It is remarkable that many of our distinguished artists should have begun their careers as engravers or draughtsmen on wood. The production of works in black and white, whether as engravings or drawings, is no doubt good artistic practice in the study of light and shade, and the young artist who draws on wood as a means of helping him to live while he is waiting for fame, is at the same time pursuing a useful branch of his art education. Luke Fildes, A.R.A., Birket Foster, W. Small, R. C. Woodville, C. Gregory, A.R.A., and many others began in this way, and among deceased artists occur the names of S. Read, E. Duncan, and F. W. Topham. The two last were both engravers. All these men have done good work on the pictorial press, and some of them first won distinction through its medium. Both the _Illustrated London News_ and the _Graphic_ may claim to have done good service to art and artists in this respect. Their pages have always been open to young artists of ability, and while they have helped forward struggling genius they have opened up new sources of enjoyment to the general public. The pictorial press has hitherto been mainly dependent on the art of wood-engraving for its illustrations, but latterly several inventions have been used, not unsuccessfully, in the production of blocks in relief, to be printed in the same manner as woodcuts. The great improvements that have been made in surface printing render it probable that in the future these _process_ blocks may be extensively used in illustrated newspapers. They are recommended by their cheapness and rapid production; and as the intermediate process of engraving is dispensed with, they retain the exact touch of the artist, and are not liable to be mutilated by careless or hasty engraving. It may be said of all these inventions, however, that they are best suited for slight sketches, and should not be applied to the production of highly-finished subjects. For the latter there is nothing better than a woodcut, which, when well executed and carefully printed, has a richness superior to any other method of engraving. But in the present day competition is so great and the march of events is so rapid that cheapness and rapidity of production will override artistic excellence, and _process_-engraving, as it is called, will probably be the method adopted for the _daily_ pictorial press, the era of which is approaching.