N.C.Wyeth+and+George+H.+Palmer

=__**George Herbert Palmer:**__= Born in Boston on March 9th, 1842 and died on May 7th, 1933, just two months before his ninety-first birthday. He had the most years, was the oldest in years and in academic seniority on Harvard University's faculty list, retiring in 1913. As a young man he attended Harvard at the age of eighteen and graduated in 1864. He then returned later as a Greek tutor, and then began teaching, and was included in a small group where each member had a mind set of the university as a business as well. Palmer did most of his work in the Philosophy department but also contributed to the English, Fine Arts, Greek, and Theology departments. In 1889 he became Alford Professor of Natural Religion, Moral Philosophy, and Civil Polity. Palmer also "...received honorary degreed from Harvard, Michigan, Union, Dartmouth, California, and Western Reserve" (jstor, p.2).

His deep connection to philosophy gave him a unique mindset when translating Homer's The Odyssey. In the beginning of the book, an additional hand written letter from George Herbert Palmer was written to Houghton Mifflin Company. Palmer says that when he sat in on a class where a teacher was reading the odyssey he “...found it giving more attention to its words and its grammar than to its poetry” and “to simplify my rendering and rid it of unnatural language, I rewrote it from cover to cover thirteen times.” When Palmer talks about the work of N.C.Wyeth, the illustrator of this book, he says “...no one has …more deeply into the heart of the odyssey than he,” and that “...those who inspect his drawings will swiftly feel what words report more slowly.” Finally signing it "Very Lively Yours, George Herbert Palmer, May 1, 1929"

In the introduction Palmer writes about many different points that come up in the book. Some that were most curious were those where he compared the Iliad and the Odyssey. He said “When heroes of the Iliad have nothing to do, they fight; under similar circumstances those of the Odyssey eat” and “[t]hat of the Odyssey is the nobler, for it is connected with home, friendship, reflection, woman’s influence...[i]n the Odyssey, in short, woman is the comrade of man, respected as his equal in intellectual power, administrative capacity, and artistic skill…they enter the halls with freedom.” The Odyssey is more about domestic and social character than war and power.

George Palmer writes about Homer and his writing style in the introduction. It is “radiant with the freshness of the early world.” But my favorite sentences about Homer are as follows: //“His little words fall into their places as if they belonged there –unremarkable, unalterable, efficient, and lingering long in the mind when the sight of them is gone.”// //“Turning to him, I escape from our complicated and introspective world, and am refreshed,”// this is the last line of the introduction before the story starts.

=__**N.C.Wyeth:**__= Newell Convers Wyeth or N.C.Wyeth was born in Needham, Massachusetts in 1882 and died in 1942 in a tragic car accident at a railroadcross. He studied under Howard Pyle from 1904-06, known to be his star pupil. Pyle said “...you have to study to get the accuracy that your require” He said his students should go out and live their landscapes. Wyeth actually did this on more than one occasion. In his life time he painted over 3000 illustrations, 112 books, some of which included Treasure Island(1911), Tom Sawyer, Robin Hood, the Boy’s King Arthur, and magazines. Wyeth sold his first illustration to the Post in 1903 at twenty-one years of age.

In the printed letter, written by N.C.Wyeth for Homer's //The Odyssey,// when talking about his paintings he describes them as “…each one less a literal translation of a certain moment, but more the … and the moving impression of an episode” His letter is types rather than hand written in comparison to George Palmer's hand written letter. Wyeth's letter is short, descriptive, to the point, seemingly much more distanced from the reader in a written manner.

The illustrations in the book are very interesting and beautiful. There are 16 color prints in total, including the images that are printed on the inside of the front and back covers. Those two specifically are made and entered in the book directly onto the pages. The other 14 images are tipped into the book. All of the images are reproductions of paintings done by N.C. Wyeth during the 1920’s. The prints are of paintings done with oil paints on canvas specifically for this book. It is interesting that they are painted with oil because at first glance the images look as if they are reproductions of watercolors. The colors are strong in saturation, which isn’t uncommon, but they each also have an airy quality to them while still remaining powerful.


 * The images are glossy process reproduction color plated halftone prints that were tipped in.**

…that is lightly attached to the book by a narrow strip of gum or glue. This happens after the book has been bound, so the illustration is not sewn in with the rest of the pages. The illustration will align perfectly with the amount of the pages, and are not numbered. Because “tipping in” was a manual process, it also increased the value of a book. Tissue paper or another lightweight paper is tipped into the directly opposite each illustration. These extra pages were designed to absorb any ink that might transfer from the illustration to the opposite page. They were also used to protect the illustration from being scratched. The presence of original tissue guards also adds value to an old book, because they were often lost or torn out.
 * //The images are “tipped in” which means://**
 * //And they were protected by “Tissues”://**

Photogravure – Is a high-grade illustration made from metal plates into which a photograph has been etched. 1878- Karl Klíc invented the grain gravure, the most precise, economical and beautiful method of photogravure printing, which is still used today. Halftone – Graduations in light and dark shades that simulate continuous tone imagery through the use of dots, varying either in size, in shape or in spacing. This reproduction relies on a basic optical illusion --that these tiny halftone dots are blended into smooth tones by the human eye. Glossy – An illustration that is printed on smooth, coated paper.
 * //They are a of glossy photogravure half-tone://**

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