The Mass Image This page intentionally left blank The Mass Image A Social History of Photomechanical Reproduction in Victorian

Gerry Beegan © Gerry Beegan 2008 Softcover reprint of the hardcover 1st edition 2008 978-0-230-55327-9

All rights reserved. No reproduction, copy or transmission of this publication may be made without written permission. No paragraph of this publication may be reproduced, copied or transmitted save with written permission or in accordance with the provisions of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988, or under the terms of any licence permitting limited copying issued by the Copyright Licensing Agency, 90 Tottenham Court Road, London W1T 4LP. Any person who does any unauthorised act in relation to this publication may be liable to criminal prosecution and civil claims for damages. The author has asserted his right to be identified as the author of this work in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988. First published 2008 by PALGRAVE MACMILLAN Houndmills, Basingstoke, Hampshire RG21 6XS and 175 Fifth Avenue, New York, N.Y. 10010 Companies and representatives throughout the world PALGRAVE MACMILLAN is the global academic imprint of the Palgrave Macmillan division of St. Martin’s Press, LLC and of Palgrave Macmillan Ltd. Macmillan is a registered trademark in the United States, United Kingdom and other countries. Palgrave is a registered trademark in the European Union and other countries. ISBN 978-1-349-36307-0 ISBN 978-0-230-58992-6 (eBook) DOI 10.1057/9780230589926 This book is printed on paper suitable for recycling and made from fully managed and sustained forest sources. Logging, pulping and manufacturing processes are expected to conform to the environmental regulations of the country of origin. A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library. A catalog record for this book is available from the . 10987654321 17 16 15 14 13 12 11 10 09 08 To J, K, K, K and L This page intentionally left blank Contents

List of Illustrations viii

Acknowledgments xi

1 Introduction: Mass Reproduction and the Mass Audience 1 2 Imaging the City: London and the Media in the 1890s 31 3 Wood Engraving: Facsimile and Fragmentation 47 4 Process Reproduction and the Image Assembly Line 72 5 The Pictorial Magazine and the City of Leisure 99 6 The Illustration of the Everyday 131 7 The Photograph on the Page 160 8 Learning to Read the Halftone 186

Notes 210

Bibliography 273

Index 291

vii 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 “They Know a Good Thing When They See it, Photo by Miss Gidley,” Sketch, 24.300, October 26, 1898, 40. (Photorelief halftone print from retouched photograph, detail) xiv 2 “Mr. Max Pemberton Reading the Sketch,” Sketch, 20.249, November 3, 1897, 51. (Photorelief halftone print from retouched photograph, detail) 6 3 “Miss Ada Reeve as Julie Bon-Bon in ‘The Gay Parisienne’ From a Photograph by Hana, Strand,” Sketch, 14.170, April 29, 1896, 1. (Photorelief halftone print from retouched photograph) 25 4 “A Snap-Shot at My Interviewee,” “Out-of-the-way Interviews: 1. A Flower-Girl,” Sketch, 3.36, October 4, 1893, 516. (Photorelief halftone print from extensively retouched photograph) 30 5 “Vendor of Cheap Music: ‘Ere y’ are, lidy! ‘I’ll be yer Sweet’art.’ One Penny!,” Phil May, Mr. Punch’s Life in London, London, Educational Book Company, 1908?, 105. (Photorelief line print from pen-and-ink drawing) 35 6 “In the Park, From a Photograph by Thiele and Co., Chancery Lane,” Sketch, 20.248, October 27, 1897, 39. (Photorelief halftone print from retouched photograph) 43 7 “A Gloomy and Thoughtful Air,” E. S., Sketch, 3.31, August 30, 1893. (Photorelief line print from pen-and-ink original) 45 8 “Queen Victoria,” Illustrated London News, 1.1, May 14, 1842, 8. (Wood engraving) 50 9 “The Russian Court from a Daguerreotype by Beard,” Illustrated London News, 18.496, June 21, 1851, 598. (Wood engraving, detail) 57 10 “Delphian Sibyl, by Michelangelo,” Timothy Cole, Old Italian Masters Engraved by Timothy Cole, New York, The Century, 1893, 219. (Wood engraving, detail) 66

viii List of Illustrations ix

11 “William Ingram,” Publisher’s Circular Newspaper, Magazine and Periodical Supplement, 9, June 14, 1895, 5. (Wood engraving on photograph) 70 12 “The Engraving Room of the ‘Graphic,’ ” Journal of the Society of Arts, January 30, 1891, 176. (Photorelief line print from pen and ink original) 74 13 “Process Studio at John Swain and Son,” F. G. Kitton, “The Art of Photo-Etching and Engraving,” British Printer, 7.40, July 1894, 218–31, 218. (Photorelief halftone print from wash original.) 78 14 “Retouching with Graver,” F. G. Kitton, “The Art of Photo-Etching and Engraving,” British Printer, 7.40, July 1894, 218–31, 228. (Photorelief halftone print from pencil original.) 93 15 “Fine Etching Plate,” “Pictorial Reproduction Up-To-Date,” British Printer, 13.77, September 1900, 223–31, 230. (Photorelief halftone print from retouched photograph with extensive hand engraving on the block) 97 16 “Hon. Gwendolyn Fairfax (Miss Irene Vanbrugh) and Worthing,” Worthing: “Will You Marry Me?,” Sketch, 9.112, March 20, 1895, 412. (Photorelief halftone print from retouched photograph, detail.) 98 17 “Dr Joseph Parker in his Study, Photo by Russell, Baker Street, W.,” “An Hour with Dr. Parker,” Sketch, 2.17, May 24, 1893, 185–86. (Photorelief halftone print from retouched photograph) 116 18 “Fashions in the New St. James’s Piece,” Sketch, 9.108, February 20, 1895, 210. (Photorelief halftone print from wash painting) 119 19 “Miss Violet Vanbrugh in the Dressing-Room of her Residence in Earl’s Court Road Specially Photographed for ‘The Sketch’ by R. W. Thomas, Cheapside,” Sketch, 27.346, September 13, 1899, 23. (Photorelief halftone print from retouched photograph, detail) 122 20 “Our Artist on the Job Again,” Phil May, Sketch, 11.134, August 21, 1895, 187. (Photorelief line print from pen and ink original) 124 21 “Country Cousin: ‘Do You Stop at the Cecil?’ Bus Driver: ‘Do I Stop at the Cecil!’ – On Twenty-Eight Bob a Week!,” Leonard Raven-Hill, Mr. Punch’s Life in London, London, Educational Book Company, 1908?, 37. (Photorelief line print from pen-and-ink drawing, detail) 135 x List of Illustrations

22 “Mrs. Snobson (who is doing a little slumming for the first time and wishes to appear affable, but is at a loss to know how to commence conversation). ‘Town Very Empty!,’ ” Phil May, Mr. Punch’s Life in London, London, Educational Book Company, 1908?, 121. (Photorelief line print from pen-and-ink drawing, detail) 144 23 “A Sketch Near Piccadilly,” Phil May, Mr. Punch’s Life in London, London, Educational Book Company, 1908?, 164. (Photorelief line print from pen-and-ink drawing, detail) 150 24 “The ‘Daily Graphic’ Studio,” Journal of the Society of Arts, January 30, 1891, 179. (Photorelief line print from pen-and-ink original.) 155 25 “Some Snapshots of Barnet Fair by Mr. T. G. Callcott, Teddington,” Sketch, 3.33, September 13, 1893, 369. (Photorelief halftone print from retouched photograph, detail) 165 26 “Fashion Figure,” Penrose Annual, London, A. W. Penrose and Co., 1903–1904, 104, 105. (Photorelief halftone print from photograph) 169 27 “Fashion Study,” Penrose Annual, London, A. W. Penrose and Co., 1903–1904. (Photorelief halftone print from extensively retouched photograph based on Figure 26) 170 28 “The Emperor William I,” “In Business as an Emperor,” Harmsworth Monthly Pictorial Magazine, 2, February 7, 1899, 3–12, 7. (Photorelief halftone prints from photographs, photorelief line prints from line drawings and mechanical tints.) 176 29 “Funeral of Queen Victoria: King and Kaiser Entering Hyde Park, From the Original Snap-Shot by T. W. Dorrington,” Photography for the Press, London, Dawbarn and Ward, 1901, 6. (Photorelief halftone print from photograph) 180 30 “Funeral of Queen Victoria: King and Kaiser Entering Hyde Park, From a Worked-Up Print,” Photography for the Press, London, Dawbarn and Ward, 1901, 9. (Photorelief halftone print from extensively retouched photograph) 181 Acknowledgments

The inspiration for this book is most likely geographical. Growing up near Newcastle in the north of I became aware of Thomas Bewick’s beautiful jewel-like wood engravings of the birds, animals, and landscapes of Northumberland and Durham. Bewick’s illustrations and tailpieces for his General History of Quadrupeds (1790) and History of British Birds (1804) were created in his workshop near Newcastle Cathedral. The dexterity of his networks of fine white lines carved out of black still seem astonishing. To this day I am also amazed by the level of skill that went into even the most commonplace commercial images in the nineteenth century. The other personal factor that has shaped my approach to the study of the printed image is my experience as a working graphic designer. Dealing with the economics and pragmatics involved in the creation and production of printed matter enabled me to understand more fully that representations are material objects shaped by groups of people working with each other, and sometimes against each other. This interest in the materiality of representa- tion became the starting point of my postgraduate research in design history at Middlesex University. Judith Williamson, Tim Putnam, Fran Hannah, Lisa Tickner, Barry Curtis, and the other members of the faculty at Middlesex encouraged and nurtured my researches and asked all of the right questions. Judith Williamson supervised the thesis that was the basis of this book, and the clarity and accessibility of her own critical writing was an inspiration that I have attempted to put into practice. During my studies at Middlesex a seminar presentation by Raphael Samuel opened my eyes to the richness of the Victorian world of work. The great inventor Joseph Swan, who, like Bewick, was a Northerner, said that there was no invention without a pedigree, and I am indebted to the work of many scholars. My interest in the halftone was shaped by Neil Harris’ “Iconography and Intellectual History: The Halftone Effect,” in which he ponders the lack of research on this important aspect of visual culture. This book is one attempt at addressing that gap, although there is clearly much more to be done. On the beginnings of press photography I am particularly indebted to Geoffrey Wright whose unpublished disserta- tion, “The Origins and Development of British Press Photography, 1884– 1914,” was an invaluable source of information. The American historians of early press photography, Ulrich Keller and Michael Carlebach also provided essential foundations for my research. The work over the last ten years of scholars of nineteenth century print media including Margaret Beetham, Brian Maidment, and Laurel Brake, has helped to shape my understanding of Victorian publishers, journalists, and their audiences. I have presented

xi xii Acknowledgments elements of the book at conferences and seminars in London and in the United States, and the comments, questions, and conversations that have come from these events, in particular those of Bill McKelvy, Susan Canning, Minsoo Kang, and Amy Woodson-Boulton, have been essential. The advice and encouragement of Peter Hall, Barbara Usherwood, David Raizman, and Alison Nordstrom have also been critical. The insightful comments and constructive suggestions of Palgrave Macmillan’s anonymous reader proved invaluable in focusing the final version of the book. I am indebted to the staff and librarians at a number of outstanding institutions who have helped me locate materials and have shared their own insights with me. The St. Bride’s Printing Library in London is a treasure trove of material on the Victorian printing industries. The immensely knowledgeable librarians in this tiny room, only yards from Fleet Street, provided me with numerous productive leads. At the other end of the library scale, the New York Public Library remains a potent symbol of democratic access to knowledge. I would like to particularly thank the staff and librarians of the Division of Art, Prints and Photographs who were indefatigable in tracking down materials. I also am indebted to the professionalism and dedication of the librarians and archivists whom I worked with at the Victoria and Albert Museum Prints and Drawings Study Room, the Department of Prints and Drawings, the Rare Book and Manuscript Library of Columbia University, and the Punch Archives. I cannot fully express my gratitude to Annette Hatton for her sensitivity and care in the copy-editing of the manuscript. My researches were supported in many ways by my colleagues at Rutgers University. With the aid of a grant from the Mellon Foundation I was able to undertake research at the Zimmerli Museum with its rich collection of printed material from the 1890s assembled by Phillip Dennis Cate, a fount of knowledge on the printed image. Mason Gross School of the Arts provided support for the completion of the manuscript. I would like to thank Kate Flint of the English Department at Rutgers for her timely practical help and Tent Williams, also of Rutgers, for his unflagging research assistance. This book is for my family. My parents have influenced me more than they knew. My wife Karolyn has been an invaluable critic of the project through its lengthy gestation. Her sense of what the book was has guided me toward its current form. My daughters Katia and Loïe, who were both born while the book was taking shape, have spurred me on toward its completion. This page intentionally left blank Figure 1 “They Know a Good Thing When They See it, Photo by Miss Gidley,” Sketch, 24.300, October 26, 1898, 40. (Photorelief halftone print from retouched photograph, detail)