Al dees vogels die gij hier ziet, / En zingen noch en kraaijen niet 1806 - 1830

This print, "Al dees vogels die gij hier ziet," was made by Johan Noman, a Dutch book printer around the early 19th century. It’s an engraving, likely printed in multiples to be sold as part of a book, or separately as an inexpensive broadside. The simple lines belie the skill needed to create such a matrix. The engraver would have used a sharp tool, called a burin, to cut lines into a copper plate. Ink would then be applied to the plate, and the excess wiped away, leaving ink only in the incised lines. Finally, paper is laid on the plate and run through a press, transferring the image. The texture of the paper itself is also important here. See its roughness, and the way the ink sits on the surface? That’s because it would have been made from pulped rags. This gives the print a very different feel than if it were printed on smooth, industrially produced paper. The modest materials and techniques speak to a widespread hunger for images and information, within a society becoming increasingly literate.