Printing

This week's blog will be discussing the style of printing found in my book of study. Now, if you do not remember my book of study, allow me to refresh your memory. The book of study is The Anatomy of the Brain and Nerves, published in 1978, by Thomas Willis, a prosperous London physician.

Really pretty looking cover and binding, right? But our focus is not on this. Instead, it will be on this:

The Meriden Gravure Company, the publishing company responsible for printing this book, was founded in 1888 by Charles Parker and James F. Allen. This company, which specialized in reproduction, became well-known for printing high quality images, first by perfecting the use of full-tone collotype printing, allowing for the production of highly detailed images. This type of printing was improved for years, but by 1967 it was stopped. However, the Meriden Gravure Company had already started offering colored printing since 1940, using countless linoleum cuts to help produce the colored print (for more on the history of the Meriden Gravure Company, click here). 

An example of an image reproduced by the Meriden Gravure Company

This book was originally published in 1664, but it was not published under the same title. It was originally published in Latin, under the title Cerebri anatome, and although I was able to find the publisher , (Typis J. Londini), I was unable to find the printing method for it. The book is being sold at AbeBooks for thousands, and a description of the book can be found there, as well.