The Mass Image This page intentionally left blank The Mass Image A Social History of Photomechanical Reproduction in Victorian London 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 Library of Congress. 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 England 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.