The predecessor of dithering was the art of wood engraving, which reproduced the texture of illustrations in wood blocks used for printing in newspapers and books; necessarily in black and white. It's difficult to imagine now, but there was an entire industry of engravers to
many of whom solely practiced engraving of others designs (often supplied drawn directly on the block to be engraved, to save time). These engravers were highly skilled and the artistry with which a piece was engraved could make a huge difference.
For example see "A treatise on wood engravings : historical and practical", by John Jackson and William Chatto, 1839[1]; here is a quote (p585 of the linked edition):
"With respect to the direction of lines, it ought at all times to be borne in mind by the wood engraver, — and more especially when the lines are not laid in by the designer, — that they should be disposed so as to denote the peculiar form of the object they are intended to represent. For instance, in the limb of a figure they ought not to run horizontally or vertically, — conveying the idea of either a flat surface or of a hard cylindrical form, — but with a gentle curvature suitable to the shape and the degree of rotundity required. A well chosen line makes a great difference in properly representing an object, when compared with one less appropriate, though more delicate. The proper disposition of lines will not only express the form required, but also produce more colour as they approach each other in approximating curves, as in the following example, and thus represent a variety of light and shade, without the necessity of introducing other lines crossing them, which ought always to be avoided in small subjects : if, however, the figures be large, it is necessary to break the hard appearance of a series of such single lines by crossing them with others more delicate."
There was even a period of a few decades after the invention of photography, during which it was not known how to mass produce photographs, and so they were manually engraved as with artworks. Eventually however, the entire profession became extinct.
[1] https://archive.org/details/treatiseonwooden00chat/page/585/.... (This is the 1881 edition)