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Bringing Back the Old Ways

Elizabeth Haven Hawley

lawrence-durer

Position of the forme for the first pull, tympans and frisket omitted for clarity.



Richard Lawrence: “A New Wooden Press for Everyone to Try: The Dürer Press”  ¶ Stan Nelson: “Printer’s Ink Balls: Their History and Use” 


10:45 am saturday, october 24 ⋅ track 2


Alix Christie’s keynote lecture on her book Gutenberg’s Apprentice whet the appetite of conference attendees for clues about the mysteries of the master’s craft in its early years, and papers by Richard Lawrence and Stan Nelson did not disappoint. Their talks about the reconstruction of a historically accurate wooden press with wooden screw and the evolution of ink ball design offered superb details for those with a close interest in printing practices and experiential education. [Read more]



			

			

							

		

	


	

	

			
		
			

			
Early Renaissance Paper

							
Paul Romaine

					
	
	
	


	
 Session I. Panel 1. “Into the Fold: Understanding Albrecht Dürer’s Meisterstiche Papers,” presented by Angela Campbell ¶ “Fifteenth-Century Papermakers and Printers: Negotiations and Innovations,” presented by Timothy Barrett.


durer
Left: Albrecht Dürer, St. Jerome in His Study, 1514 [MMA. 19.73.68]; verso; and x-ray. (Angela Campbell)


Angela Campbell, Assistant Conservator at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, spoke about the paper production story behind Dürer’s Meisterstiche (“master engravings”) which include: Knight, Death, and the Devil; Melencolia I; and St. Jerome in His Study. Durer’s Meisterstiche represented an unusual opportunity for study because of past scholarship on the three works and because the Metropolitan Museum holds six impressions of Knight, Death, and the Devil, as well as four impressions of Melencolia I and four impressions of St. Jerome in His Study, each with slight inconsistencies. Art historian Joseph Meder’s chronology of Dürer’s impressions divided Melencolia into two states, the first state in which the number “9” appeared backwards in the background and the second in which it is printed correctly. In addition, many of the surviving Meisterstiche impressions had a distinguishing horizontal crease on their versos, which she thought which might be part of the history of the production of the prints. [Read more]