Book Illustration Processes to 1900

Current faculty: Terry Belanger
Years taught: 2006, 2008, 2010

Description: The identification of illustration processes and techniques, including (but not only) woodcut, etching, engraving, stipple, aquatint, mezzotint, lithography, wood engraving, steel engraving, process line and halftone relief, collotype, photogravure, and color printing. The principal medium of instruction in this course will be actual examples of original prints drawn from the Virginia RBS collections, most of them divided into individual packets (one for each two students) all from the same (or a very similar) source. The students in the course will study these packets under close supervision, using 8X loupes and 30X microscopes (both provided), as necessary.

The CalRBS version of this course will differ from the Virginia RBS version in that it will omit the laboratory sessions (in which students make relief cuts, etchings, and drypoints), providing more time for examining prints. The CalRBS version of the course pre-supposes a basic knowledge of print identification techniques; students who have already taken the course in Virginia (especially if they have not done recently) are welcome to apply for admission to the CalRBS version, which will rely heavily on RBS prints and printing surfaces acquired within the past several years.

Requirements: In their personal statement, prospective applicants should describe the extent of their formal and/or informal background in the field.

Course History

2006: Terry Belanger teaches this course for the first time at CalRBS.