The book provides explanations of different techniques of printmaking and illustrates both details and whole prints to show the effects that can be achieved. Woodcut, engraving and mezzotint are among the different processes explained and placed within an historical context.
In this second edition of a book first published in 1980, Griffiths, a specialist in the Department of Prints and Drawing at the British Museum, claims to have corrected errors in the first edition and to have updated the well-organized bibliography. The book makes the modest claim of being an introductory text that touches on the basics of various printmaking techniques and briefly describes the history of each. It is strongest in the area of history, and a great deal of information is systematically presented in a relatively short space. The illustrations, all taken from the collections of the British Museum, are well chosen and beautifully reproduced. As with many books of this nature, the reader will wish for illustrations of all of the works mentioned, but this title makes no claim to be comprehensive, and the excellent bibliography will lead interested readers further. An excellent choice as a main or supplemental course text, it will serve any library as a basic overview of the subject.‘Mark Woodhouse, Elmira Coll. Lib., N.Y.
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