Bewick: Watercolours & Drawings Bewick

Thomas Bewick (1753-1828) has long been considered the finest of English wood engravers. No one has ever better expressed the feeling of the English landscape and its homely incident than Bewick in his meticulously rendered scenes of countryside and wildlife. His innovations transformed the medium of engraving for a hundred years, and first distinguished the technique as an art. John James Audubon pronounced him the greatest delineator of nature of his time.This natural focus on Bewick the engraver has overshadowed his accomplishments as a watercolourist and draftsman of major rank. Over a thousand of his drawings and watercolours survive, but until the publication of these volumes only a handful have ever appeared in print before, and none in modern times. They are reproduced here in accordance with the most exacting standards.The first volume presents an illustrated biographical account of Bewick and explains his working methods in metal engraving and in the transfer of drawings to the wood block. It also discusses the organization of his workshop and ascribes to the hands of apprentices through stylistic exegesis a number of works previously believed to be Bewick's own. A catalog of 200 monochrome subjects drawn from the "Quadrupeds, British Birds, Fables of Aesop" and the unpublished "Fishes" is followed by appendices recording collections now holding Bewick's drawings.The second volume contains the watercolours and drawings alongside the engravings for which they were prepared, in addition to major watercolours for which there are no extant engravings. Over 200 color subjects are presented in this volume, together with a further 192 drawings and engravings.A production note: the slipcases containing the two volumes were handmade, and the paper, Bewick Cartridge, was especially made for these books. They were designed by Peter Guy and printed by the Westerham Press in England. The MIT Press is offering a limited edition of 500 sets to American readers and collectors.Iain Bain is publisher at the Tate Gallery, London, and an authority on the history of book production and hand presses as well as on the work of Thomas Bewick. He personally oversaw the production of these volumes.

Review :
"The books are a delight to handle. They are well designed, beautifully printed by the Westerham Press, and the reproductions extremely well produced, all at their actual size, so that one might almost be handling the original work."- "The London Times"