Question

What is one reason that wood engravings like "Boy Returning Joyfully, with Plough and Oxen" were used more frequently in book illustrations than woodcuts?

a) Wood engravings are less expensive
b) Wood engravings allow for finer details
c) Wood engravings are quicker to produce
d) Wood engravings require less skill

Answer 1

Wood engravings were favored over woodcuts for book illustrations because they allowed the creation of finer details due to their use of the denser end grain of wood.

Step-by-step explanation:

One reason that wood engravings were used more frequently in book illustrations than woodcuts is that wood engravings allow for finer details. This is because the matrix for wood engravings is made from the harder end grain of the wood, as opposed to the softer horizontal grain used for woodcuts.

The denser end grain can hold finer lines, allowing for more intricate designs, which translates to crisper and more detailed images on the page. This quality made wood engravings particularly suitable for reproducing complex illustrations, like those needed for the intricate imagery seen in books from the days when they were highly illustrated or for the detailed works from artists like Rockwell Kent.