Users that often use this tag:
vacapinta (2)

The Nuremberg Chronicle is one of the earliest printed books. The author, Hartmann Schedel, sets out a history of the world as understood at the time, relying heavily on the Bible. It is perhaps best known today for its wealth of images (some favorites: Creation of Birds, Map of the World, Half Horse, Stoning of St. Stephen and Apocalypse). The Beloit College website has a lot more information about the book and its context. They even have an English translation which is fully searchable.
posted by Kattullus on Oct 10, 2011 - 11 comments

Wide-spread interest in crop circles started in the 1980s, but if you dig a bit, you'll find some older references to circles in the crops, without any notion of extraterrestrial involvement. The oldest of these examples is the Mowing-Devil of Hartford-shire, seen here in a woodcut from 1678. It is most common to find the first of four pages online, but the text continues, describing the interaction between the rich industrious farmer and his poor neighbour, resulting in a mysterious circle in crops appearing the following morning. A modern crop circle enthusiast went to great lengths to track down more information, but a closer reading of the text offers another interpretation.
posted by filthy light thief on Sep 28, 2011 - 11 comments

Inception remade as a 60-second Victorian woodcut animation via boingboing (via suckerpunch).
posted by Brandon Blatcher on Mar 11, 2011 - 27 comments

If you enjoy the sublime beauty of woodcut prints, you'll be in heaven when you check out The Society of Wood Engravers online Gallery of Annual Exhibitions (4 years running!). Examine the individual engravings that make up the Millenium Ark. A short explanation of "What is wood engraving?" and the Process for your edification. Video: Woodcut printing 1450-1520. Also checkout artistandy's YT channel for more engraving videos.
posted by spock on Dec 7, 2010 - 5 comments

Carta Marina - From 1518 to 1519, Olaus Magnus made a journey across Sweden. On his journey, he encountered fish the size of elephants, sea serpents, demons and a tribe of pygmies.
posted by tellurian on Dec 3, 2007 - 12 comments

Eric Gill was a print-maker, sculptor, typographer and thinker [pdf]. An artist whose life has had quite a bit of drama associated with it. There is even a new society dedicated to parsing the impacts of his legacy.
posted by sciurus on Nov 14, 2006 - 18 comments

Wondermark An Illustrated Weekly Jocularity. While you're there, be sure to check out Malki's Comic Script Doctor columns (in particular his Freudian interpretation of Marmaduke).
posted by brundlefly on Jan 29, 2006 - 15 comments

Frans Masereel - a great woodcut artist, pioneer of the wordless novel. You can see all of his 1925 Die Stadt (The City) and Landscapes and Voices (1929) at Graphic Witness (Though his Passionate Journey is one of my favorite books.) "First published in Germany in 1925 The City is a portrait of urban Europe between the wars, told in one hundred woodcuts of exceptional force and beauty. Frans Masereel portrays parks and factories, shipyards and brothels, crowds, lovers, and lonely individuals with remarkable subtlety and nuance while exploiting the stark contrast of the woodcut medium.
posted by vacapinta on Aug 21, 2002 - 8 comments

This is not a medieval woodcut! Though it appears everywhere, this particular woodcut has been repeatedly mis-identified and used most often to support the idea that the medieval world thought the earth was flat, an idea whose inception can be traced to this man, a fiction writer who not only wrote this but also this.
posted by vacapinta on Jun 9, 2002 - 8 comments