Illustrating Hardy's Novels

In her comprehensive work on Hardy’s illustrated serials, ¹ Arlene Jackson rightly asserts that the genre was made possible through ‘Thomas Bewick’s earlier revival and perfection of wood engraving’ – the reprographic process which allowed for text and image to be printed simultaneously. ² Yet, by the late 1800s recognition of the commercial importance of the image had resulted in separate printing on paper of superior quality, essential in order to produce best results. Until the gradual adoption of photomechanical methods after 1885, wood engraving was the most favoured medium for magazine illustration: ‘the wood surface which remained uncut reproduced the original black line of the artist’s drawing, and these illustrations may therefore be regarded as a tolerably faithful facsimile’. ³ By the 1860s there were over one hundred commercial wood-engraving studios; ⁴ the use of electrotypes, available from 1841, ensured that for long print runs, the wood blocks were secure from irreparable damage in the press. Despite the loss of definition due to the use of electrotype casts, Smith, Elder and Co., proprietors of the Cornhill, justified their use because of the speed necessary in producing periodical publications which in turn enjoyed a large circulation.