text/textile

while doing some research for this post, i came across a fascinating statement. armond fields, in his 1983 book henri riviere, says, 'in 1879 there appeared a weekly magazine which was unlike any other of the time: la vie moderne. what make it so extraordinary were its illustrations, which were not black and white wood engravings like the other journals, but were color gillotypes, -- color photoengravings.

charles gillot had invented the process to faith- fully reproduce drawings and sketches. it involved making color separations for each color to be printed. it required technical mastery of both photography and engraving, as the separations were prepared by a skilled engraver and the plates were made by a photographer. interestingly enough, this process, which altered the course of color printing, was invented by an ardent collector of japanese prints, who was perhaps influenced by them in his invention.'

in doing some research on this intriguing suggestion i stumbled across a blog showcasing much of what was being done in publishing (on a letterpress level?) during this period. one can find fascinating examples tracing the development of trends in design, illustration and typography during this exciting transitional phase.

the increasing influence of the japanese work on all three elements is obvious (including in some places where it seems completely gratuitous), and one can feel the excitement building as possibilities continue to open before the artists.

from georges auriol to sarah bernhardt, from the arts magazine cocorico to madame bovary, the presentation is beautifully simple and all in french. will someone please tell me what he is saying?