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Image

John Tenniel

Study for Left Half of Two Fire Engines

Description

Maker

John Tenniel (British, 1820-1914)

Title

Study for Left Half of Two Fire Engines
, for *Punch*, June 10, 1871

Year

1871

Medium

  • Graphite on paper

Materials/Techniques

Techniques

  • Graphite on paper

Materials

graphite

Supports

  • paper

Dimensions

19.8 x 15.1 cm (7 13/16 x 5 15/16 inches) (plate) sighted

Signature / Inscription / Marks

Pencil monogram in LR corner.

Credit / Object Number

Credit

Anonymous gift

Object Number

77.096.2

Type

  • Drawings and Watercolors

Exhibition History

Exhibition History

Draw Me a Story
Illustration from the Permanent Collection
Apr 14, 2006 – Jul 23, 2006

Label copy

Sir John Tenniel is best known for his illustrations of Lewis Carroll’s Alice in Wonderland, 1866, and Through the Looking Glass, 1872. He was also a staff artist at the periodical Punch for fifty years (1851-1901), serving as their principal political cartoonist and producing 1,860 full-page cartoons. At Punch, the editors and staff met every Wednesday evening to discuss the content of the following week’s issue, including the subject for the “big cut,” a large political cartoon usually drawn by Tenniel. Tenniel described his own process of invention and transfer to the woodblock for engraving:

I get my subject on Wednesday night; I think it out carefully on Thursday, and make

my rough sketch; on Friday morning I begin and stick to it all day, with my nose

well down on the block. By means of tracing paper-on which I make all alterations

of composition and action I consider necessary-I transfer my design to the wood

and draw on that. Well, the block being finished, it is handed over to Swain’s boy at about 6:30 to 7 o’clock...and at 7:30 it is put into hand for engraving. That is completed on the following night and on Monday night I receive by post a copy of next Wednesday’s paper.

These drawings represent the original sketch for the left and right sides of the woodblock design that Tenniel would have completed by Thursday night. Thereafter, Tenniel elaborated his drawing with a hard pencil on the woodblock, which was coated with a thin layer of white pigment. The block was then ready for the engravers, to be completed by Saturday night.

Related Objects

Related Objects

Joseph Swain

Two Fire Engines

More objects +

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Image use

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This object is in the Public Domain and available under a CC0 1.0 Universal (CC0 1.0) Public Domain Dedication

Tombstone

John Tenniel (British, 1820-1914)
Study for Left Half of Two Fire Engines; , for *Punch*, June 10, 1871, 1871
Graphite on paper
19.8 x 15.1 cm (7 13/16 x 5 15/16 inches) (plate) sighted
Anonymous gift 77.096.2

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We view our online collection as a living documents, and our records are frequently revised and enhanced. If you have additional information or have spotted an error, please send feedback to curatorial@risd.edu.

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