bewick

Thomas Bewick, wood engraver 1753 - 1828
Much authoritative information has been published elsewhere concerning the school of Bewick. The purpose of this site is to gauge the impact of the Web for locating hitherto lost or unrecorded material. Many of the Bewick workshop printing blocks and copper plates have been dispersed over the years.

'The Domestic Cock' taken from a lost block, one of the 1,350 sold in the 1940's and 50's by the Chicago bookseller Ben Abramson. Many earlier blocks were widely scattered in the 19th century.

Engraved by Thomas Bewick. In the workshop accounts at £3-3s-0d, 31 April 1822. The block now lost.

From a Proof on India paper

There are probably quantities of original manuscripts in private collections, ranging from the briefest of autograph letters and ephemeral items, to draft sections of Bewick's: History of British Birds, General History of Quadrupeds and Fables of Aesop.

Inside a 1797 first edition of Bewick's Land Birds.

The writer would be pleased to hear of the whereabouts of original Bewick wood blocks, manuscripts and similar items from:

1. Private individuals with a view to recording and perhaps subsequent publication.

2. Institutions that might have received donations that are hitherto unrecorded.

3. Dealers and auction houses that might have suitable items for sale.

Email: graham.carlisle@btinternet.com

Where shall we go?

Article about the Bewick workshop wood blocks: post 1942.

Bewick's Quadrupeds & Birds - some American imprints.

To the Visitors Book.