"Italian engravings, with a few woodcuts and "nielli" (engraved silver plates) from around 1460 to the early 1500's in 29 chapters with about 375 engravings. Illustrations may show various states of the same engraving, or reproduce the original for engravings done from a work in some other medium. With an index, consecutive paginated but loosely inserted. Appendices of copper plates, niello prints, woodcuts, a concordance with the Hind catalogue of Early Italian Engravings, and a list of watermarks." - See more at: http://www.oakknoll.com/pages/books/52374/jay-a-levenson/early-italian-engravings-from-the-national-gallery-of-art#sthash.nqLkjQEn.dpuf.

The Renaissance of Etching is a groundbreaking study of the origins of the etched print. Initially used as a method for decorating armor, etching was reimagined as a printmaking technique at the end of the fifteenth century in Germany and spread rapidly across Europe. Unlike engraving and woodcut, which required great skill and years of training, the comparative ease of etching allowed a wide variety of artists to exploit the expanding market for prints. The early pioneers of the medium include some of the greatest artists of the Renaissance, such as Albrecht Dürer, Parmigianino, and Pieter Bruegel the Elder, who paved the way for future printmakers like Rembrandt, Goya, and many others in their wake. Remarkably, contemporary artists still use etching in much the same way as their predecessors did five hundred years ago. Richly illustrated and including a wealth of new information, The Renaissance of Etching explores how artists in Germany, the Netherlands, Italy, and France developed the new medium of etching, and how it became one of the most versatile and enduring forms of printmaking. p.p1 {margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 14.0px Verdana}