The history of silhouettes

The book traces the art of black profile portraiture from ancient outline traditions through its rise and decline in modern decorative and social practice, examining cultural contexts and collecting. It explains technical methods—painted silhouettes, shadowgraphy and mechanical aids, and freehand scissor cutting—and considers studio practices, notable practitioners, and published manuals. Additional chapters treat silhouette decoration on porcelain and glass, miniature theatres, scrapbooks, and the work of court and popular cutters. The volume also supplies an alphabetical directory of silhouettists, a bibliography, and numerous illustrations documenting techniques, mounts, and representative specimens.