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Landscapes in line and ink

As literacy levels increased across Britain, so too did the potential market for accounts of Brown’s landscapes. New publishing genres evolved that exploited technological innovations, such as steel engraving (1824), steam presses (1830s), and Knight’s colour printing process (1838). Expensive multi-volume works in the vein of Magna Britannia continued to be published, but alongside them popular magazines, slim pamphlets and paper-bound guidebooks proliferated. As formats changed so too did the tone and many descriptions became more journalistic and sometimes critical in their approach. Beyond the publishing world, views of country houses and parks found their way onto entirely new consumer products, including mass-produced souvenirs. This explosion in image production and circulation ensured that Lancelot ‘Capability’ Brown became, and remains, one of the most famous and influential names in British landscape architecture.