William Blake's printing process

Michael Phillips demonstrates William Blake's printing process, explaining how it relates to his work as a poet and artist. More information about William Blake’s printing process is available on Michael Phillips’s website: www.williamblakeprints.co.uk
Filmed at Morley College, London.
Explore more films, together with thousands of Victorian and Romantic literary treasures, at the British Library's Discovering Literature website - www.bl.uk/discovering-literature.

[@iroscoe]

The more you learn about the man and his works the more impressed you inevitably are .

[@citizennobody5518]

Blake was so radical on so many levels and so ahead of his time.

[@walrusassociation9317]

He's still ahead of the current time.

[@mareksicinski3726]

in some ways te

[@zinja0830]

Anyone else absolutely loving the sound design of this video?

[@MK_2023.]

It’s amazing.

[@lechuga120]

Yeah it was absolutely great

[@ToshMatsum]

I!

[@lynnpehrson8826]

Kinda reminds me of trent reznor's ambient stuff

[@lynnpehrson8826]

Or maybe vespertine era bjork, but an ambient equivalent.

[@sharonkaczorowski8690]

I loved Blake from childhood…both his poetry and his art…I spent hours enjoying and studying it.

[@ozdigg9254]

same

[@northwind9657]

A wonderful production to watch. Very nice ambient music. My thanks to the production and as always, the spiritual transportation that William Blake will provide for the rest of my life.

[@keretaman]

I especially love what was said in that final minute... inspirational man

[@TOMAYASHI-STUDIO]

Absolutely incredible at the time the engravings were made and now using the same techniques. Bravo

[@MidgeACE]

A lovely tribute to Blake and his process.

[@sharonkaczorowski8690]

I had no idea he was also a gifted printer…beautiful work.

[@jinchoung]

what an extraordinary video. whodathunk... william blake basically founded "desktop publishing". and the bit about how he was no shelley or keats reclining back with a feather quill pen but that he was a MECHANIC, i think that really resonates with a lot of us who walk the line between art and technology. awesome to see how an independent creator did it when the highest tech afforded to him was blocking varnish and leather ink blot. love this video. thank you!

[@khaightlynn5295]

Totally! I wish trades and artisanship were more valued today.

[@CitizenDuMonde]

This was entrancing to watch.

[@SweetSpringFarmer1222]

Wonderful demonstration of Blake's printing process - Thank you!

[@naly202]

Thank you for this video! I've always been fascinated by Blake's poetry and art and have always wondered how he made those wonderful pages.

[@geob0324]

An artful blend of the narrative and the background music. Not an easy task. This video is the product of some very skilled production. Kudos.

[@paulinamerino8994]

Thank you for such a beautiful video. I’ve learned something new about Blake. I just admire him more.

[@Cyriljayant]

Beautiful and amazing and he was a genius in art and creations!!! Thank you for this video!!

[@seenundercygnus6870]

Thank you. I needed to know his studio was his single room. It gives me hope for my own art, in spite of the fact that all of my art is worthless.

[@user-cz2jo4nq2i]

Your art is definitely not worthless :)

[@mishm5915]

Blake was an absolute madman, it would take me a year to do poorly what he could do perfectly in a week

[@rathodkaran6190]

Dont beat yourself, he spent a lifetime mastering it, you will too if you put there effort

[@farpointgamingdirect]

Spent 30 years as a master pressman; the single hardest thing to accomplish is getting the paper to feed consistently into the press

[@waltersarfatti4420]

interesting ! I am a printmaker and have experimented the "blake method" in writing texts on an oily paper that I then reverse on the plate and make a deep etch of.

[@BlakeinSussex]

sounds interesting. do you have any video or photos of your work.

[@Lucius1958]

I did quite a lot of printmaking during my years at art school: it is indeed a difficult thing to get a consistent quality over a run of prints. Now, as I gather from the video, Blake drew and wrote *directly* on the plate, using the etching ground as one would use ink? I recollect a relief-etching process devised by Leonardo da Vinci, which provided greater detail than the woodcuts then in use - something like the 'sugar-lift' technique I learned in class, where you put the lift layer on first, scratch the design in with a stylus, lay the ground over that, then soak off the rest of the ground before the acid bath. The scratched areas retain their ground, while the rest is etched away...

[@angelaem205]

...and my opinion about authors, books, book craftsmen, libraries and the book civilisation in general is only being justified through this video. 8 minutes of bliss for any William Blake and / or book lover! All thumbs up for the British Library and Michael Phillips who demonstrated this printing process in such a beautiful way! ❤💓💖❤💓💖❤📚

[@jwc3o2]

he shouldn't've been touching the print areas when he was turning them over near the end, though...

[@larryayres4592]

A salient feature that is illustrated here is that he was able to get multiple prints from one inking by increasing the pressure on the press. Also, the dauber with a very light coating of ink is used. The etching was pretty shallow and it is easy to get ink into the recesses if you aren't patient, working slowly and carefully as Phillips did and Blake must have done. Great scholarship by Michael Phillips.

[@dimitritucker1077]

One of the beat classes I took in college was print making. I wish I had access to all of the materials to do this again.

[@HorribleGamingFun]

Man i miss doing print making. Was one of my favorite classes

[@altaccount8133]

Watching you on Netflix really opened me up to whole field niche expertises

[@paullarnce2167]

Excellent video- hope you post more.

[@brg456]

I don't want that to end. It was excellent.

[@cliffordadams8353]

Beautifully presented

[@michaelwhite8031]

Thank you. I have always loved Blake.

[@TheJakecakes]

Thank you for this. Im just finishing his complete works. He seemed to loathe straight lines. These days some scientifically forward individual s are saying there are no straight lines in nature. Blake was a true Visionary ❤

[@opwave79]

Fascinating video. I became interesting in printmaking after visiting an exhibit on ukiyo-e. These copper prints are very beautiful. I would love to take a class and learn this technique.

[@veronicaoriordan771]

Brilliant. Very interesting and creative.

[@cartoonphilosopher2577]

What a wonderful video, thank you.

[@joachimdalgard5288]

Beautiful video, thank you.

[@comontoshi]

I had the opportunity to see a few of Rembrandt’s prints at the Grunwald Museum at U.C.L.A. The prints were about the same size as Blake’s . . . the difference was Rembrandt’s prints were intaglio where Blake’s are flat bitten relief prints. Nice video. 😘

[@seintmike7907]

I love this video. I even love the music in it!

[@patomoro258]

I love William Blake's work very.

[@AndreFurlanwilliamblake]

great video ! thank you .

[@dr.alokkumar9045]

Beautiful technique

[@RinpochesRose]

Visionary poet and artist. Genius.

[@Sportliveonline]

totally amazing

[@i_bleed_makeup1187]

This is so amazing!!!

[@vrixphillips]

It really puts some of his prophetic poems into perspective, when he speaks about the furnaces of the creator Los, he probably got really hot and sweaty turning that press all day.

[@bertg74]

16th century copper engraving would be worth its own story

[@smokeynewton]

Those presses are for printing intaglio, not relief. Relief plates would have been printed on a Gutenberg-style hand press.

[@ForgotMyOrange]

Would appreciate an additional link to how it is engraved in the first place... or can I search any "copper engraving" demonstration that it would be the same?

[@ZKETCH42591]

Much of the copper plate etching youll find today is probably going to use the wipe away method (With phone book/news print) of taking off the excess ink, and not being so light with the ink application unless needed. But the process with the engraving, acid etching, and running through the press is very much the same. Though i do have to give it to 17-18th century printing with the ink dampers/stamps? that has a lot of patience o-o

[@mickbaker9852]

Fantastic !

[@alexmorrison9156]

Wonderful and beautiful; thanks

[@FunDumb]

William Blake is exactly who I need to become.

[@williamblakeinmusic2646]

Very interesting!

[@Davio22]

Outstanding...

[@hicknopunk]

Where do you find drivers for an inkjet printer this old? 🤔🤔

[@whoisharo4689]

Amazing but how was the lettering, etc on the copper made? Or did i miss it?

[@ernestchadwell9069]

You missed it. Masking varnish, copper plate, reverse writing, acid etch.

[@rawjawbone]

I love that press. I WANT that press.

[@manuelgallardo7694]

Name of the background music please

[@soumeyaezm5810]

sublime ! merci

[@ObjectHistory]

Fascinating

[@woodman9083]

Brilliant 💖

[@LaurenOliviArt]

I would have liked to have seen the print close up! It was all far shots

[@taniapriyam3529]

Amazing...👏

[@sirvanmohamadnezhad273]

Excellent

[@thetruthexperiment]

I have so many questions.

[@Ba-it9kl]

Parece o processo do mimiógrafo, aquela grande máquina que pressiona o papel contra a placa de cobre.

[@rsmith6366]

A mimeograph has the image on a rotating drum that presses the image onto the paper.

[@FunDumb]

Would anyone know where I could purchase a used rolling press? Aka the large lumping, huge, wooden, heavy machine? In Toronto, Canada.

[@downtime86stars17]

Maybe check with college/university art departments?

[@gander4872]

You're probably going to have to make it yourself

[@hapijen4828]

Nice to see Eric Morecambe printing like William Blake.

[@sylviags4479]

Beatificación!!❤

[@harmonchannel5685]

very atmospheric environment

[@anniec1483]

What etching press is this?

[@rinber13]

Just an old press that has been around for a century or so. At least it looks like the ones I've used before.

[@morrisseyman1]

Still cant put on a screen protector without the bubbles

[@BruceRutland]

What a shame that the typographer used inch marks in the text, not the proper apostrophe - poor

[@pauleliot6429]

inspirational

[@KpxUrz5745]

As a very experienced etcher, I would tell this printer to do himself a favor and use a more modern press: one with gear reduction. This would avoid the awkward halting and jittery pass under the roller, not to mention having to reach and stretch so widely just to roll it through.

[@BirdaeBlue]

I think he’s trying to show the method that Blake used in his time

[@milipedace2794]

that's magical

[@OngoingBox]

wow!

[@cokez]

why this pop up when I'm tryna do some assignments to get my grade up before the quarter ends.. I have an A in art, I'm okay 😟

[@cut7995]

bravo

[@HarryPotter-yh3sm]

i walked past william blakes old house all the time when I was a kid

[@cementos7922]

This Blake dude is kinda awesome

[@gabor-zsoltbenedek9420]

did he mention that this was extraordinary?

[@soleaguirre100]

William Blake 🎯👏🏼👏🏼👏🏼👏🏼👏🏼👏🏼👏🏼💎

[@MrOshirinoana]

Everything I've seen of Blake's prints were very colorful. Is this guy only showing part of the process?

[@anonb4632]

You don't seem to credit whoever is narrating this documentary or doing the work (presumably the same person).

[@rsmith6366]

It has his name in the description.

[@thecommonsensecapricorn]

Hell yeah

[@user-rh3to9cu4x]

It's literally Ghutenberg printing process just with engravings instead of individual letters.

[@cameronogrady4825]

🔥🔥🔥

[@davidadams6863]

♡

[@essejd]

What a man ✅ awesome as

[@Civmiiuydux]

"Blake was an extraordinary individual when it came to his thinking..." I should say so.

[@miguelifsuzano7244]

I'm always haunted by the commission issued, by a plantation owner from where it nowadays would be Suriname, to Blake, of the image of a slave being hung by a hook on his ribs

[@dixonpinfold2582]

It was not Blake's composition, but an engraving after Stedman, one in a series. In another a slave stares forlornly at his hand, which has been chopped off. That one haunts me.

[@johnbrittingham4471]

It looks easier than getting my Epson printer to work.

[@ernestchadwell9069]

Are you kidding? In Blake's day your new seiver came scratched on slate and you had to enter every byte by hand.

[@kreigernella4195]

It would be great if someone inboxed me now

[@douggaudiosi14]

To see a World in a Grain of Sand And a Heaven in a Wild Flower Hold Infinity in the palm of your hand And Eternity in an hour

[@HhHuuuuu755]

❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️😘

[@christopherboddington4039]

I must reactivate my press and try this ...

[@Chiaroscuro1991]

The video suggests an “extraordinary” printing process but there there are no close shots of the final product …. very disappointing.

[@dixonpinfold2582]

Yes, and even after our narrator dwelt rapturously on the wonderful mottled texture. We might as well read a book on it instead-it will have decent pictures.

[@mareksicinski3726]

7:00 well sometimes

[@zahrajavanbakht6035]

😍😍

[@garryferrington811]

Did you mean "yellow ochre" rather than "yellow okra?"

[@1pcfred]

They were probably just hungry.

[@dixonpinfold2582]

I found the whole Thing mediokra. Arid & lifeless to the Point it left me a bit depress'd. -Ghost of Wm. Blake

[@rychu-uc7wg]

pozdrawiam widzuw