Of the myriad magical illustrations in Dakshinaranjan Mitra Majumdar’s Thakurmar Jhuli, the cutest is the one of the demons called Khokkos (picture), who resemble spiny felines wearing diapers. Published in 1907, this illustration was one of the exhibits at the show, Engraved Illustration: Journey of Book Illustrations During 19th Century Bengal, curated by Jyotirmoy Bhattacharya and organised by Art Alinda in collaboration with the Publishers & Booksellers Guild.
The exhibition brought to life the history of printing in Bengal through a display of original, engraved wood blocks and a wide array of techniques and tools that highlight the artistry and the craftsmanship of Bengali printmakers. There were also informative wall panels, with both visuals and text, that told the story of the connection between wood blocks and printing technology, along with live demonstrations of the making of wood blocks. It began with the creation of the first Bengali typeface and the printing of N.B. Halhed’s A Grammar of the Bengali Language in 1778. This revolutionised book production and some important titles were published thereafter, such as the romance, Pratapaditya Charitra, the narrative poem, “Annada Mangal”, and Sangeet Taranga. Most importantly, there was an illustrated section on engraving tools and techniques along with a display of the real implements.
Landmark events were commemorated. Of these, the establishment of the Government School of Art is particularly important for a spate of illustrated books was published subsequently. Samplers of portraits, depictions of historical events and mythology, children’s books, almanacs and advertisements therein, drawings of animals, erotica and caricatures testified to the skill of the block makers. With the development of printing technology, however, woodcuts became obsolete. Nonetheless, it remains a popular medium of artistic expression.
There was a display of old, illustrated books and wood blocks as well, along with an almanac of 1902, a copy of Sakha magazine from 1886 and intricate woodcut depictions of Hindu deities. Together, they gave viewers a comprehensive idea of the backstory of woodcut illustrations.