The printmaking technique in which an image is inscribed on a copper plate with a tool that cuts a groove in the surface. This groove holds the ink that creates the print when it is applied to paper. Also refers to the method of making an incision on a material such as glass.

Biography
Born
1598 / 1599
Died
1658 / 1660
Nationality
Dutch
William Hondius’s father, Henrik Hondius, was one of the most important Dutch printmakers and publishers of his time. William continued the tradition and became extremely successful in his own right. In the 1630s he began publishing his own prints alongside his fathers. In 1636 he left The Hague and moved to Danzig (Gdańsk), in the then Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth. He went on to become the royal engraver of King Wladyslaw IV Waza, king of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth.
Glossary terms
Engraving