Thomas Bewick, that doyen of English engravers, set the standard for engraving on wood, a standard yet to be surpassed. In particular he is renowned for his beautifully animated tailpieces, brimming with vivid depictions of every-day life in North East England. Amongst these are a number that depict inscriptions engraved upon the wild stone. The first edition of The Fables of Aesop published in 1818 has a particularly good collection. Whilst writing Stone Ties I had the engraving on page 28 of that edition, depicting a quotation from Goldsmith’s Deserted Village, in mind when I wrote about Carver’s Tom Paine engraving on the moors above Newcastle.