The Society of Wood Engravers was founded in 1920 by the artists Noel Rooke and Robert Gibbings, who were the driving force behind the society, and Edward Gordon Craig, E.M.O'R. Dickey, Eric Gill, Philip Hagreen, Sydney Lee, John Nash, Lucien Pissarro, and Gwen Raverat. The aim of the society has been to promote original white line wood engravings, designed and engraved by the artist, as opposed to the wood engravings of the nineteenth century, where skilled craftsmen engraved the design of the artist. The impetus behind this new philosophy was Rooke.
The Society was revived in 1984 by Hilary Paynter. It publishes a bulletin called Multiples.
The Annual Exhibition of the Society tours the UK. In April and May 2016, the 78th Annual Exhibition is being held in Petworth, West Sussex.
Notable former Members include: