The Art Of The Printmaker, 1500-1860.

This book looks at the history of art printing from 1550 to 1860. The cut off date of 1860 reflects the point at which printmaking was no longer done largely by hand but had becoming much more mechanised. This beautifully illustrated book looks at the various printmaking techniques - explaining the process involved and showing samples of work done in each method. Each chapter has introductory information about the specific technique, but most of the story is told through the images and their detailed captions. The result is a enchanting book that clearly explains the processes and shows the fantastic results that were achieved by early printers. Long-listed for the Berger Prize for British Art History 2010.