or his "Dance of Death," 1538.]

There were good reasons for the lack of development of a white-line
style, even in England with its lower standards in printing and
illustrative techniques. On the coarse paper of the period fine white
lines could not be adapted to relief (typographical) presswork; they
would be lost in printing because the ribbed paper received ink
unevenly. Even the simple black lines of the traditional woodcut
usually printed spottily when combined with type. The white lines, then,
had to be broadly separated. This did not permit the engraving of
delicate tones. If this could not be achieved, the effect was similar to
woodcutting but with less crispness and accuracy in the drawing. A good
woodcut in the old manner could do everything the wood engraving could
do, before Bewick, with the added virtue that the black line was
comparatively clear and unequivocal, as can be seen in figure 5.

[13] _Ibid._, p. 27.

[Illustration: Figure 6.--Woodcut Tailpiece by J. M. Papillon, from
_Traite historique et pratique de la gravure en bois_, 1766. The cutting
was done so minutely that some details were lost in printing. (Actual
size.)]

The woodcut, in the hands of a remarkable cutter, could produce miracles
of delicacy. It could, in fact, have black lines so fine and so closely
spaced as to take on the character of line engraving. It did not, of
course, have the range of tones or the delicacy of modeling possible in
the copper plate medium, where every little trench cut by the burin
would hold ink BELOW the wiped-off surface, to be transferred to
dampened paper under the heavy pressure of the cylinder press. In
addition, the roughness of early paper, which was serious for the
woodcut, created no difficulties for the line engraver or for other
workers in the intaglio or gravure media.

But the influence of copper plate work was strong, and some skillful but
misguided woodcut craftsmen tried to obtain some degree of its richness.
French artists from about 1720, notably Jean M. Papillon, produced cuts
so delicate that their printing became a problem (see fig. 6). Jackson,
who had worked with the French artist in Paris, condemned his efforts to
turn the woodcut into a tonal medium through the creation of numerous
delicate lines because such effects were impossible to print.
Jackson[14] is quoted in the _Enquiry_:

In 1728 Mr. _Pappillon_ began his small _Paris_ Almanack, wherein
is placed Cuts (done