Written and illustrated by master wood engraver Barry Moser, this primer on the art of wood engraving is filled with valuable knowledge including how to prepare a printing block; how to think in the medium’s properties of line, shape, and ink; and how to transfer a drawing onto a block. It also offers practical advice on which tools to use for a project and which ink works best. A highly illustrated guide to this art form, Wood Engraving will be useful to experienced and beginner engravers alike. This book features stunning examples of Moser’s art and skill to admire and inspire.

Barry Moser is the foremost wood engraver working in the United States today. A member of the National Academy of Design, he has his work is in numerous collections, including the National Gallery of Art, Metropolitan Museum, Library of Congress, and British Museum. He taught at the Rhode Island School of Design for ten years; was the 1995 Oates Fellow in Humanities at Princeton; and was a distinguished scholar at the University of Louisville in 2001. He currently teaches at Smith College and lives in Western Massachusetts. He has illustrated over two hundred fifty books, including Moby-Dick, The Divine Comedy, and the acclaimed Pennyroyal Caxton Bible. His edition of Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland won the 1983 National Book Award.

Foreword by Martin Antonetti, The Block, The Image, Drawing on the Block, Toning the Block, The Tools, Holding the Tools, Shortening the Tools, Sharpening the Tools, Engraving, Printing, A Note on Sources, Recommended Reading, A Gallery of Prints