It’s my opinion that too much importance is being placed on simple printing errors. These ink spots are leading to wild speculation and I don’t think it has anything to do with Bessler’s intentions. However seeing as people wish to discuss them and their validity, I’m willing to leave the comments public.
The same applies to the numerology comments. But any comparison with Ken’s work will still receive the spam label.
I shall continue to dismiss inkblots and numerology as having any meaning here, but we’ll see how things go. I’m not afraid to consider a well-argued comment in favour of either, but I’m sceptical of my acceptance of either.
The comments on this blog are covering what appears to be subtle clues in the ink block prints. I don’t think they are deliberate, I’m sure they are accidental. What follows is part of an article on ink block printing by a teacher of the subject. Thanks to https://www.recoverie.com/blog/block-printing-mistakes
“ARE YOU MAKING THESE BLOCK PRINTING MISTAKES?
BLOCK PRINTING MISTAKE 1: USING TOO MUCH INK!
This is by FAR the most common block printing mistake I see people making, and really, it's the most unfortunate.
...because the fact is, the amount of ink you use will drastically change the end result of your block prints.
SO:
In order to attempt to remedy this, I decided to break down a few of the most common block printing mistakes I see people making when it comes to block printing.
BLOCK PRINTING MISTAKE 1: USING TOO MUCH INK!
This is by FAR the most common block printing mistake I see people making, and really, it's the most unfortunate.
When you take the time to design and carve out such an intricate pattern, it's weird to think that people treat the ink side of things as such an afterthought...
...because the fact is, the amount of ink you use will drastically change the end result of your block prints.”
I haven’t included the rest of the article because it covers more modern practices, but it does suggest that what some people believe there are deliberate clues which are in fact simply over inking of the wood block.
As I commented in my previous blog,
“ That is just a typical ink block printing error, a little too much ink in one area and you get a blot. These prints that Bessler left us were designed to be used with his students, and the actual wood ink blocks were kept so he could print some for every new class. So the paper prints were kept for his own purposes, showing what each ink block depicted so he could easily see which one he wished to use. A minor print error such as the so-called severed head is just that, nothing more, no hidden meaning, no secret warning. Obviously he would print better copies for his future students.”
Unfortunately the trolls and naysayers have, by their abusive comments, persuaded me to remove the anonymous comments feature. I shall continue to post this blog up to and including the period when I publish my information about Bessler’s wheel. I’m sorry for those who enjoyed commenting, I shall miss them.
JC
