Rolling press, in Denis Diderot and Jean Le Rond d'Alembert, Recueil de planches . . . Encyclopédie, ou Dictionnaire raisonné des sciences, des arts et métiers (Paris, 1762)
The Encyclopédie, ou dictionnaire raisonné des sciences, des arts et des métiers, was published in France between 1751 and 1772. In addition to many volumes of written entries, it included eleven volumes of illustrations. The upper plate of this page depicts a rolling press similar to those used to produce this and all other copperplate engravings in this copiously illustrated work. As the engraving shows, the printing process was labor-intensive and took place in a workshop. Copperplate engravings allowed artists to show more details and complexity than woodcuts and became prevalent for scientific illustration in the 1600s and 1700s. (JF)
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