Print making: Story and History - Contd...

Between 1556 and 1588 thirteen books were printed in Goa. Of those books, some bear ornamented woodcut initials letters, colophons, monograms, and other decorated picturesque printed images and letters. Compendio Spiritual Da Vide Chrlstaa (Spiritual Compendium of the Christian life) of Gaspar De Leo was printed in Goa in 1561. This is the earliest, surviving printed book in India, which is also embellished with Ornamental woodcut initials on each opening chapter. ( I am indebted to Nirmalendu Das’s research in his seminal thesis in the history of printmakin )

In 1568, the first illustrated cover page was printed in Goa for the book Constituciones Do Arcebispado D Goa. The illustration, a classical entrance was done with a wooden block using the relief process. All these woodcuts, cited above were printed together with matrix. Intaglio printing was introduced for the first time in India by the Danish Missionary, Bartholemew Ziegenbalg. He published The Evangelists And The Acts Of The Apostles, which was printed in Tranqueber in 1714. A printed design in etching was added to the opening page of the book. This was printed in brown colour and this was one of the first examples of   colour printing in India. In 1716, Gramatica Damulica by Ziegenbalg was printed in Trinqueber. The earliest plate engraving is found in this book. It is a small copper plate engraved picture printed at the bottom of the opening page. The earliest printed illustration is embellished in the book bearing the title Balbodha Muktavali, printed in 1806 in Tanjore. The illustration was made out of wood­cut block and printed together with the matrix. We do not know whether those blocks were engraved in India or were imported from abroad. It is to be presumed that those were imported from abroad.
 
As Portuguese started mechanical book Printing in India, similarly printed illustrations and single sheet display prints were started by the visiting foreign artists in the last part of the eighteenth century during the British colonial period in India. The arrival of foreign artists in India began with the coming of Tilly Kettle, a British painter in Madras in 1767. Between 1767 and 1820 about sixty amateur foreign artists visited India. Many of them settled and worked in Kolkata the-then capital of British India. Of those foreign artists, a few were basically en­gravers and etchers including Joseph Sheppard, Caleb, John Garbrant, William Daniell, Richard Brittridge, James Moffat, Thomas Taylor, Henry Hudson, William Bailie, Frans Baltasar Solvyns, Avon Apjon, John Brown, John Alefounder, J, Ahrentz, G. Hamilton, Francis Dormieux, Samuel Davis amongst others. Amongst others, the credit for first single sheet display print in India goes to Caleb John Garbrant, a British engraver, who came to Calcutta during 1780s. In 1783, he executed an etching, the portrait of Sir Eyre Coote, copying from the original oil painting by J.T Seton.

The possibility of single sheet printing at a large scale was first explored by William Daniell and Thomas Daniell. During 1786 and 1788 Daniell’s published an album based on William's own drawings 'Twelve Views of Calcutta' containing twelve original etchings. The album was printed in Kolkata. All the etchings were printed in monochrome and stained in colour ink. This example of Daniel evoked interest among his contemporaries to publish their drawings on topogra­phic scenes, manners and customs, ethnology, antiquities, natural history and so on. By the evidence of publications of intaglio prints in Kolkata it is indisputably clear to us that intaglio printing presses must have been established in Calcutta by 1780s.

With the establishment of Government Lithographic Process in Presidency cities of India during 1820s a new technique was added. The first lithographic single sheet display print was printed in Kolkata in 1822. De Savignac a visiting French artist settled in Kolkata, did a remarkable lithographic portrait of Hastings, copied from the original drawing by George Chinnery.  The first examples of lithographic illustrations were printed from the Government Lithographic Press in Kolkata in 1824 for the book entitled The History Design And Present State Religion by Charles Lasinton. The illustrations were printed in monochrome and stained in colour ink. In the preface of this book, the publisher proudly mentioned his attempt of publishing lithographic color prints for the first time in India. The first lithographic folio was printed and published from Madras, during 1827 John Gantz and Justinian Gantz set-up a lithographic press in Popham's Broadway, Chennai, where they printed The Indian Microcosm (1827) a set of prints based on John’s drawing. From this lithography establishment Grantzs printed Views Of Madras and Pictures Of Indian Castes And Topographical Views.