Jessie Remained Alone at the Table (The Galaxy, An Illustrated Magazine of Entertaining Reading, Vol. VI) 1868

Winslow Homer created this wood engraving, "Jessie Remained Alone at the Table," for *The Galaxy*, an illustrated magazine. This artwork offers insight into 19th-century print culture and the labor involved in mass media production. Engravings like this one were made by carving an image into a block of wood. The fine, precise lines you see here were achieved with specialized tools, demanding considerable skill. The process was laborious, and the image would have been photographically transferred onto the block before carving. The block then would have been inked and printed, allowing for thousands of identical impressions. Consider the contrast between the elite subject matter – young women at leisure – and the relatively accessible medium of print. This artwork blurs the boundaries between art, illustration, and mass communication, raising questions about who has access to art and culture.