (Miss Irene Vanbrugh) and
Worthing,”Worthing:“WillYouMarryMe?,”Sketch,9.112,
March 20, 1895, 412. (Photorelief halftone print from
retouchedphotograph,detail.) 98
17 “Dr Joseph Parker in his Study, Photo by Russell, Baker
Street,W.,”“AnHourwithDr.Parker,”Sketch,2.17,May24,
1893,185–86.(Photoreliefhalftoneprintfromretouched
photograph) 116
18 “Fashions in the New St. James’s Piece,” Sketch, 9.108,
February20,1895,210.(Photoreliefhalftoneprintfromwash
painting) 119
19 “MissVioletVanbrughintheDressing-RoomofherResidence
inEarl’sCourtRoadSpeciallyPhotographedfor‘TheSketch’
byR.W.Thomas,Cheapside,”Sketch,27.346,September13,
1899, 23. (Photorelief halftone print from retouched
photograph,detail) 122
20 “Our Artist on the Job Again,” Phil May, Sketch, 11.134,
August21,1895,187.(Photorelieflineprintfrompenandink
original) 124
21 “CountryCousin:‘DoYouStopattheCecil?’BusDriver:‘DoI
StopattheCecil!’–OnTwenty-EightBobaWeek!,”Leonard
Raven-Hill,Mr.Punch’sLifeinLondon,London,Educational
Book Company, 1908?, 37. (Photorelief line print from
pen-and-inkdrawing,detail) 135
October-2007 MAC/THE Page-ix 9780230_553279_01_prexiv