The Sailor's Bride - ProofBy Frederick Sandys, W H Hooper 1860 – 1861 Accession number: 1906P875.3 Wood engraving printed in black ink on paper. Width: 221 mm Height: 143 mm InformationThis is a proof of the first version of the illustration 'The Sailor's Bride' which was ultimately published in 'Once a Week' (13 April, 1861, vol. 4, p. 434) to illustrate a poem by Marian E. James. Once Sandys had drawn his design onto a woodblock, it was given to W. H. Hooper to engrave. After the block was complete, proofs were printed for Sandys to approve. However, he was not pleased with the results and demanded that his design be re-engraved by Hooper's employer, Joseph Swain. This is one of two proofs of the engraving by Hooper in the Birmingham collection (see also 1906P875.4). The collection also holds two of the final wood engravings by Swain (1906P875.1 and 1906P875.2). Comparing these with the proofs reveals the two engravers' different approaches to translating Sandys' design in wood: Hooper keeps the thin, more subtle lines drawn by Sandys, producing a greyer image in which the head of the grieving man is almost lost in shadow, Swain is bolder, including thicker lines, more flat blocks of white and creating a brighter image with a greater contrast of black and white.
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