History of the Woodburytype

This book contains the history of the Woodburytype, the first successful photo-mechanical printing process. It also includes a biography of the inventor, Walter Bentley Woodbury, who was an important photographer in Australia and on the island of Java in the 1860s as well as in his native England. 10 x 7; 212 pages; Illustrated; Bibliography; Appendices; Index; ISBN 978-1-887694-28-5 Cloth $45. Shrink wrapped direct from the publisher. A few signed copies available without shrink wrap. Aesthetically beautiful, permanent and infinitely reproducible, the Woodburytype was the first process used extensively to photographically illustrate books. This is the first book on the topic. Oliver's research into the Woodburytype grew out of an extensive working knowledge of early photographic technology and his successful experiments in reproducing Woodburytype prints. "Clearly, Barret Oliver's ... extensively illustrated book displays a thorough understanding of a complicated process and its antecedents, of its place in the history of the medium, and of photographic and printing processes in general. A useful guide to identifying Woodburytypes and an extensive bibliography ... Bravo!" Gordon Baldwin, formerly assistant curator of photography at the J. Paul Getty Museum "The Woodburytype has been noted by curators and librarians for years, but very little has been published on it or about how to identify the prints. Oliver is an independent scholar, and this is the first in-depth study of this process and of Woodbury. Extensive notes, chronologies, and bibliography; excellent illustrations and diagrams. This book beyond its technical aspects, broadens understanding of how photography became a truly modern medium of mass cultural import..Summing Up: Highly recommended..General readers; upper-division under-graduates through professionals." P. C Bunnell, Professor Emeritus, Princeton