ess in relief which has the same certainty,
which gives the same colour and brightness, and by which gradation of
tone can be more truly rendered.

As to the relative value of the different photographic relief processes,
that can only be decided by experts. Speaking generally, I may say that
there are six or seven now in use, each of which is, I am informed, the
best, and all of which are adapted for printing in the same manner as a
wood-block.[1] Improvements in these processes are being made so rapidly
that what was best yesterday will not be the best to-morrow, and it is a
subject which is still little understood.

In the present book it is proposed to speak principally of the more
popular form of illustration (_relievo_); but the changes which are
taking place in all forms of engraving and illustration render it
necessary to say a few words first upon _intaglio_. We have heard much
of the "painter-etchers," and of the claims of the etchers to
recognition as original artists; and at the annual exhibition of the
Society of Painter-Etchers in London, we have seen examples in which the
effects produced in black and white seemed more allied to the painter's
art than to the engraver's. But we are considering engraving as a means
of interpreting the work of others, rather than as an original art.

The influence of photography is felt in nearly every department of
illustration. The new photo-mechanical methods of engraving, _without
the aid of the engraver_, have rendered drawing for fac-simile
reproduction of more importance than ever; and the wonderful invention
called _photogravure_, in which an engraving is made direct from an oil
painting, is almost superseding handwork.[2]

[Illustration: No. II.

"_Ashes of Roses_," by G. H. BOUGHTON, A.R.A.

This careful drawing, from the painting by Mr. Boughton, in the Royal
Academy, reproduced by the Dawson process, is interesting for variety
of treatment and indication of textures in pen and ink. It is like the
picture, but it has also the individuality of the draughtsman, as in
line engraving.

Size of drawing about 6-1/2 x 3-1/2 in.]

[Illustration: "BADMINTON IN THE STUDIO." (FROM THE PAINTING BY R. W.
MACBETH, A.R.A.)

(_Royal Academy, 1891._)]

The art of line-engraving is disappearing in England, giving way to the
"painter-etchers," the "dry-point" etchers and the "mezzotint
engravers," and, finally, to _photogravure_, a method of engravi