A treatise on wood engravings : historical and practical . the word London; and in the white space on the right, or upperside, of the figure lying down, there appears written in the samehand the name Bethemsted. In this name the letter B is not unlikea W; and I have heard it conjectured that the name might be that of 11-2 PROGKESS OF Julm Wethamstede, abbot of St. Albans, who was a great lover ofbooks, and who died in 1440. This conjecture, however, will not holdgood, for the letter is certainly intended for a I>; and in the cut of theletter B there is written E. Beths., which is in all pro
A treatise on wood engravings : historical and practical . the word London; and in the white space on the right, or upperside, of the figure lying down, there appears written in the samehand the name Bethemsted. In this name the letter B is not unlikea W; and I have heard it conjectured that the name might be that of 11-2 PROGKESS OF Julm Wethamstede, abbot of St. Albans, who was a great lover ofbooks, and who died in 1440. This conjecture, however, will not holdgood, for the letter is certainly intended for a I>; and in the cut of theletter B there is written E. Beths., which is in all probability intendedfor an abbreviation of the name, Bethemsted, which occurs in anotherpart of the book. The ink with which these names are written is. nearly of the same colour as that of the cuts. The characters appear tobe of an earlier date than those on the reverse of the last leaf. The cut at page 111, is that of the letter Z, which stands the wrongway in consequence of its not having been drawn reversed upon theblock. The subject might at first sight be supposed to represent theangel staying Abraham when about to sacrifice Isaac; but on examiningthe cut more closely it will be perceived that the figure which mightbe mistaken for an angel is without wings, and appears to be in theact of supplicating the old man, who with his left hand holds him bythe hair. WOOD ENGEAVING. 113 The opposite cut, which is the last in the book, is an ornamentalflower designed with great freedom and spirit, and surpassing everythingof the kind executed on wood in the fifteenth century. I speak notof the style of engraving, which, though effective, is coarse ; but ofthe taste displayed in the drawing. The colour of the cuts onpages 109, 110, 111, fro
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Keywords: ., bookcentury1800, bookdecade1880, booksubjectwoodengraving, bookye
