Part of an occasional series of etchings of writers. There seems to be an appropriateness of etching for the subjuct. As though the same Gutenberg press could print both their books and then these prints.
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Robert Kee worked as a writer, journalist & broadcaster after WWII when he had been a bomber pilot. He worked for The Observer and the Sunday Times before moving to tv, on which he has appeared over many years as reporter, interviewer & presenter. He has written several well received books on History.
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Patrick Leigh Fermor. is a travel writer and a cult figure amongst other writers of travel books After stormy school days, he traveled on foot to Constantinople and lived and traveled in both the Balkans and the Greek Archipelago. These journeys gave him a deep interest in languages and remote places. He then joined the Irish Guards, became liaison officer in Albania and fought in Greece and Crete where, during the German occupation, he returned three times (once by parachute). Disguised as a shepherd he lived for over two years in the mountains organizing the resistance and led the party which captured and evacuated the German Commander, General Kreipe. Patrick Leigh Fermor has been awarded the DSO and the OBE and has been made an Honorary Citizen of Heraklion, Kardamyli and Gytheion. He is a Corresponding Member of the Athens Academy. He was pertayed by Dirk Bogart in the film Ill met by Moonlight
In pure etching, a metal (usually copper, zinc or steel) plate is covered with a waxy ground which is resistant to acid. The artist then scratches off the ground with a pointed etching needle where he wants a line to appear in the finished piece, so exposing the bare metal. The éch,oppe a tool with a slanted oval section is also used for "swelling" lines. The plate is then dipped in a bath of acid, technically called the mordant (French for "biting") or etchant, or has acid washed over it. The acid "bites" into the metal, where it is exposed, leaving behind lines sunk into the plate. The remaining ground is then cleaned off the plate. The plate is inked all over, and then the ink wiped off the surface, leaving only the ink in the etched lines.
The plate is then put through a high-pressure printing press together with a sheet of paper (often moistened to soften it). The paper picks up the ink from the etched lines, making a print. The process can be repeated a number of times; The work on the plate can also be added to by repeating the whole process; this creates an etching which exists in more than one state.
Etching has often been combined with other intaglio techniques such as engraving (e.g. Rembrandt) or aquatint (e.g. Goya).