In point of time England is last, among European countries, in bringing forth any important manifestation in the realm of prints. During the early centuries of engraving the artistic demands of the country were supplied by foreigners. In the seventeenth century Wenzel Hollar accompanied the Earl of Arundel to England, and the name of this prolific etcher is, without a doubt, the most important for that period. Among his 2750 plates are landscapes, views, portraits, plates of costumes and events of the day, allegories, and what-not: all done with the skill of the practiced etcher, though not exalted by the master-touch of genius. Other foreign-born engravers are not lacking; among native Britons, Faithorne, Robert White, and George Vertue are the most noted. A portrait by William Faithorne gives an idea of early English work. It cannot offer anything new, relying as it does on the art of the Continent for every artistic impulse; imitative, not yet creative. Even well-known men of the eighteenth century--Robert Strange, William Sharp, and William Woollett, with his large ideal landscapes--hark back to the teachings of the Continent and follow in the beaten track. One personality stands out prominently in this period, a man with a message delivered by means of his prints, the painter-engraver William Hogarth, who, like Goya, uses the needle and graver as a medium for a powerful crusade against the social evils of his day. These he castigates with biting satire and forceful preachment. His might be called a literary art, with the stress laid on the moral theme, not on technical perfection. [Illustration: CATHARINE OF BRAGANZA William Faithorne] [Illustration: THE HON. MISS BINGHAM Francesco Bartolozzi] Among the foreign talent Francesco Bartolozzi is preëminent as a stipple engraver in England. He is the foremost interpreter of the dainty compositions of Angelica Kauffmann and of Cipriani. Our illustration, “The Hon. Miss Bingham,” after Sir Joshua Reynolds, shows the Italian engraver at his best. The whole plate is a mass of minute dots which form the lines and the tones of the portrait. An adaptation, in a more minute grain, of the French crayon-manner, the English stipple lends itself admirably to the smooth blendings and soft modeling of the sweet allegorical plates, which Bartolozzi produced with indefatigable industry. Stipple prints quickly gained the favor not only of the British public, but also held sway for a while on the Continent. The process was eminently suited, and often used, for color-printing, or for slight suggestions of color introduced in the printing, to add to their charm.