Bookseller and Author 1784

Thomas Rowlandson made this print, "Bookseller and Author," using etching and aquatint, processes that rely on the corrosive action of acid to create an image on a metal plate. Look closely, and you can see the contrast between the fine, precise lines of the etching, and the broader tonal areas achieved through aquatint, giving the print depth and atmosphere. This combination mirrors the social commentary at play. Rowlandson satirizes the commercial aspects of authorship, where the exchange of money and ideas mingle uneasily. Prints like this were commodities themselves, widely distributed and consumed by a public eager for social commentary and visual entertainment. The labor involved in creating the original drawing, transferring it to the plate, and then printing multiple impressions speaks to the burgeoning print culture of the late 18th century. By understanding the materials and processes of printmaking, we gain insight into the work's social context, and how art and commerce intersected in Rowlandson's time.