[Baren] Editor's comments ...

Working as a craftsman in the traditional style as I do, it is perhaps inevitable that I will disagree with many of the things that Mr. Fletcher has to say in this volume. His viewpoint is that of an artist, but not a 'pure' artist; rather an artist who must necessarily perform a craftsman's job before his artistic conception can be transformed into an actual object.

I feel his attitude on this leads him into a number of contradictions, and would like to discuss some of these points as the book goes along. But I have no desire to interfere with your pleasure and enjoyment of the book, so my comments will of course be confined to annotations like this one, kept separate from his text and marked with the reference: [Ed. note].

For the reader who simply wants to enjoy Mr. Fletcher's description of the woodblock process, please just ignore these annotations. If though, you wish to explore some different points of view, then they are there waiting for you ...

David Bull

P.S. I am also interested in hearing other opinions on some of these points. There is lots of room in this Encyclopedia for more annotations ...