Printing – History
The use of wood blocks for printing on both textiles and paper dates back to China around 105 c.e. This date, interestingly, coincides with the Chinese invention of paper. The first actual prints that can be identified as rubbings 
from wood blocks are some Buddhist charms from Japan, printed in the 6th and 7th centuries. To the right is the Ujibashi-danpi, a Japanese stone rubbing from the 7th century. >
Suprisingly, printing in Asia seems to be in no way connected to the rise of printing in Europe. The first t
ype of printing one sees in Europe is textile printing. One finds numberous examples from the 6th century onward. The uses of these printed textiles seems to be decorative wall hangings but due to their fragile nature, few examples survive and thus the uses are unclear. One of the most important surviving examples is the Sion Printed Textile from the 14th century seen at left.
The printing of woodcuts on paper did not appear in Europe until the 15th century. It is interesting that this too coincides with the rise of papermaking in Europe. With paper readily available, printers began taking advantage of the material in order to duplicate images efficiently. By the 1430’s, significant numbers of woodcuts printed on paper were being circulated in Europe. The subjects were often religious at first, and used as souvenirs of pilgrimages to the shrines of saints. Woodcuts soon became popular for book illustration, and by the 1470’s, woodcuts we beginning to replace hand illuminated illustrations for print books. As time went on, many European countries developed their own styles in printing.
Albrecht Dürer (1471-1528) is one of the most well known woodcut artists of all time. Dürer can be credited with truly perfecting 
the art of woodcut. His skill came from designing woodcuts to have a level of detail equal or greater than that of engravings. His first famous woodcut series, The Apocalypse, was printed in 1498. The Four Angels from the "Apocalypse" is shown at the right. >
Wood Engraving, as we know it today, was developed as an artistic technique in the 1790s by Thomas Bewick. Bewick was a British silversmith and engraver. While he did not invent any new tools or techniques, he is credited with being the first promoter of the technique of using the graveur (or burin) on wood.
The technique of wood engraving quickly became the most common method of illustration for newspapers in the 18th century because of its fast and inexpensive production. By the 19th century, however, commercial printers were replacing it with more technologically advanced processes. Although it is no longer the premier method of reproducing images, wood engraving has continued as an art form.
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In addition to traditional wood engraving techniques, some artists (including myself) are using new materials to create the same effect. For example, Resingrave engraving blocks are hard blocks made of resin that allow the artist to get a cleaner line than with wood. Another bonus is that these blocks are much cheaper than their woodblock counterparts.
For Information on the Techniques and How-to of Wood Engraving, go to the Printing Techniques Page.
Bibliography:
Bliss, Douglas Percy. A History of Wood-Engraving. London: Spring Books, 1964.
Hind, Arthur M. An Introduction to a History of Woodcut with a detailed survey of work done in the fifteenth century, 2 vols. New York: Dover Publications, Inc., 1963.
Laitinen, Kari, et al. The Art and Craft of Woodblock Printmaking. Helsinki: University of Art and Design, 1999.
Landau, David and Peter Parshall. The Renaissance Print: 1470-1550. New Haven: Yale University Press, 1994.
Parshall, Peter and Rainer Schoch. Origins of European Printmaking: Fifteenth Century Woodcuts and their Public. Washington D.C.: National Gallery of Art, 2005.
Walker, George A. The Woodcut Artist’s Handbook: Techniques and Tools for Relief Printmaking. New York: Firefly Books, 2005.