ETCHING & ETCHERS by Hamerton, Philip Gilbert - 1868

London: Macmillan & Co., 1868. xxvi,354pp. Large, thick octavo. Half gilt calf and gilt decorated cloth, a.e.g. Illustrated with 35 etched plates. Binding rubbed, worn along edges and foretips, pp.145-152 present but signature bound out of sequence (after p.136), inner hinges somewhat crudely mended, moderate scattered foxing (including to a number of the plates), but a sound, if somewhat used, complete copy. First edition. An excellent association copy, inscribed on the front blank: "Thomas S. Noble June 16, 1871 With the Regards of his pupils." The recipient, American painter Thomas Satterwhite Noble (1835-1907), was invited in 1869 to become the first head of the McMicken School of Design in Cincinnati. This well-used gift from his students bears subsequent family gift inscriptions between generations of the Noble-Welleck family. Hamerton's treatise on etching was quite popular and appeared in several following editions in the UK and US. It is notable for its inclusion of original prints of etchings by a number of contemporary and historical artists. "He took pride in offering his readers an impression from an original Rembrandt plate ["Jacob and Laban"] printed by the Parisian etching specialist Auguste Delâtre. The author explains having to choose an obscure plate for the purpose, as the best- known subjects had by then been worn down to the point that their lines retained little ink and they printed 'ghosts'" - Metropolitan Museum Online Catalogue. NCBEL III:1436.