Thomas Bewick
The Complete Illustrative Work
Nigel Tattersfield's new three volume work was published in April 2011.
An indispensable work for the Bewick aficionado, book historian, historian of popular art in the eighteenth century, provincial printing enthusiast or admirer of engraving on wood or on copper
Includes 1200 illustrations.
With images from archives held in Tyne and Wear and at the British Library.
Bewick's celebrated histories of quadrupeds and birds of 1790, 1797 and 1804 have obscured the immense number of other books of all denominations illustrated in his modest workshop. From its inception in 1765 until its demise in 1849, the workshop provided illustrations to books, pamphlets, periodicals and newspapers. The range of illustrations encompassed natural histories, children's story-books, cookery books, religious tracts, spelling books, mathematical treatises, Bibles, agricultural manuals, local town and county histories, joke books and even a book of sermons. Generously illustrated and arranged alphabetically this book details some 750 titles, over 450 of which are unrecorded in earlier bibliographies. In addition it provides sections on newspaper mastheads, book cover designs, copy-book covers, maps and large single prints.
The Bewick Society hosted a special book launch in Newcastle on 12th April 2011.
The Bewick Society
The aim of the Bewick Society is to promote an interest in the life and work of Thomas Bewick and related subjects, especially with regard to wood-engraving. The Society publishes a journal called the Cherryburn Times, normally twice a year. This provides a forum for the activities of the Society and keeps members informed about the latest research into the life and work of Bewick and his apprentices. Members publish articles about their own special interests where relevant to the Society. The Society also arranges visits to special collections, some of which are not normally open to the general public. It encourages the development of facilities for conservation and display of Bewick related materials, including wood-engraving as practised by those following in Bewick’s footsteps.
Cherryburn Cottage
Membership of the Society also gives free admission to the museum at Cherryburn, where Thomas Bewick was born, now in the care of the National Trust.
More information can be found on this page at the National Trust website.