A Norfolk Mill, by Wilfrid Williams Ball, RBA, RE (1853–1917). Source: frontispiece to Short. Later in his monograph, Short says:
There are etchings with few lines, and etchings with many; etchings in full tones, and also with no attempt at tone. For myself I love best etchings with few lines, and tone and form capriciously mixed up, or perhaps no tone except what is is suggested in some unexplainable way; but yet I can enjoy etchings worked up into full tone.
As an example of an etching worked up, Mr. Wilfrid Ball has very kindly etched the plate which forms the frontispiece to this book, and no one I think does work of this kind with such a sweetness as he puts into it.
Etching is such a vital art. I don’t believe the qualities which make an etching good can be explained, any more than can the quality painters and musicians express by the word "tone" used in its highest sense. So little and such individually inaccurate work may make a good etching, and so much solid careful work can make such a very uninteresting one. [29-30]
Short's passion for etching, as an art, is clear, and his admiration for Ball — for the "sweetness" of his work — speaks volumes.
Scanned image, text and formatting by Jacqueline Banerjee. You may use this image without prior permission for any scholarly or educational purpose as long as you (1) credit the person who scanned it and (2) link your document to this URL in a web document or cite the Victorian Web in a print one. [Click on the image to enlarge it.]
Bibliography
Short, Frank. On the Making of Etchings. London: Robert Dunthorne, 1888. Internet Archive. Contributed by the Getty Research Institute. Web. 18 September 2022.
Created 18 September 2022