J.P. Daniels, Gathering Breadfruit, Woodcut, 1972, The Noble Maritime Collection, Gift of Barnett Shepherd

J.P. Daniels, Gathering Breadfruit, Woodcut, 1972, The Noble Maritime Collection, Gift of Barnett Shepherd

Woodcut

A woodcut is a simple relief print made by carving a plank of wood with a wood gouge or chisel.  The high uncut areas are rolled up in ink with a rubber roller called a brayer.  Thin paper is laid on top and rubbed onto the raised ink surfaces, often with a wooden spoon.  It is peeled off, becoming the print. In a woodcut, the long grain of the wood with its natural textures and the strong and simple look of the cut is used to the advantage of the skilled artist. 

Marion Jochimsen (1894-1996), Portrait of Gloria Noble, mother of John A. Noble, Letterpress print, c. 1945, The Noble Maritime Collection, Gift of the Noble Family

Marion Jochimsen (1894-1996), Portrait of Gloria Noble, mother of John A. Noble, Letterpress print, c. 1945, The Noble Maritime Collection, Gift of the Noble Family

Letterpress

A letterpress print is a relief printing process where an image is produced by the direct impression of an inked, raised surface on to the paper.  Letterpress printing is most often associated with text since its invention in the mid-15th century by Johannes Gutenberg, but could be used to mass produce an image from a single surface.