Engravings from Godey's Lady's Book lend themselves well to matting and alterations as design elements. Simple tonal changes and subtle colors change the engravings from black and white, yet maintain their integrity while accentuating the lines. The images in this exercise are from the February 1850 issue.
I followed directions in Professor Paula Petrik's article, “Scholarship on the Web: matting engravings and fine art.”
The image above is from an article with the daunting title, “A Sketch of the History of Death of Louis XIV. to Female Costume, from our own days, Compiled from the French authorities by a mantumaker, the Directory and Consulate.” The caption states that “the bonnets are what were called casques a la Minerve and chapeaux de la Venus – reflexions of the career of the warlike Republic.” Truthfully, their bonnets were more muddled lines than warlike symbols, so I tinted the lines brown using the hue/saturation adjustment and attempted to accentuate them with a yellowish background for clarity.
The image below is from a short story with the more manageable title,“Kate's Valentine.” The curve of Kate's head and lines of her dress made this a better composition as a vignette, focusing more attention on the subject and the letter in her hand.
