Illustration til Chr. Winthers A.B.C. 1863

This illustration for Christian Winther’s A.B.C. was made by H.P. Hansen in the 19th century. It’s a wood engraving, a technique that involves cutting an image into the end grain of a block of wood. This meticulous process yields fine lines and details, as you can see in the depiction of the storks, children playing, and a figure braving a storm. Wood engraving was a common method for mass-producing images in books and newspapers during the 1800s. It offered a relatively inexpensive way to reproduce detailed artwork, making it accessible to a wide audience. Look closely, and you can see the labor-intensive process, with each line carefully carved by hand. Consider the engraver, who translated the artist's vision into a printable image, contributing to the circulation of knowledge and culture. Recognizing the material and process involved in creating this illustration helps us appreciate its role in shaping literacy and visual culture in the 19th century.