Wilson, J. S., of Meppel, Autotypie , 1857
- Title(s):
- Autotypie : de natuur zich zelve afbeeldende : handleiding tot het maken van zelfdrukken : benevens eene reeks van autotypen / door J.S. Wilson.
- Published/Created:
- Meppel : J.S. Wilson, 1857.
- Physical Description:
- [4], 8-13, [5] leaves, [17] leaves of plates : color illustrations ; 18 x 22 cm
- Holdings:
- Rare Books and ManuscriptsNE1338 .W5 1857Yale Center for British Art, Paul Mellon Fund[Request]
- Copyright Status:
- Copyright Not Evaluated
- Full Orbis Record:
- http://hdl.handle.net/10079/bibid/14049000
- Classification:
- Books
- Notes:
- Bigmore, E.C. Bibliography of printing, v. 3, p. 89
The title page is printed in black, red, and blue.
BAC: British Art Center copy bound in publisher's printed green boards. In publisher's dark blue slipcase.
Wilson presents a formal critique of Alois Auer's nature-printing process (Naturselbstdruck), developed while Auer was the director of the Viennese State printing office and published in 1852. Wilson argues that as early as 1846 he had shown examples of nature printing at an exhibition in Kampen, using a technique which was both simpler and gave superior results. The present volume gives an introduction to his technique and includes 17 examples. Wilson made prints with highlights in copper, silver or gold, and printed on colored, glossy paper, resulting in deep colors. His claim to have invented the process of nature printing before Auer is, however, not true. Auer's technique utilized electroplating, in which a durable plate is made from an object; the plate facilitates a large print run of regular quality. Wilson instead used the old, direct method of ectypa, i.e. taking impressions from the leaves directly by inking them up, as had been done by Kniphof and others a century earlier; Wilson's execution of the method is, however, highly refined. In the present volume, 16 of the illustrations are impressions of various leaves (mostly tree leaves), primarily inked in shades of blue-green, with precise detail (leaf veins are clearly visible). The remaining illustration -- the first plate -- is of herring bone within a lace frame, all printed in gold and silver on glossy black paper. - Subject Terms:
- Auer, Alois, 1813–1869.Botany -- Pictorial worksLace.Leaf prints -- Specimens.Nature printing.Nature prints -- Specimens.Wilson, J. S., of Meppel.
- Form/Genre:
- Nature prints.
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