I knew a tiny amount about that woodblock engraving and printing method Vic, but not that it could do detail like your example. Amazing and thanks for posting it.

By that time they probably used an optical projection method to assist. Are you able to see on the original whether it is in fact a manual operation rather than early lithography?

I suspect Vic’s example is Photogravure because it’s so good.  I maybe wrong because woodcuts were widely used and could be high quality. In technical works though, the lines tend to be more obvious.  Very effective – this example is a woodcut from  the 1874 ‘Catechism of the Locomotive‘ : plenty of work in it.

Whilst this (from wikipedia) is photogravure (1883):

Photogravure puts a gelatine photographic image on a copper plate which is then etched with Ferric Chloride.

Best admired from a distance – though Victorians were hardworking and innovative, they were paid pennies for 80+ hour weeks and died young.

On thing that hasn’t changed – advertising bling, with posed products!  That well-groomed young man in a suit is unlikely to have been a turner.

Dave