Description

73. Burant, Jim. “The Print Collection of the Public Archives of Canada: An Unknown Treasure.” Vol. 11, no. 2 (Autumn 1986), 20-27.

The Print Collection of the Public Archives relates to events, places, and personalities in Canadian history, from its earliest settlement into the present. The collection of this visual documentation began seriously in 1904; and Arthur Doughty, the second Dominion Archivist, started the Picture Division in 1905. Purchases were made in England, Canada, and the United States, although the number of purchases slowed during the Depression. Burant describes the important acquisitions of the past three decades, during which interest in the pictorial record of Canada has emerged. The collection also includes fine art prints by artists such as Walter J. Phillips (1884-1963) and David Milne (1882-1953). The article concludes with an excellent bibliography of the major publications on Canadian printmaking to 1950.

74. James, Claudia Esko. “John Cheney (1801-1885): ‘First-rate Engraver.’” Vol. 11, no. 2 (Autumn 1986). 14-19.

Reproductive engraving was an important and respected trade in the nineteenth century, and Cheney was among the best. James provides important biographical information on this graphic artist, who worked for John Pendleton in Boston in the late 1820s as a lithographic draftsman. His engraving skills were highly prized by the publishers of gift books, and Cheney’s engravings appeared in the best of them throughout the 1820s and into the 1850s. After the death of his brother Seth, also an engraver, in 1856, he retired, although he continued to draw from plaster casts and European engravings.

75. Schweizer, Paul D. “‘So exquisite a transcript’: James Smillie’s Engravings after Thomas Cole’s Voyage of Life.” Part One: Vol. 11, no. 2 (Autumn 1986), 2-13; Part Two: Vol. 12, no. 1 (Spring 1987), 13-24.

Schweizer notes that four folio engravings by James Smillie (1807-1885) after Cole’s allegorical paintings formed the most ambitious print publishing project of the 1850s and analyzes all aspects of this remarkable undertaking. Abundant documentation exists for these prints and Schweizer has used it all to excellent advantage. The article is continued in the following issue of Imprint, (Spring 1987). The author includes a great deal of information on other works engraved by Smillie in the 1850s.