initial commit of ebook 33751HEADmain

1 files changed, 4562 insertions, 0 deletions

diff --git a/33751.txt b/33751.txt
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..1acac05
--- /dev/null
+++ b/33751.txt
@@ -0,0 +1,4562 @@
+The Project Gutenberg EBook of A Treatise on Etching, by Maxime Lalanne
+
+This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with
+almost no restrictions whatsoever.  You may copy it, give it away or
+re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included
+with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org
+
+
+Title: A Treatise on Etching
+
+Author: Maxime Lalanne
+
+Translator: Sylvester Rosa Koehler
+
+Release Date: September 17, 2010 [EBook #33751]
+
+Language: English
+
+Character set encoding: ASCII
+
+*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK A TREATISE ON ETCHING ***
+
+
+
+
+Produced by Chris Curnow, Harry Lame and the Online
+Distributed Proofreading Team at https://www.pgdp.net (This
+file was produced from images generously made available
+by The Internet Archive)
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+              A TREATISE ON ETCHING.
+
+
+   "Amongst Frenchmen Claude is the best landscape etcher of past
+  days, and Lalanne the best of the present day."--P. G. HAMERTON.
+
+
+  [Illustration: Frontispiece]
+
+
+                   A TREATISE
+                       ON
+                    ETCHING.
+
+                TEXT AND PLATES
+                       BY
+                MAXIME LALANNE.
+
+         *       *       *       *       *
+
+      AUTHORIZED EDITION, TRANSLATED FROM THE
+               SECOND FRENCH EDITION
+                        BY
+                 S. R. KOEHLER.
+
+    WITH AN INTRODUCTORY CHAPTER AND NOTES BY THE
+                    TRANSLATOR.
+
+         *       *       *       *       *
+
+                       BOSTON:
+                  ESTES AND LAURIAT,
+                     Publishers.
+
+                    _Copyright_,
+                BY ESTES AND LAURIAT.
+                       1880.
+
+
+                  UNIVERSITY PRESS:
+            JOHN WILSON AND SON, CAMBRIDGE.
+
+
+
+
+TRANSLATOR'S PREFACE.
+
+
+So much interest has of late years been shown in England in the art of
+etching, that it seems hardly necessary to apologize for bringing out an
+English edition of a work on the subject from the pen of an artist whom
+a weighty English authority has pronounced to be the best French
+landscape-etcher of the day. It might be urged, indeed, that more than
+enough has already been written concerning the technical as well as the
+aesthetic side of etching. But this objection is sufficiently met by the
+statement of the fact that there is no other work of the kind in which
+the processes involved are described in so plain and lucid a manner as
+in M. Lalanne's admirable "_Traite de la Gravure a l'Eau-forte_." In the
+laudable endeavor to be complete, most of the similar books now extant
+err in loading down the subject with a complicated mass of detail which
+is more apt to frighten the beginner than to aid him. M. Lalanne's
+_Treatise_, on the contrary, is as simple as a good work of art.
+
+It may, however, be incumbent upon me to offer a few words of excuse
+concerning my own connection with the bringing out of this translation;
+for, at first sight, it will, no doubt, appear the height of
+presumption, especially on the part of one who is not himself a
+practising artist, to add an introductory chapter and notes to the work
+of a consummate master on his favorite art. But what I have done has
+not, in any way, been dictated by the spirit of presumption. The reasons
+which induced me to make the additions may be stated as follows.
+
+It is a most difficult feat for one who has thoroughly mastered an
+accomplishment, and has practised it successfully for a lifetime, to
+lower himself to the level of those who are absolutely uninformed. A
+master is apt to forget that he himself had to learn certain things
+which, to him, seem to be self-evident, and he therefore takes it for
+granted that they _are_ self-evident. A practised etcher thinks nothing
+of handling his acid, grounding and smoking his plate, and all the other
+little tricks of the craft which, to a beginner, are quite worrying and
+exciting. It seemed to me best, therefore, to acquaint the student with
+these purely technical difficulties, without complicating his first
+attempts by artistic considerations, and hence the origin of the
+"Introductory Chapter." Very naturally I was compelled, in this chapter,
+to go over much of the ground covered by the _Treatise_ itself. But the
+diligent student, who remembers that "Repetition is the mother of
+learning," will not look upon the time thus occupied as wasted.
+
+The notes are, perhaps, still more easily explained. M. Lalanne very
+rarely stops to inform his reader how the various requisites may be
+made. Writing, as he did, at and for Paris, there was, indeed, no reason
+for thus encumbering his book; for in Paris the Veuve Cadart is always
+ready to supply all the wants of the etcher. For a London reader, Mr.
+Charles Roberson, of 99 Long Acre, whom Mr. Hamerton has so well--and
+very properly--advertised, is ready to perform the same kind office. But
+for those who live away from the great centres of society, it may
+oftentimes be necessary either to forego the fascinations of etching, or
+else to provide the materials with their own hands. For the benefit of
+such persons, I have thought it advisable to describe, in the notes, the
+simplest and cheapest methods of making the tools and utensils which are
+needed in the execution of M. Lalanne's precepts.
+
+By the arrangement of the paragraphs which I have ventured to introduce,
+M. Lalanne's pleasant little book has, perhaps, lost something of its
+vivacity and freshness, especially in the fifth chapter. But this dull,
+methodical order will be found, I hope, to add to the convenience of the
+work as a book of reference, which, according to M. Lalanne's own
+statement, is, after all, its main object.
+
+It is due to the English public to say, that the additions were
+originally written for the American edition of this book, published by
+Messrs. Estes & Lauriat, of Boston, Mass. To free them from the American
+character which they very naturally bear, would have necessitated the
+resetting of a great part of the work, and a consequent increase in its
+cost. It has been deemed advisable, therefore, to leave the whole of the
+text in its original condition, more especially as the changes are such
+that they can easily be supplied by the reader, and do not in the least
+affect the value of the information conveyed.
+
+                                                            S. R. KOEHLER.
+
+  BEECH GLEN AVENUE, ROXBURY, BOSTON,
+             July, 1880.
+
+
+
+
+CONTENTS.
+
+
+                                                                  PAGE
+  TRANSLATOR'S PREFACE                                               v
+  INTRODUCTORY CHAPTER.--THE TECHNICAL ELEMENTS OF ETCHING        xiii
+  Paragraph
+    1. Definition of Etching                                      xiii
+    2. Requisites                                                  xiv
+    3. Grounding the Plate                                       xviii
+    4. Smoking the Plate                                         xviii
+    5. Points or Needles                                           xix
+    6. Drawing on the Plate                                        xix
+    7. Preparing the Plate for the Bath                             xx
+    8. The Bath                                                     xx
+    9. Biting and Stopping Out                                      xx
+  DESCRIPTION OF THE PLATES                                      xxiii
+  LETTER BY M. CHARLES BLANC                                       xxv
+  INTRODUCTION  (by the Author)                                      1
+
+
+  CHAPTER I.
+
+  DEFINITION AND CHARACTER OF ETCHING.
+
+  Paragraph
+    1. Definition                                                    3
+    2. Knowledge needed by the Etcher                                3
+    3. Manner of using the Needle.--Character of Lines               4
+    4. Freedom of Execution                                          4
+    5. How to produce Difference in Texture                          5
+    6. The Work of the Acid                                          5
+    7. The Use of the Dry Point                                      5
+    8. Spirit in which the Etcher must work                          5
+    9. Expression of Individuality in Etching                        6
+   10. Value of Etching to Artists                                   6
+   11. Versatility of Etching                                        7
+   12. Etching compared to other Styles of Engraving                 7
+   13. Etching as a Reproductive Art                                 7
+
+
+  CHAPTER II.
+
+  TOOLS AND MATERIALS.--PREPARING THE PLATE.--DRAWING ON THE
+  PLATE WITH THE NEEDLE.
+
+   14. Method of using this Manual                                   9
+
+
+  A. _Tools and Materials._
+
+   15. List of Tools and Materials needed                            9
+   16. Quality and Condition of Tools and Materials                 10
+
+
+  B. _Preparing the Plate._
+
+   17. Laying the Ground, or Varnishing                             12
+   18. Smoking                                                      13
+
+
+  C. _Drawing on the Plate with the Needle._
+
+   19. The Transparent Screen                                       14
+   20. Needles or Points                                            14
+   21. Temperature of the Room                                      15
+   22. The Tracing                                                  16
+   23. Reversing the Design                                         16
+   24. Use of the Mirror                                            17
+   25. Precautions to be observed while Drawing                     17
+   26. Directions for Drawing with the Needle                       17
+
+
+  CHAPTER III.
+
+  BITING.
+
+   27. Bordering the Plate                                          20
+   28. The Tray                                                     20
+   29. Strength of the Acid                                         20
+   30. Label your Bottles!                                          21
+   31. The First Biting                                             21
+   32. The Use of the Feather                                       22
+   33. Stopping Out                                                 22
+   34. Effect of Temperature on Biting                              22
+   35. Biting continued                                             23
+   36. Treatment of the various Distances                           23
+   37. The Creve.--Its Advantages and Disadvantages                 24
+   38. Means of ascertaining the Depth of the Lines                 24
+   39. The Rules which govern the Biting are subordinated to
+       various Causes                                               25
+   40. Strong Acid and Weak Acid                                    25
+   41. Strength of Acid in relation to certain Kinds of Work        26
+   42. Last Stages of Biting                                        27
+
+
+  CHAPTER IV.
+
+  FINISHING THE PLATE.
+
+   43. Omissions.--Insufficiency of the Work so far done            29
+   44. Transparent Ground for Retouching                            29
+   45. Ordinary Ground used for Retouching.--Biting the Retouches   30
+   46. Revarnishing with the Brush                                  31
+   47. Partial Retouches.--Patching                                 31
+   48. Dry Point                                                    32
+   49. Use of the Scraper for removing the Bur thrown up by the
+       Dry Point                                                    33
+   50. Reducing Over-bitten Passages                                33
+   51. The Burnisher                                                33
+   52. Charcoal                                                     34
+   53. The Scraper                                                  35
+   54. Hammering Out (Repoussage)                                   35
+   55. Finishing the Surface of the Plate                           35
+
+
+  CHAPTER V.
+
+  ACCIDENTS.
+
+   56. Stopping-out Varnish dropped on a Plate while Biting         37
+   57. Revarnishing with the Roller for Rebiting                    37
+   58. Revarnishing with the Roller in Cases of Partial Rebiting    38
+   59. Revarnishing with the Dabber for Rebiting                    39
+   60. Revarnishing with the Brush for Rebiting                     39
+   61. Rebiting a Remedy only                                       39
+   62. Holes in the Ground                                          39
+   63. Planing out Faulty Passages                                  40
+   64. Acid Spots on Clothing                                       41
+   65. Reducing Over-bitten Passages and Creves                     41
+
+
+  CHAPTER VI.
+
+  DIFFERENCE BETWEEN FLAT BITING AND BITING WITH STOPPING OUT.
+
+   66. Two Kinds of Biting                                          43
+   67. Flat Biting.--One Point                                      44
+   68. Flat Biting.--Several Points                                 44
+   69. Biting with Stopping Out.--One Point                         44
+   70. Biting with Stopping Out.--Several Points                    44
+   71. Necessity of Experimenting                                   45
+   72. Various other Methods of Biting                              45
+
+
+  CHAPTER VII.
+
+  RECOMMENDATIONS AND AUXILIARY PROCESSES.--ZINK AND STEEL
+  PLATES.--VARIOUS THEORIES.
+
+
+  A. _Recommendations and Auxiliary Processes._
+
+   73. The Roulette                                                 49
+   74. The Flat Point                                               49
+   75. The Graver or Burin                                          49
+   76. Sandpaper                                                    50
+   77. Sulphur Tints                                                50
+   78. Mottled Tints                                                51
+   79. Stopping-out before all Biting                               51
+
+
+  B. _Zink Plates and Steel Plates._
+
+   80. Zink Plates                                                  52
+   81. Steel Plates                                                 52
+
+
+  C. _Various other Processes._
+
+   82. Soft Ground Etching                                          52
+   83. Dry Point Etching                                            53
+   84. The Pen Process                                              54
+
+
+  CHAPTER VIII.
+
+  PROVING AND PRINTING.
+
+   85. Wax Proofs                                                   55
+   86. The Printing-Press                                           55
+   87. Natural Printing                                             56
+   88. Artificial Printing                                          56
+   89. Handwiping with Retroussage                                  57
+   90. Tinting with a Stiff Rag                                     57
+   91. Wiping with the Rag only                                     58
+   92. Limits of Artificial Printing                                58
+   93. Printing Inks                                                59
+   94. Paper                                                        59
+   95. Epreuves Volantes                                            60
+   96. Proofs before Lettering                                      60
+   97. Epreuves de Remarque                                         60
+   98. Number of Impressions which a Plate is capable of yielding   60
+   99. Steel-facing                                                 61
+  100. Copper-facing Zink Plates                                    62
+
+
+  NOTES. By the Translator                                          63
+
+
+  LIST OF WORKS on the Practice and History of Etching              75
+
+  A. Technical Treatises                                            75
+  B. Historical and Theoretical                                     77
+  C. Catalogues of the Works of the Artists                         77
+  a. Dictionaries                                                   77
+  b. Individual Artists                                             78
+
+
+
+
+INTRODUCTORY CHAPTER.
+
+THE TECHNICAL ELEMENTS OF ETCHING.
+
+
+As explained in the Preface, this chapter has been added to enable the
+beginner to master the most necessary technical elements of etching,
+without complicating his first attempts by artistic considerations. Let
+him learn how to use his ground, his points, and his acid, before he
+endeavors to employ these requisites in the production of a work of art.
+
+All the materials and tools necessary for making the experiment
+described below can be bought at the following places:[A]--
+
+  NEW YORK: Henry Leidel, Artist's Materials, 341 Fourth Avenue.
+  PHILADELPHIA: Janentzky & Co., Artist's Materials, 1125 Chestnut
+      Street.
+  BOSTON: J. H. Daniels, Printer, 223 Washington Street.
+
+But any one living within reach of a druggist, a paint-shop, and a
+hardware-store can do just as well with the exercise of a little
+patience and a very little ingenuity. For the benefit of such persons
+all the necessary directions will be given for making what it may be
+impossible to buy.
+
+  [A] In London, Mr. Hamerton recommends Mr. Charles Roberson, 99 Long
+  Acre.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+1. =Definition of Etching.=--To be able to get an impression on paper
+from a metal plate in a copper-plate printing-press, it is necessary to
+sink the lines of the design below the surface of the plate, so that
+each line is represented by a furrow. The plate is then inked all over,
+care being taken to fill each furrow, and finally the ink is cautiously
+wiped away from the surface, while the furrows are left charged with it.
+A piece of moist paper pressed against a plate so prepared, will take
+the ink up out of the furrows. The result is an impression. In
+_engraving proper_ these furrows are cut into the plate by mechanical
+means; in _etching_ chemical means are used for the same purpose. If
+nitric acid is brought into contact with copper, the acid corrodes the
+metal and finally eats it up altogether; if it is brought into contact
+with wax or resinous substances, no action ensues. Hence, if we cover a
+copper plate with a ground or varnish composed of wax and resinous
+substances, and then draw lines upon this ground with a steel or iron
+style or point, so that each stroke of the point lays bare the copper,
+we shall have a drawing in lines of copper (which are affected by nitric
+acid) on a ground of varnish (which is not thus affected). If now we
+expose the plate to the action of nitric acid for a certain length of
+time, we shall find, upon the removal of the ground by means of benzine,
+that the lines have been _bitten into_ the plate, so that each line
+forms a furrow capable of taking up the ink. The depth and the breadth
+of the lines depends upon the thickness of the points used, and upon the
+length of time allowed for biting; or, in other words, by varying the
+size of the points and the time of exposure the lines may also be made
+to vary. This is the whole of the _science_ of etching in a nutshell.
+
+2. =Requisites.=--The following tools and materials are the only ones
+which are absolutely necessary for a first experiment:--
+
+1. A COPPER PLATE on which to execute your etching. Do not waste your
+money on a large plate. A visiting-card plate is sufficiently large. If
+you happen to have an engraved plate of that kind, you can use the back
+of it. If you have none, get one at a card-engraver's. The price ought
+not to be over fifteen cents. If you do not live in any of the large
+cities named above, or cannot find a card-engraver, send fifteen cents
+in stamps to Mr. Geo. B. Sharp, 45 Gold St., New York, N. Y., who will
+forward a plate to you by mail. Be very particular in giving your full
+and correct _post-office_ address. These plates only need cleaning to
+fit them for use.
+
+2. BENZINE, used for cleaning the plate, sold by grocers or druggists at
+about five cents a pint for common quality.
+
+3. WHITING or SPANISH WHITE, also for cleaning the plate. A very small
+quantity will do.
+
+4. CLEAN COTTON RAGS.--Some pieces of soft old shirting are just the
+thing.
+
+5. ETCHING-GROUND, with which to protect the plate against the action of
+the acid. This ground is sold in balls about the size of a walnut. If
+you do not live in a city where you can buy the ground, you may as well
+make it yourself. Here is a recipe for a very cheap and at the same time
+very good ground. It is the ground used by Mr. Peter Moran, one of the
+most experienced of our American etchers. Buy at a drug-shop (not an
+apothecary's) or painter's supply-store:--
+
+Two ounces best natural asphaltum (also called Egyptian asphaltum),
+worth about ten cents.
+
+One and a half ounces best white virgin wax, worth about six cents.
+
+One ounce Burgundy pitch, worth say five cents.
+
+Break the wax into small pieces, and reduce the Burgundy pitch to fine
+powder in a mortar, or have it powdered at the drug-shop. Take a clean
+earthenware pot glazed on the inside, with a handle to it (in Boston you
+can buy one for fifteen cents at G. A. Miller & Co.'s, 101 Shawmut
+Avenue), and in this pot melt your asphaltum over a slow fire, taking
+very good care not to let it boil over, or otherwise you might possibly
+set the house afire. When the asphaltum has melted add the wax
+gradually, stirring all the while with a clean glass or metal rod. Then
+add the Burgundy pitch in the same way. Keep stirring the fluid mass,
+and let it boil up two or three times, always taking care to prevent
+boiling over! Then pour the whole into a pan full of tepid water, and
+while it is still soft and pliant, form into balls of the required size,
+working all the while under the water. If you touch the mass while it is
+still too hot, you may possibly burn your fingers, but a true enthusiast
+does not care for such small things. You will thus get about eight or
+nine balls of very good ground at an outlay of about thirty-six cents in
+cash, and some little time. Nearly all recipes order the wax to be
+melted first, but as the asphaltum requires a greater heat to reduce it
+to a fluid condition, it is best to commence with the least tractable
+substance. For use, wrap a ball of the ground in a piece of fine and
+close silk (taffeta), and tie this together with a string.
+
+6. MEANS OF HEATING THE PLATE.--Any source of heat emitting no smoke
+will do, such as a kitchen stove, a spirit lamp, or a small quantity of
+alcohol poured on a plate and ignited (when the time arrives).
+
+7. A HAND VICE with a wooden handle, for holding the plate while heating
+it; price about seventy-five cents at the hardware-stores. But a small
+monkey-wrench will do as well, and for this experiment you can even get
+along with a pair of pincers.
+
+8. A DABBER for laying the ground on the plate. Cut a piece of stout
+card-board, two or three inches in diameter; on this lay a bunch of
+horse-hair, freed from all dust, and over this again some cotton wool.
+Cover the whole with one or two pieces of clean taffeta (a clean piece
+of an old silk dress will do), draw them together tightly over the
+card-board, and tie with a string. When finished the thing will look
+something like a lady's toilet-ball. The horse-hair is not absolutely
+necessary, and may be omitted.
+
+9. MEANS OF SMOKING THE GROUND.--The ground when laid on the plate with
+the dabber, is quite transparent and allows the glitter of the metal to
+shine through. To obtain a better working surface the ground is
+blackened by smoking it. For this purpose the thin wax-tapers known to
+Germans as "Wachsstock," generally sold at German toy-stores, are the
+best. They come in balls. Cut the tapers into lengths, and twist six of
+them together. In default of these tapers, roll a piece of cotton cloth
+into a roll about as thick and as long as your middle finger, and soak
+one end of it in common lamp or sperm oil.
+
+10. STOPPING-OUT VARNISH, used for protecting the back and the edges of
+the plate, and for "stopping out," of which more hereafter. If you
+cannot buy it you can make it by dissolving an ounce of asphaltum, the
+same as that used for the ground, in about an ounce and a half of
+spirits of turpentine. Add the asphaltum to the turpentine little by
+little; shake the bottle containing the mixture frequently; keep it in
+the sun or a moderately warm place. The operation will require several
+days. The solution when finished should be of the consistency of thick
+honey.
+
+11. CAMEL'S-HAIR BRUSHES, two or three of different sizes, for laying on
+the stopping-out varnish, and for other purposes.
+
+12. ETCHING POINTS OR NEEDLES, for scratching the lines into the ground.
+Rat-tail files of good quality, costing about twenty cents each at the
+hardware-stores, are excellent for the purpose. Two are all you need for
+your experiment, and even one will be sufficient. Still cheaper points
+can be made of sewing, knitting, or any other kind of needles, mounted
+in sticks of wood like the lead of a lead-pencil. Use glue or
+sealing-wax to fasten them in the wood.
+
+13. AN OIL-STONE for grinding the points.
+
+14. AN ETCHING-TRAY to hold the acid during the operation of biting.
+Trays are made of glass, porcelain, or india-rubber, and can generally
+be had at the photographer's supply-stores. A small india-rubber tray,
+large enough for your experiment, measuring four by five inches, costs
+fifty-five cents. But you can make an excellent tray yourself of paper.
+Make a box, of the required size and about one and a half inches high,
+of pasteboard, covered over by several layers of strong paper, well
+glued on. If you can manage to make a lip or spout in one of the
+corners, so much the better. After the glue has well dried pour
+stopping-out varnish into the box, and float it all over the bottom and
+the sides; pour the residue of the varnish back into your bottle, and
+allow the varnish in the box to dry; then paint the outside of the box
+with the same varnish. Repeat this process three or four times. Such a
+tray, with an occasional fresh coating of varnish, will last forever.
+For your experiment, however, any small porcelain (_not_ earthenware) or
+glass dish will do, if it is only large enough to hold your plate, and
+allow the acid to stand over it to the height of about half an inch.
+
+15. A PLATE-LIFTER, to lift your plate into and out of the bath without
+soiling your fingers. It consists of two pieces of string, each say
+twelve to fifteen inches long, tied to two cross-pieces of wood, each
+about six inches long, thus [Illustration]. It is well to keep the
+fingers out of the acid, as it causes yellow spots on the skin, which
+remain till they wear off.
+
+16. NITRIC ACID for biting in the lines. Any nitric acid sold by
+druggists will do, but the best is the so-called chemically pure nitric
+acid made by Messrs. Powers & Weightman, of Philadelphia. It comes put
+up in glass-stoppered bottles, the smallest of which hold one pound, and
+sell for about sixty cents.
+
+17. WATER for mixing with the acid and for washing the plate.
+
+18. BLOTTING-PAPER, soft and thick, several sheets, to dry the plate, as
+will be seen hereafter.
+
+19. SPIRITS OF HARTSHORN OR VOLATILE ALKALI.--This is not needed for
+etching, but it is well to have it at hand, in case you should spatter
+your clothes with acid. Spots produced by the acid can generally be
+removed by rubbing with the alkali, which neutralizes the acid.
+
+3. =Grounding the Plate.=--Having procured all these requisites, the
+first thing to do will be to clean the plate so as to remove any oil or
+other impurities that may have been left on it by the plate-maker. Wash
+and rub it well on both sides with a soft cotton rag and benzine, and
+then rub with whiting, as you would do if you were to clean a
+door-plate. Take care to remove all the whiting with a clean rag. Now
+take hold of your plate by one of its corners with the hand-vice,
+wrench, or pincers, between the jaws of which you have put a bit of
+card-board or stout paper, so as not to mark the plate. Hold it over the
+stove, spirit lamp, or ignited alcohol, and see to it that it is heated
+evenly throughout. Hold the plate in your left hand while heating it,
+and with the other press against it the ball of ground wrapped up in
+silk. As soon as you see the ground melting through the silk, distribute
+it over the plate by rubbing the ball all over its surface (the
+_polished_ surface, as a matter of course), taking care the while that
+the plate remains just hot enough to melt the ground. If it is too hot,
+the ground will commence to boil and will finally burn. The bubbles
+caused by boiling are liable to leave air-holes in the ground through
+which the acid may bite little holes in the plate; burning ruins the
+ground altogether, so that it loses its power of withstanding the acid.
+After you have distributed the ground tolerably evenly, and in a thin
+layer, lay the plate down on the table (keeping hold of it, however, by
+the corner), and finish the distribution of the ground by dabbing with
+the dabber. Strike the plate quickly and with some force at first, and
+treat it more gently as the ground begins to cool. If it should have
+cooled too much, before the distribution is accomplished to your
+satisfaction, in which case the dabber will draw threads, heat the plate
+gently. The dabber not only equalizes the distribution of the varnish,
+but also removes what is superfluous. An extremely thin layer of ground
+is sufficient.
+
+4. =Smoking the Plate.=--While the plate is yet hot, and the ground
+soft, it must be smoked. Light your tapers or your oil torch, and turn
+the plate upside down. Allow the flame just to touch the plate, and keep
+moving it about rapidly, so that it may touch all points of the
+plate, without remaining long at any one of them. If this precaution is
+ignored, the ground will be burned, with the result before stated. The
+smoking is finished as soon as the plate is uniformly blackened all
+over, and the glimmer of the metal can no longer be seen through the
+ground. Now allow the plate to cool so that the ground may harden.
+_Avoid dust as much as possible_ while grounding and smoking the plate.
+Particles of dust embedded in the ground may cause holes which will
+admit the acid where you do not wish it to act.
+
+5. =Points or Needles.=--The plate is now ready for drawing upon it, but
+before you can proceed to draw you must prepare your points or needles.
+Two will do for this first experiment, a fine one and a coarse one. For
+the fine one you may use a sewing-needle, for the coarser one a medium
+embroidery needle, both set in wood so that the points project about a
+quarter of an inch. If you are going to use rat-tail files, grind the
+handle-ends on your oil-stone until they attain the requisite fineness.
+Hold the file flat on the stone, so as to get a gradually tapering
+point, and turn continually. See to it that even the point of your
+finest needle is not too sharp. If it scratches when you draw it lightly
+over a piece of card-board, describe circles with it on the board until
+it simply makes a mark without scratching. The coarse needle must be
+evenly rounded, as otherwise it may have a cutting point somewhere.
+
+[Illustration: Plate A.]
+
+6. =Drawing on the Plate.=--As the purpose of your experiment is simply
+to familiarize yourself with the _technicalities_ of etching, that is to
+say, with the preparation of the plate, the management of the points,
+and the action of the acid, it will be well to confine yourself to the
+drawing of lines something like those on Pl. A. It is the office of the
+point simply to _remove_ the ground, and _lay bare the copper_. But this
+it must do thoroughly, for the slightest covering left on the plate will
+prevent the acid from attacking the copper. You must therefore use
+sufficient pressure to accomplish this end, but at the same time you
+must avoid cutting into the copper by using too much pressure. Wherever
+the point has cut the copper the acid acts more rapidly, as the polished
+coating of the surface of the plate has been removed. It is evident from
+this that an even pressure is necessary to produce an evenly bitten
+line. Do not touch the ground with your hands while drawing. Rest your
+hand on three or four thicknesses of soft blotting-paper. When you
+desire to shift the paper, _lift it_, and _never draw it_ over the
+ground. Hold the point, not slantingly like a pencil, but as near as
+possible perpendicularly. The point is a hard instrument, with which you
+cannot produce a swelling line, as with a pencil or a pen. Therefore
+your only aim must be an _even_ line, produced by _even pressure_. The
+minute threads of ground thrown up by the point you must remove with
+your largest camel's-hair brush; otherwise they may clog your lines.
+Before commencing to draw read the description of Pl. A given under the
+heading "Description of Plates."
+
+7. =Preparing the Plate for the Bath.=--If you were to put the plate
+into the acid bath in the state in which it is at present, the acid
+would corrode the unprotected parts. To prevent this paint the back, and
+the corner by which you held the plate while grounding it, and the edges
+with stopping-out varnish. If you are not in a hurry (_and it is always
+best not to be in a hurry_), let the varnish dry over night; if you
+cannot wait so long an hour will be sufficient for drying. While the
+plate is drying you may lay it, face downward, on a little pile of soft
+paper, made up of pieces smaller than the plate, so that the paper may
+not touch the varnished edges.
+
+8. =The Bath.=--The preparation of the bath is next in order. Ascertain
+the capacity of the dish or tray you are going to use by pouring water
+into it to fill it to half its height, and then measuring the water.
+Pour _one half_ of this quantity of water back into the tray, and add to
+it the same quantity of nitric acid, stirring the mixture well with a
+glass rod, or a bit of glass, or a bird's feather, if you happen to have
+one, or in default of all these with a bit of stick. The mixing of water
+and acid induces chemical action, and this produces heat. The bath must
+therefore be allowed to cool half an hour or so, before the plate is put
+into it. Nitric acid being a corrosive and poisonous fluid, it is well
+to use some care in handling it. Otherwise it may bite holes into your
+clothing, and disfigure your hands, as before noted. By the side of your
+bath have a large vessel filled with clean water, in which to wash the
+plate when it is withdrawn from the bath, and your fingers in case you
+should soil them with acid.
+
+9. =Biting and Stopping Out.=--The bath having been prepared, and the
+varnish on the back and edges of the plate having dried sufficiently,
+lay the plate on the plate-lifter, face upward, and lift it into the
+bath. In a few minutes, in hot weather in a few seconds, the acid will
+begin to act on the copper. This is made evident to the eye by the
+bubbles which collect in the lines, and to the nose by the fumes of
+nitrous acid which the bath exhales. The bubbles must be removed by
+gently brushing them out of the lines with a brush or the vane of a
+feather; the fumes it is best not to inhale, as they irritate the
+throat. After the biting has gone on for three minutes in warm, or for
+five minutes in cold weather, lift the plate out of the bath into the
+vessel filled with water. Having washed it well, so as to remove all
+traces of the acid, lay it on a piece of blotting-paper, and take up the
+moisture from the face by gently pressing another piece of the same
+paper against it. Then fan the plate for some minutes to make sure that
+it is absolutely dry. If you have a pair of bellows you may dispense
+with the blotting-paper as well as with the fanning. The lines on the
+plate, having all bitten for the same length of time, are now all of
+about the same depth, and if the plate were cleaned and an impression
+taken from it, they would all appear of about the same strength, the
+only difference being that produced by difference in spacing and in the
+size of the needles. This is the point where the stopping-out varnish
+comes in. With a fine camel's-hair brush _stop out_, that is to say,
+paint over with stopping-out varnish, those lines or parts of lines
+which are to remain as they are. If the varnish should be too thick to
+flow easily from the brush, mix a small quantity of it in a paint
+saucer, or on a porcelain slab, or a piece of glass, with a few drops of
+benzine. The varnish, however, must not be too thin, as in that case it
+will run in the lines, and will fill them where you do not wish them to
+be filled. If it is of the right consistency, you can draw a clean and
+sharp line across the etched lines without danger of running. When you
+have laid on your stopping-out varnish, fan it for some minutes until it
+has dried sufficiently not to adhere to the finger when lightly touched.
+Then introduce the plate into the bath again, and let the biting
+continue another five minutes. Remove again, stop out as before, and
+continue these operations as often as you wish. But it would be useless
+to let your accumulated bitings on this experimental plate exceed more
+than thirty minutes. Having finished your last biting, clean the plate
+with benzine. Then apply the same process to your hands, and follow it
+up with a vigorous application of soap and nail-brush. This will leave
+your hands as beautiful as they were before.
+
+It is hardly worth while to bother with taking an impression from this
+trial plate, unless you happen to have a printer near by. The plate
+itself will show you how the acid has enlarged the lines at each
+successive biting, and it stands to reason that the broader and deeper
+lines should give a darker impression than the finer and shallower ones.
+If, however, you have no printer at hand, and still desire to see how
+your work looks in black and white, you may consult the chapter on
+"Proving and Printing," p. 55 of M. Lalanne's "Treatise."
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+You have now gained some idea of the theory of etching, have acquainted
+yourself with the use of tools and materials, and have mastered the most
+elementary technical difficulties of the process. You are therefore in a
+position to profit by the teachings of M. Lalanne which follow.
+
+In conclusion, let me assure you that the home-made appliances described
+in the foregoing paragraphs are quite sufficient, technically, for the
+purposes of the etcher. Plate B, Mr. Walter F. Lansil's first essay in
+etching, was executed according to the directions here given, and the
+artist has kindly consented to let me use it for the special purpose of
+illustrating this point.
+
+[Illustration: Plate B.]
+
+
+
+
+DESCRIPTION OF THE PLATES.
+
+
+PLATE A. _A Trial Plate._ This plate is given to show the effect of
+difference in length of biting. The lines in the eight upper rectangles
+were all drawn before the first immersion of the plate, those on the
+left with a fine point, those on the right with a somewhat coarser one.
+After the plate had been in the bath for three minutes, it was
+withdrawn, and the upper rectangle on the left stopped out. The upper
+rectangle on the right, however, had hardly been attacked by the acid,
+as the lines had been drawn with a blunter point, which had not
+scratched the copper, while the fine point had. It was therefore allowed
+to bite another three minutes before it was stopped out. The other
+rectangles were allowed to bite ten, twenty, and thirty minutes
+respectively, by which means the difference in value was produced. The
+figures _a_, _b_, _c_ perhaps show the results of partial biting still
+better. The three were simply lined with the same point. After the first
+biting they all looked like _a_. This was then stopped out, together
+with the corners of _b_ and _c_. After the second biting _b_ and _c_
+were both as _b_ now is. The whole of _b_ was now stopped out, and part
+of _c_, allowing only the inner lozenge to remain exposed to the acid.
+It is evident that the difference in color in these figures is not due
+to the drawing, but is entirely the result of biting.
+
+PLATE B. _Vessels in Boston Harbor._ A first essay in etching by Mr.
+Walter F. Lansil, marine painter, of Boston. The artist has kindly given
+me permission to use this plate, for the purpose of showing that the
+home-made tools and materials described in the Introductory Chapter are
+quite sufficient for all the technical purposes of the etcher. It is
+eminently "home-made." The ground was prepared according to the recipe
+given; the points used were a sewing-needle and a knitting-needle; the
+tray in which it was etched was made of paper covered with stopping-out
+varnish; even the plate (a zink plate by the way) did not come from the
+plate-maker, but was ground and polished at home.
+
+PLATE I_a_. _Etching after Claude Lorrain._ _Unfinished plate_, or
+"first state" (see pp. 23 and 29). This, however, is not the etching
+itself; it is a photo-engraving from the unfinished etching. But it does
+well enough to show the imperfections alluded to by M. Lalanne in the
+text.
+
+PLATE I. _Etching after Claude Lorrain._ _Finished plate_, or "second
+state" (see pp. 36 and 56). Clean wiped.
+
+PLATE II. _Etching after Claude Lorrain._ Printed from the same plate as
+Pl. I, but treated as described on p. 57. The difference between the two
+plates shows what the art of the printer can do for an etching. The
+difference would be still greater if Pl. II. were better printed; for it
+is not printed as well as it might be, although it was done in Paris.
+
+PLATE III. _A plat, une pointe_--flat biting, drawn with one point; that
+is to say, the plate was immersed only once, and the lines are all the
+result of the same needle, so that the effect is only produced by
+placing the lines close together in the foreground, and farther apart as
+the distance recedes (see p. 43). _A plat, plusieurs pointes_--flat
+biting, several points, that is to say, one immersion only, but the work
+of finer and coarser points is intermingled in the drawing. _Par
+couvertures, plusieurs pointes_--stopping out and the work of several
+points combined.
+
+PLATE IV. _Fig. 1._ See p. 27. _Fig. 2._ See p. 45. _Figs. 3, 4 and 5._
+See p. 46.
+
+PLATE V. _Fig. 1._ Worked with one point; effect produced by stopping
+out (see p. 44). _Fig. 2._ Mottled tint in the building, &c., in the
+foreground; stopping out before biting, in the sky (see p. 51).
+
+PLATE VI. _Soft-ground etchings._ See p. 52.
+
+PLATE VII. _Dry-point etching._ See p. 53.
+
+PLATE VIII. _A Seville._ A sketch, given as a specimen of printing (see
+p. 58).
+
+PLATE IX. _A Anvers._ _Le Haag, Amsterdam._ Sketches from nature, to
+serve as examples.
+
+PLATE X. (Frontispiece). _Souvenir de Bordeaux._ To be consulted in
+regard to the manner of using the points and partial bitings.
+
+
+
+
+MY DEAR MONSIEUR LALANNE,[B]
+
+  [B] This letter preceded also the first edition of 1866.
+
+
+If there is any one living who can write about Etching, it must
+certainly be you, as you possess all the secrets of the art, and are
+versed in all its refinements, its resources, and its effects.
+Nevertheless, when I was told that you intended to publish a book on the
+subject, I feared that you were about to attempt the impossible; for it
+seemed as if Abraham Bosse had exhausted the theme two hundred years
+ago, and that you would be condemned to repeat all that this excellent
+man had said in his treatise, in which, with charming _naivete_, he
+teaches _the art of engraving to perfection_.
+
+I must confess, however, that the reading of your manuscript very
+quickly undeceived me. I find in it numberless useful and interesting
+things not to be found anywhere else, and I comprehend that Abraham
+Bosse wrote for those who know, while you write for those who do not
+know.
+
+I was quite young, and had just left college, when accident threw into
+my hands the _Traite des manieres de graver en taille douce sur l'airain
+par le moyen des eaux fortes et des vernis durs et mols_. Perhaps I
+might have paid no attention to this book, if I had not previously
+noticed on the stands on the _Quai Voltaire_ some etchings by Rembrandt,
+which had opened to me an entirely new world of poetry and of dreams.
+These prints had taken such hold upon my imagination that I desired to
+learn, from Bosse's "Treatise," how the Dutch painter had managed to
+produce his strange and startling effects and his mysterious tones, the
+fantastic play of his lights and the silence of his shadows. Rembrandt's
+etchings on the one hand, and Bosse's book on the other, were the causes
+of my resolution to learn the art of engraving, and of my subsequent
+entry into the studio of Calamatta and Mercuri.
+
+As soon as I knew how to hold the burin and the point, these grave and
+illustrious masters placed before me an allegorical figure engraved by
+Edelinck, whose drapery was executed in waving and winding lines,
+incomparable in their correctness and beauty. To break my hand to the
+work, it was necessary to copy on my plate these solemnly classical and
+majestically disposed lines. But while I cut into the copper with
+restrained impatience, my attention was secretly turned towards
+Rembrandt's celebrated portrait of Janus Lutma, a good impression of
+which I owned, and which I thought of copying.
+
+To make my _debut_ in this severe school--in which we were allowed to
+admire only Marc Antonio, the Ghisis, the Audrans, and Nanteuil--with an
+etching by Rembrandt, would have been a heresy of the worst sort. Hence
+to be able to risk this infraction of discipline, I took very good care
+to keep my project to myself. Secretly I bought ground, wax, and a
+plate, and profited of the absence of my teachers to attempt, with
+fevered hands, to make a fac-simile of the Lutma. I had followed the
+instructions of Abraham Bosse with regard to the ground, and I proceeded
+to bite in my plate with the assistance of a comrade, Charles
+Noerdlinger, at present engraver to the king of Wurtemburg, at Stuttgart,
+whom I had admitted as my accomplice in this delightful expedition.
+
+You may well imagine, my dear Monsieur Lalanne, that I met with all
+sorts of accidents, such as are likely to befall a novice, and all of
+which you describe so carefully, while at the same time you indicate
+fully and lucidly the remedies that may be applied. The ground cracked
+in several places,--happily in the dark parts. My wax border had been
+hastily constructed, and I did not know then, although Bosse says so,
+that it is the rule to pass a heated key along the lower line of the
+border, so as to melt the wax, and thus render all escape impossible.
+Consequently the acid filtered through under the wax, and in trying to
+arrest the flow, I burned my fingers. Furthermore, when it came to the
+biting in of the shadows in the portrait of Lutma, the greenish and then
+whitish ebullition produced by the long-continued biting so frightened
+me, that I hastened to empty the acid into a pail, not, however, without
+having spattered a few drops on a proof of the _Vow of Louis XIII._,
+which had been scratched in the printing, and which we were about to
+repair. At last I removed the ground, and, trembling all over, went to
+have a proof taken, but not to the printer regularly employed by
+Calamatta.
+
+What a disappointment! I believed my etching to have been sufficiently,
+nay, even over-bitten, and in reality I had stopped half-way. The color
+of the copper had deceived me. I had seen my portrait on the fine red
+ground of the metal, and now I saw it on the crude white of the paper. I
+hardly knew it again. It lacked the profundity, the mystery, the harmony
+in the shadows, which were precisely what I had striven for. The plate
+was only roughly cut up by lines crossing in all directions, through the
+network of which shone the ground which Rembrandt had subdued, so as to
+give all the more brilliancy to the window with its leaded panes, to the
+lights in the foreground, and to the cheek of the pensive head of Lutma.
+As luck would have it, all the light part in the upper half of the print
+came out pretty well; the expression of the face was satisfactory, and
+the grimaces of the two small heads of monsters which surmount the back
+of the chair were perfectly imitated. I had to strengthen the shadows by
+means of the roulette, and to go over the most prominent folds of the
+coat with the graver; for I had not the knowledge necessary to enable me
+to undertake a second biting. Bosse says a few words on this subject,
+which, as they are wanting in clearness, are apt to lead a beginner into
+error. He speaks of smoked ground, while, as you have so admirably
+shown, white ground must be used for retouching. I therefore finished my
+plate by patching and cross-hatching and stippling, and finally obtained
+a passable copy, which, at a little distance, looked something like the
+original, although, to a practised eye, it was really nothing but a very
+rude imitation. It is needless to say that we carefully obliterated all
+evidence of our proceedings, and that, my teachers having returned, I
+went to work again, with hypocritical compunction, upon what I called
+the _military_ lines of Gerard Edelinck. But we were betrayed by some
+incautious words of the chamber-woman, and M. Calamatta, having
+discovered "the rose-pot," scolded Charles Noerdlinger and myself roundly
+for this romantic escapade. If my plate had been worse,----the good Lord
+only knows what might have happened!
+
+All this, my dear M. Lalanne, is simply intended to show to you how
+greatly I esteem the excellent advice which you give to the young
+etcher, or _aqua-fortiste_ (as the phrase goes now-a-days, according to
+a neologism which is hardly less barbaric than the word _artistic_).
+When I recall the efforts of my youth, the ardor with which I deceived
+myself, the hot haste with which I fell into the very errors which you
+point out, I understand that your book is an absolute necessity; and
+that the artist or the amateur, who, hidden away in some obscure
+province, desires to enjoy the agreeable pastime of etching, need only
+follow, step by step, the intelligent and methodical order of your
+precepts, to be enabled to carry the most complicated plate to a
+satisfactory end, whether he chooses to employ the soft ground used by
+Decamps, Masson, and Marvy, or whether he confines himself to the
+ordinary processes which you make sensible even to the touch with a
+lucidity, a familiarity with details, and a certainty of judgment, not
+to be sufficiently commended.
+
+Having read your "Treatise," I admit, not only that you have surpassed
+your worthy predecessor, Abraham Bosse, but that you have absolutely
+superseded his book by making your own indispensable. If only the
+amateurs, whose time hangs heavily upon them; if the artists, who wish
+to fix a fleeting impression; if the rich, who are sated with the
+pleasures of photography,--had an idea of the great charm inherent in
+etching, your little work would have a marvellous success! Even our
+elegant ladies and literary women, tired of their do-nothing lives and
+their nick-nacks, might find a relaxation full of attractions in the art
+of drawing on the ground and biting-in their passing fancies. Madame de
+Pompadour, when she had ceased to govern, although she continued to
+reign, took upon herself a colossal enterprise,--to amuse the king and
+to divert herself. You know the sixty-three pieces executed by this
+charming engraver (note, if you please, that I do not say
+_engraveress_!). Her etchings after Eisen and Boucher are exquisite. The
+pulsation of life, the fulness of the carnations, are expressed in them
+by delicately trembling lines; and I do think that Madame de Pompadour
+could not have done better, even if she had been your pupil.
+
+At present, moreover, etching has, in some measure, become the fashion
+again as a substitute for lithography, an art which developed charm as
+well as strength under the crayon of Charlet, of Gericault, of Gigoux,
+and of Gavarni. The _Societe des Aqua-fortistes_ is the fruit of this
+renaissance. The art, which, in our own day, has been rendered
+illustrious by the inimitable Jacque, now has its adepts in all
+countries, and in all imaginable spheres of society. Etchings come to us
+from all points of the compass: the Hague sends those of M. Cornet,
+conservator of the Museum; Poland, those which form the interesting
+album of M. Bronislas Zaleski, the _Life of the Kirghise Steppes_;
+London, those of M. Seymour Haden, so original and full of life, and so
+well described in the catalogue of our friend Burty; Lisbon, those of
+King Ferdinand of Portugal, who etches as Grandville drew, but with
+more suppleness and freedom. But after all Paris is the place where the
+best etchings appear, more especially in the _Gazette des Beaux-Arts_,
+and in the publications of the _Societe des Aqua-fortistes_. Do you
+desire to press this capricious process into your service for the
+translation of the old or modern masters? Hedouin, Flameng, Bracquemont,
+will do wonders for you. You have told me yourself that, in my _OEuvre
+de Rembrandt_, Flameng has so well imitated this great man, that he
+himself would be deceived if he should come to life again. As to Jules
+Jacquemart, he is perfectly unique of his kind; he compels etching to
+say what it never before was able to say. With the point of his needle
+he expresses the density of porphyry; the coldness of porcelain; the
+insinuating surface of Chinese lacquer; the transparent and imponderable
+_finesse_ of Venetian glassware; the reliefs and the chased lines of the
+most delicate works of the goldsmith, almost imperceptible in their
+slightness; the polish of iron and steel; the glitter, the reflections,
+and even the sonority of bronze; the color of silver and of gold, as
+well as all the lustre of the diamond and all the appreciable shades of
+the emerald, the turquoise, and the ruby. I shall not speak of you, my
+dear monsieur, nor of your etchings, in which the style of Claude is so
+well united to the grace of Karel Dujardin. You preach by practising;
+and if one had only seen the plates with which you have illustrated your
+excellent lessons, one would recognize not only the instructor but the
+master. Hence, be without fear or hesitation; put forth confidently your
+little book; it is just in time to help regenerate the art of etching,
+and to direct its renaissance. For these reasons--mark my
+prediction!--its success will be brilliant and lasting.
+
+CHARLES BLANC.
+
+
+
+
+INTRODUCTION.
+
+
+Since the year 1866, when the first edition of this treatise appeared,
+the art of etching, which was then in full course of regeneration, has
+gained considerably in extent. The tendencies of modern art must
+necessarily favor the soaring flight of this method of engraving, which
+has been left in oblivion quite too long. It remained for our
+contemporary school to accord to it those honors which the school of the
+first empire had denied to it, and which that of 1830 had given but
+timidly. At the period last named some of our illustrious masters, by
+applying their talent to occasional essays in etching, set an example
+which our own generation, expansive in its aspirations, and anxiously
+desirous of guarding the rights of individuality, was quick to follow.
+
+The _Gazette des Beaux Arts_ comprehended this movement, and contributed
+to its extension by attracting to itself the artists who rendered
+themselves illustrious by the work done for its pages, while, by a sort
+of natural reciprocity, they shed around it the prestige of their
+talents. The _Societe des Aqua-fortistes_ (Etching Club), founded in
+1863 by Alfred Cadart, has also, by the united efforts of many eminent
+etchers, done its share towards bringing the practice of this art into
+notice, and has popularized it in the world of amateurs, whose numbers
+it has been instrumental in augmenting; while at the same time, owing to
+the nature of its constitution, it has given material support to the
+artists. Private collections have been formed, and are growing in
+richness from day to day. Two royal artists, King Ferdinand of Portugal
+and King Charles XV. of Sweden, have, through their works, taken an
+active part in the renewal of etching; they were the happy sponsors of a
+publication which, under the name of _L'Illustration Nouvelle_, follows
+in the footsteps, and continues the traditions, of the _Societe des
+Aqua-fortistes_.
+
+Similar societies, organized in England and in Belgium,[1] are
+prospering. On the other hand, a great number of art journals, of books,
+and of albums, owe their success to the use made in them of etchings.
+This is true also of those special editions which are sumptuously
+printed in small numbers, and are the delight of lovers of books.
+
+Etching has thus taken a position in modern art which cannot fail to
+become still more important. "Everything has been said," wrote La
+Bruyere, concerning the works of the pen, "and we can only glean after
+the poets." The literature of two centuries has given the lie to the
+assertion of the celebrated moralist, and it may also be affirmed that
+etching has not yet spoken its last word. Not only has it no need of
+gleaning after the old masters, but it may rather seek for precious
+models in the works of our contemporary etchers. In their experience may
+be found fruit for the present as well as useful information for the
+future.
+
+[Illustration: AN ETCHER'S STUDIO.
+
+From the Third Edition of Abraham Bosse's "Treatise," Paris, 1758.]
+
+
+
+
+A TREATISE ON ETCHING.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER I.
+
+DEFINITION AND CHARACTER OF ETCHING.
+
+
+1. =Definition.=--An etching is a design fixed on metal by the action of
+an acid. The art of etching consists, in the first place, in drawing,
+with a _point_ or _needle_, upon a metal plate, which is perfectly
+polished, and covered with a layer of varnish, or ground, blackened by
+smoke; and, secondly, in exposing the plate, when the drawing is
+finished, to the action of nitric acid. The acid, which does not affect
+fatty substances but corrodes metal, eats into the lines which have been
+laid bare by the needle, and thus the drawing is _bitten in_. The
+varnish is then removed by washing the plate with spirits of
+turpentine,[2] and the design will be found to be engraved, as it were,
+on the plate. But, as the color of the copper is misleading, it is
+impossible to judge properly of the quality of the work done until a
+_proof_ has been taken.
+
+2. =Knowledge needed by the Etcher.=--The aspirant in the art of
+etching, having familiarized himself by a few trials with the appearance
+of the bright lines produced by the needle on the dark ground of smoked
+varnish, will soon go to work on his plate confidently and
+unhesitatingly; and, without troubling himself much about the uniform
+appearance of his work, he will gradually learn to calculate in advance
+the conversion of his lines into lines more or less deeply bitten, and
+the change in appearance which these lines undergo when transferred to
+paper by means of ink and press.
+
+It follows from this that the etcher must, from the very beginning of
+his work, have a clear conception of the idea he intends to realize on
+his plate, as the work of the needle must harmonize with the character
+of the subject, and as the effect produced is finally determined by the
+combination of this work with that of the acid.
+
+The knowledge needed to bring about these intimate relations between the
+needle, which produces the _drawing_, and the biting-in, which supplies
+the _color_, constitutes the whole science of the etcher.
+
+3. =Manner of Using the Needle.--Character of Lines.=--The needle or
+point must be allowed to play lightly on the varnish, so as to permit
+the hand to move with that unconcern which is necessary to great freedom
+of execution. The use of a moderately sharp needle will insure lines
+which are full and nourished in the delicate as well as in the vigorous
+parts of the work. We shall thus secure the means of being simple. Nor
+will it be necessary to depart from this character even in plates
+requiring the most minute execution; all that is required will be a
+finer point, and lines of a more delicate kind. But the spaces left
+between the latter will be proportionately the same, or perhaps even
+somewhat wider, so as to prevent the acid from confusing the lines by
+eating away the ridges of metal which are left standing between the
+furrows. Freshness and neatness depend on these conditions in small as
+well as in large plates.
+
+4. =Freedom of Execution.=--It is a well-known fact that the engraver
+who employs the burin (or graver), produces lines on the naked copper or
+steel which cross one another, and are measured and regular. It is a
+necessary consequence of the importance of line-engraving, growing out
+of its application to classical works of high style, that it should
+always show the severity and coldness of positive and almost
+mathematical workmanship. With etching this is not the case: the point
+must be free and capricious; it must accentuate the forms of objects
+without stiffness or dryness, and must delicately bring out the various
+distances, without following any other law than that of a picturesque
+harmony in the execution. It may be made to work with precision,
+whenever that is needed, but only to be abandoned afterwards to its
+natural grace. It will be well, however, to avoid over-excitement and
+violence in execution, which give an air of slovenliness to that which
+ought to be simply a revery.
+
+5. =How to produce Difference in Texture.=--The manner of execution to
+be selected must conform to the nature of the objects. This is
+essential, as we have at our disposition only a point, the play of which
+on the varnish is always the same. It follows that we must vary its
+strokes, so as to make it express difference in texture. If we examine
+the etchings of the old masters, we shall find that they had a special
+way of expressing foliage, earth, rocks, water, the sky, figures,
+architecture, &c., without, however, making themselves the slaves of too
+constraining a tradition.
+
+6. =The Work of the Acid.=--After the subject has been drawn on the
+ground, the acid steps in to give variety to the forms which were laid
+out for it by the needle, to impart vibration to this work of uniform
+aspect, and to inform it with the all-pervading warmth of life. In
+principle, a single biting ought to be sufficient; but if the artist
+desires to secure greater variety in the result by a succession of
+partial bitings, the different distances may be made to detach
+themselves from one another by covering up with varnish the parts
+sufficiently bitten each time the plate is withdrawn from the bath. The
+different parts which the mordant is to play must be regulated by the
+feeling: discreet and prudent, it will impart delicacy to the tender
+values; controlled in its subtle functions, it will carefully mark the
+relative tones of the various distances; less restrained and used more
+incisively, it will dig into the accentuated parts and will give them
+force.
+
+7. =The Use of the Dry Point.=--If harmony has not been sufficiently
+attained, the _dry point_ is used on the bare metal, to modify the
+values incompletely rendered, or expressed too harshly. Its office is to
+cover such insufficient passages with a delicate tint, and to serve, as
+Charles Blanc has very well expressed it, as a _glaze_ in engraving.
+
+8. =Spirit in which the Etcher must work.=--Follow your feeling, combine
+your modes of expression, establish points of comparison, and adopt from
+among the practical means at command (which depend on the effect, and on
+which the effect depends) those which will best render the effect
+desired: this is the course to be followed by the etcher. There is
+plenty of the instinctive which practice will develop in him, and in
+this he will find a growing charm and an irresistible attraction. What
+happy effects, what surprises, what unforeseen discoveries, when the
+varnish is removed from the plate! A bit of good luck and of
+inspiration often does more than a methodical rule, whether we are
+engaged on subjects of our own invention,--_capricci_, as the Italians
+call them,--or whether we are drawing from nature directly on the
+copper. The great aim is to arrive at the first onset at the realization
+of our ideas as they are present in our mind. An etching must be
+virginal, like an improvisation.
+
+9. =Expression of Individuality in Etching.=--Having once mastered the
+processes, the designer or painter need only carry his own individuality
+into a species of work which will no longer be strange to him, there to
+find again the expression of the talent which he displayed in another
+field of art. He will comprehend that etching has this essentially vital
+element,--and in it lies the strength of its past and the guaranty of
+its future,--that, more than any other kind of engraving on metal, it
+bears the imprint of the character of the artist. It personifies and
+represents him so well, it identifies itself so closely with his idea,
+that it often seems on the point of annihilating itself as a process in
+favor of this idea. Rembrandt furnishes a striking example of this: by
+the intermixture and diversity of the methods employed by him, he
+arrived at a suavity of expression which may be called magical; he
+diffused grace and depth throughout his work. In some of his plates the
+processes lend themselves so marvellously to the severest requirements
+of modelling, and attain such an extreme limit of delicacy, that the eye
+can no longer follow them, thus leaving the completest enjoyment to the
+intellect alone.
+
+Claude Lorrain, on the other hand, knew how to conciliate freedom of
+execution with majesty of style.
+
+10. =Value of Etching to Artists.=--Speaking of this subordination of
+processes in etching to feeling, I am induced to point out how many of
+the masters of our time, judging by the character of their work, might
+have added to their merits had they but substituted the etcher's needle
+for the crayon. Was not Decamps, who handled the point but little, an
+etcher in his drawings and his lithographs? Ingres only executed one
+solitary etching, and yet, simply by virtue of his great knowledge, it
+seems as if in it he had given a presentiment of all the secrets of the
+craft. And did not Gigoux give us a foretaste of the work of the acid,
+when he produced the illustrations to his "Gil Blas," conceived in the
+spirit of an etcher, which, after thirty years of innumerable similar
+productions, are still the _chef-d'oeuvre_ and the model of engraving
+on wood. And would Mouilleron have been inferior, if from the stone he
+had passed to the copper plate? It would be an easy matter to multiply
+examples chosen from among the artists who have boldly handled the
+needle, or from among those who might have taken it up with equal
+advantage, to prove that etching is not, as it has been called, a
+secondary method. There are no secondary methods for the manifestation
+of genius.
+
+11. =Versatility of Etching.=--The needle is the crayon; the acid adds
+color. The needle is sometimes all the more eloquent because its means
+of expression are confined within more restricted limits. It is familiar
+and lively in the sketch, which by a very little must say a great deal;
+the sketch is the spontaneous letter. It all but reaches the highest
+expression when it is called in to translate a grand spectacle, or one
+of those fugitive effects of light which nature seems to produce but
+sparingly, so as to leave to art the merit of fixing them.
+
+12. =Etching compared to other Styles of Engraving.=--By its very
+character of freedom, by the intimate and rapid connection which it
+establishes between the hand and the thoughts of the artist, etching
+becomes the frankest and most natural of interpreters. These are the
+qualities which make it an honor to art, of which it is a glorious
+branch. All other styles of engraving can never be any thing but a means
+of reproduction. We must admire the knowledge, the intelligence, and the
+self-denial which the line-engraver devotes to the service of his art.
+But, after all, it is merely the art of assimilating an idea which is
+foreign to him, and of which he is the slave. By him the
+_chefs-d'oeuvre_ of the masters are multiplied and disseminated, and
+sometimes, in giving eternity to an original work, he immortalizes his
+own name; but the part he has assumed inevitably excludes him from all
+creative activity.
+
+13. =Etching as a Reproductive Art.=--These reserves having been made in
+regard to the engraver, whose instrument is the burin, justice requires
+that the reproductive etcher should come in for his proportional share,
+and that his functions should be defined. Some years ago, a school of
+etchers arose among us, whose mission it is to interpret those works of
+the brush which, by the delicacy and elegance of their character, cannot
+be harmonized with the severity of the burin. This school, to which Mr.
+Gaucherel gave a great impulse, has been called in to fill a regrettable
+void in the collections of amateurs. Every one knows those remarkable
+publications, _Les Artistes Contemporains_, and _Les Peintres Vivants_,
+which, for the last twenty years, have reproduced in lithography the
+_chefs-d'oeuvre_ of our exhibitions of paintings. To-day etching takes
+the place of lithography; it excels in the reproduction of modern
+landscapes, and of the _genre_ subjects which we owe to our most
+esteemed painters. It is not less happy in the interpretation of certain
+of the old masters, whose works make it impossible to approach them with
+the burin. The catalogues of celebrated galleries which have lately been
+sold also testify to the important services rendered to art by the
+reproductive etcher. His methods are free and rapid; they are not
+subjected to a severe convention of form. He may rest his own work on
+the genius of others, so as to attain a success like that of the
+painter-etcher; but the latter, as he bathes his inspiration in the acid
+and triumphantly withdraws it, finds his power and his resources within
+himself alone. He is at once the translator and the poet.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER II.
+
+TOOLS AND MATERIALS.--PREPARING THE PLATE.--DRAWING ON THE PLATE WITH
+THE NEEDLE.
+
+
+14. =Method of Using this Manual.=--As the general theory given in the
+preceding chapter may seem too brief, and may convey but an incomplete
+idea of the different operations involved in etching, I shall now
+endeavor to formulate, in as concise a manner as possible, such
+practical directions as I have had occasion to give to a young designer,
+and to different other persons, in my own studio. I shall provide
+successively for all the accidents which usually, or which may possibly,
+occur. But the beginner need not trouble himself too much about the
+apparent complication of detail which the following pages present. They
+are intended, rather, to be consulted, like a dictionary, as occasion
+arises. In all cases, however, it will be well, on reading the book, to
+make immediate application of the various directions given, so as to
+avoid all confusion of detail in the memory, and to escape the tedium of
+what would otherwise be rather dry reading.
+
+
+A. TOOLS AND MATERIALS.
+
+15. =List of Tools and Materials needed.=--To begin with, we must
+provide ourselves with the following requisites:[3]--
+
+  Copper plates.
+  A hand-vice.
+  Ordinary etching-ground and transparent ground in balls.
+  Liquid stopping-out varnish.
+  Brushes of different sizes.
+  Two dabbers,--one for the ordinary varnish, the other for the white
+  or transparent varnish.
+  A wax taper.
+  A needle-holder.
+  Needles of various sizes.
+  A dry point.
+  A burnisher.
+  A scraper.
+  An oil-stone of best quality.
+  A lens or magnifying-glass.
+  Bordering-wax.
+  An etching-trough made of gutta-percha or of porcelain.
+  India-rubber finger-gloves.
+  Nitric acid of forty degrees.
+  Tracing-paper.
+  Gelatine in sheets.
+  Chalk or sanguine.
+  Emery paper, No. 00 or 000.
+  Blotting-paper.
+  A roller for revarnishing, with its accessories.
+
+  To these things we must add a supply of _old_ rags.
+
+16. =Quality and Condition of Tools and Materials.=--Too much care
+cannot be taken as regards the quality of the copper, which metal is
+used by preference for etching. Soft copper bites slowly, while on hard
+copper the acid acts more quickly and bites more deeply. It is to be
+regretted that nowadays plates are generally rolled, which does not give
+density enough to the metal. Formerly they were hammered, and the copper
+was of a better quality. Thus hammered, the metal becomes hard, and is
+less porous; its molecular condition is most favorable to the action of
+the acid, the lines are purer, and even when the work is carried to the
+extreme of delicacy, it is sure to be preserved in the biting.
+
+English copper plates, and plates that have been replaned, are
+excellent. It is a good plan to buy thick plates, of a dimension smaller
+than that of the designs to be made, and to have them hammered out to
+the required size. The plates thus obtained will not fail to be very
+good.
+
+The vice must have a wooden handle, so as to prevent burning the
+fingers.
+
+To meet all possible emergencies, lamp-black may be mixed with the
+liquid stopping-out varnish (_petit vernis liquide_). Some engravers
+find that it dries too quickly, and therefore, fearing that it may chip
+off under the needle, use it only for stopping out; for retouching, they
+employ a special retouching varnish (_vernis au pinceau_).[4]
+
+For brushes, select such as are used in water-color painting.
+
+The silk with which the dabbers are covered must be very fine in the
+thread.
+
+In order to protect his fingers, an engraver conceived the idea of
+smoking his plates by means of the ends of several candles or wax tapers
+placed together in the bottom of a little vessel: they furnish an
+abundance of smoke, and can be extinguished by covering up the vessel.
+The smoke of a wax taper is the best; it is excellent for small plates.
+
+The needle-holder holds short points of various thicknesses, down to the
+fineness of sewing-needles.
+
+To sharpen an etching-needle, pass it over the oil-stone, holding it
+down flat, and turning it continually. When it has attained a high
+degree of sharpness, describe a large circle with it on a piece of
+card-board, holding it fixed between the fingers this time, and go on
+describing circles of a continually decreasing size. The nearer you
+approach to the centre, the more vertical must be the position of the
+needle. The fineness or the coarseness of the point is regulated by
+keeping the needle away from, or bringing it nearer to, the central
+point.
+
+The dry point must be ground with flat faces rather than round, so as to
+cut the copper, and penetrate it with ease.
+
+If the burnisher is not sufficiently polished, it scratches the copper,
+and produces black spots in the proofs. To keep it in good condition,
+cut two grooves, the size of the burnisher, in a piece of pine board.
+Rub it up and down the first of these grooves, containing emery powder;
+and then, to give it its final lustre, repeat the same process, with
+tripoli and oil, in the second groove.
+
+The stones which are too hard for razors are excellent for the scrapers.
+Having sharpened the scraper with a little oil, during which operation
+you must hold it down flat on the stone, pass it over your finger-nail.
+If the touch discloses the presence of the least bit of tooth, and if
+the tool does not glide along with the greatest ease, the grinding must
+be continued, as otherwise the scraper will scratch the copper.
+
+You are at liberty to use two troughs,--one for the acid bath; the
+other, filled with water, for washing the plate.
+
+A glass funnel, and a bottle with a ground-glass stopper, will be
+necessary for filling in and keeping the etching liquid.
+
+Various substances are used for finishing off the copper plates; the
+most natural is the paste obtained by rubbing charcoal on the oil-stone
+with oil.
+
+Then comes the fine emery paper Nos. 00 or 000, rotten-stone, tripoli,
+English red, and, finally, slate. Powdered slate, produced by simply
+scraping with a knife, is excellent, used with oil and a fine rag, the
+same as other substances.
+
+The varnish for revarnishing is nothing but ordinary etching-ground,
+dissolved in oil of lavender. It must be about as stiff as honey in
+winter.
+
+The rollers for revarnishing, which can be had of different sizes, are
+cylindrical in form, and are terminated by two handles, which revolve in
+the hands. The roller ought, if possible, to cover the whole surface of
+the copper.[5] As soon as it has been used, it must be put out of the
+way of the dust.
+
+These various recommendations are by no means unnecessary, as the least
+material obstacle may sometimes hinder the flight of the imagination. It
+is well to be armed against all the troublesome vexations of the
+handicraft; for the difficulties of the art are in themselves sufficient
+to occupy our attention.
+
+
+B. PREPARING THE PLATE.
+
+I shall now proceed to give the various talks which I had with my young
+pupil.
+
+17. =Laying the Ground, or Varnishing.=--You have here a plate, I say to
+him; I clean it with turpentine; then, having well wiped it with a piece
+of fine linen, and having still further cleaned it by rubbing it with
+Spanish white (or whiting), I fasten it into the vice by one of its
+edges, taking care to place a tolerably thick piece of paper under the
+teeth of the vice, so as to protect the copper against injury. I now
+hold the plate with its back over this chafing-dish; but a piece of
+burning paper, or the flame of a spirit-lamp, will do equally well. As
+soon as the plate is sufficiently heated, I place upon its polished
+surface this ball of ordinary etching-ground, wrapped up in a piece of
+plain taffeta; the heat causes the ground to melt. If the plate is too
+hot, the varnish commences to boil while melting; in that case, we must
+allow the plate to cool somewhat, as otherwise the ground will be
+burned. I pass the ball over the whole surface of the copper, taking
+care not to overcharge the plate with the ground. Then, with the dabber,
+I dab it in all directions; at first, vigorously and quickly, so as to
+spread and equalize the layer of varnish; and finally, as the varnish
+cools, I apply the dabber more delicately. The appearance of
+inequalities, and of little protruding points in the ground, indicates
+that it is laid on too thick, and the dabbing must be continued, until
+we have obtained a perfectly homogeneous layer. This must be very
+thin,--sufficient to resist strong biting, and yet allowing the point to
+draw the very finest lines, which it will be difficult to do with too
+much varnish.
+
+18. =Smoking.=--Without waiting for the plate to cool, I turn it over,
+and present its varnished side to the smoke of a torch or a wax taper,
+which I hold at a distance of about two centimetres from the plate, so
+as not to injure the varnish. I keep moving the flame about in all
+directions, to avoid burning the varnish (which latter would take place
+if the flame remained too long at the same point), and thus I obtain a
+brilliant black surface. All the transparency is gone; we see neither
+copper nor varnish, and this is a sign that our operation has succeeded.
+All we need do now is to allow the plate to cool and the varnish to
+harden, and then you can commence making your drawing.
+
+You call my attention to the fact that the varnish, in cooling, loses
+the brilliancy which it had in its liquid state. This is always the
+case. And see the perfect neatness and evenness of the varnished and
+smoked surface! Here is a plate which was spoiled in the smoking. The
+first thing that strikes us is that we see the marks left by the passage
+of the taper. At a pinch, these marks might, perhaps, be no
+inconvenience to us in working; but here the brilliant black is broken
+by very dull spots. These are places in which the varnish was burned;
+it will scale off under the needle, and has lost the power of resisting
+the acid. We must therefore clean this plate with spirits of turpentine,
+and commence operations afresh.
+
+The ground is blackened, because its natural transparency does not
+permit us to see the work of the point. This work produces what might be
+called a negative design; that is to say, a design in bright lines on a
+black ground. This is rather perplexing at first, but you will soon
+become accustomed to it.
+
+
+C. DRAWING ON THE PLATE WITH THE NEEDLE.
+
+19. =The Transparent Screen.=--You must place yourself so as to face
+this window, and between you and it we must introduce, in an inclined
+position, a transparent screen made of tracing paper stretched on a
+wooden frame, which will prevent your seeing the window. This screen
+will soften and strain the light; it will reduce the reflection of the
+copper, and will allow you to see what you are doing.
+
+In designing on the plate out of doors, the screen is unnecessary,
+since, as the light falls equally upon the copper from all directions,
+the reflection is done away with, and the copper does not dazzle the eye
+as it does when the light emanates from a single source.
+
+20. =Needles or Points.=--You may use a single needle, or you may use
+several of different degrees of sharpness, even down to sewing-needles,
+as you will see later on; but your work on the plate will always look
+uniform, without distance and without relief. The modelling and coloring
+of the design must be left to the acid.
+
+The point must be held on the plate as perpendicularly as possible, as
+the purity of the line depends on the angle of incidence which the point
+makes with the copper; furthermore, it must be possible to direct it
+freely and easily in all directions, and it is, therefore, necessary
+that the needle should not be too sharp. To make sure of this, draw a
+number of eights on the margin of your plate, or simply an oblique line
+from below upwards in the direction of the needle. If it does not glide
+along easily, if it attacks the copper and catches in it, you must
+regrind it.
+
+This is important, as in principle the function of the needle is to
+trace the design by removing the varnish from the copper, while it must
+avoid scratching it. By scratching the metal we encroach on the domain
+of the acid, and inequality of work is the result, since the acid acts
+more vigorously on those parts which have been scratched than on those
+which have simply been laid bare. We must feel the copper under the
+point, without, however, penetrating into it.
+
+The opposite effect is produced if we operate too timidly. In this case
+we do not reach the copper. We remove the blackened surface, and it
+seems as if we had also removed the varnish, since we see the copper
+shining through it. But we shall find later, from the fact that the acid
+does not bite, that we did not bear heavily enough on the needle.
+
+At first there is a tendency to proceed as in drawing on paper, giving
+greater lightness to the touch of the point in the distances, and
+bearing on it more vigorously in the foregrounds. But this is useless.
+
+There are certain artists, nevertheless, who prefer to attack the copper
+with cutting points in the finer as well as in the more vigorous parts
+of their work, and to bite in with strong acid; others, again, dig
+resolutely into the copper wherever they desire to produce a powerful
+tone. Abraham Bosse, in applying etching to line-engraving, advises his
+readers to cut the copper slightly in the lines which are to appear
+fine, and to dig vigorously into the plate for those lines which are to
+be very heavy, so that delicate as well as strong work may be obtained
+at one and the same biting. As it is necessary in this sort of engraving
+to retouch the heavy lines with the burin, we can understand that in the
+way shown the work of the instrument named may be facilitated.
+
+21. =Temperature of the Room.=--In summer the temperature softens the
+varnish, and the needle works pliantly and easily; in winter the cold
+hardens the varnish, so that it is apt to scale off under the point,
+especially at the crossing of the lines. It is advisable, therefore, to
+have your room well heated, or to supply yourself with two cast-metal
+plates or two lithographic stones, or even two bricks, if you please,
+which must be warmed and placed under your plate alternately, so as to
+keep it at a soft and uniform temperature. Practice has shown that work
+done at the right temperature is softer than that executed when the
+varnish is too cold, even if it is not sufficiently so to scale off.
+
+22. =The Tracing.=--According to the kind of work to be done, we shall
+either draw directly on the plate, or, in the case of a drawing which is
+to be copied of its own size, we shall make use of a tracing. Many
+engravers emancipate themselves from the tracing, and accustom
+themselves to reversing the original while they copy it. The manner of
+using a tracing is well known. We shall need tracing-paper, paper rubbed
+with sanguine on one side, and a pencil. The tracing is made on the
+tracing-paper, and this is afterwards placed on the prepared plate;
+between the tracing and the plate we introduce the paper rubbed with
+sanguine; then, with a very fine lead-pencil, or with a somewhat blunt
+needle, we go carefully over the lines of the design, which, under the
+gentle pressure of the tool, is thus transferred in red to the black
+ground. It is unnecessary to use much pressure, as otherwise your
+tracing will be obscured by the sanguine and you will find neither
+precision nor delicacy in it. Furthermore, you run the risk of injuring
+the ground. The tracing is used simply to indicate the places where the
+lines are to be, and it must be left to the needle to define them.
+
+23. =Reversing the Design.=--Whenever your task is the interpretation of
+an object of fixed aspect, such as a monument, or some well-known scene,
+or human beings in a given attitude, you will be obliged to reverse the
+drawing on your plate, as otherwise it will appear reversed in the
+proof. You must, therefore, reverse your tracing, which is a very easy
+matter, as the design is equally visible on both sides of the
+tracing-paper. Gelatine in sheets, however, offers still greater
+advantages when a design is to be reversed. Place the gelatine on the
+design, and, as it is easily scratched, make your tracing with a very
+fine-pointed and sharp needle, occasionally slipping a piece of black
+paper underneath the gelatine to assure yourself that you have omitted
+nothing. The point, in scratching the gelatine, raises a bur, and this
+must be removed gently with a paper stump, or with the scraper, after
+which operation the tracing is rubbed in with powdered sanguine. Having
+now thoroughly cleaned the sheet, so that no powder is left anywhere
+but in the furrows, we turn the sheet over and lay it down on the plate,
+and finally rub it on its back in all directions, for which purpose we
+use the burnisher dipped in oil. The design, reversed, will be found
+traced on the varnish in extremely fine lines.
+
+24. =Use of the Mirror.=--The tracing finished, place a mirror before
+your plate on the table, and as close by as possible; between the plate
+and the mirror fix the design to be reproduced, and then draw the
+reflected image. For the sake of greater convenience, take your position
+at right angles to the window instead of facing it, so that the light
+passing through the transparent screen on your left falls on the mirror
+and the design, as well as on your work. When drawing on the copper from
+nature, if the design is to be reversed, you must place yourself with
+your back to the object to be drawn, and so that you can easily see it
+in a small mirror set up before your plate. This is the way Meryon
+proceeded: standing, and holding in the same hand his plate and a little
+mirror, which he always carried in his pocket, he guided his point with
+the most absolute surety, without any further support.
+
+25. =Precautions to be observed while Drawing.=--Before you begin to
+draw you must trace the margin of your design, for the guidance of the
+printer. To protect your plate, it will be necessary to cover it with
+very soft paper; the pressure of the hand does no harm, provided you
+avoid rubbing the varnish. If you should happen to damage it, you must
+close up the brilliant little dots which you will observe, by touching
+them up, very lightly and with a very fine brush, with stopping-out
+varnish.
+
+26. =Directions for Drawing with the Needle.=--I might now let you copy
+some very simple etching; but your knowledge of drawing will, I believe,
+enable you to try your hand at a somewhat more important exercise. Let
+us suppose, then, that you are to draw a landscape, although the
+practice you are about to acquire applies to all other subjects equally
+well. Will you reproduce this design by Claude Lorrain? (Pl. II.) It is
+a composition full of charm and color, and very harmonious in effect.
+Use only one needle, and keep your work close together in the distance
+and more open in the foreground. (See Pl. I^_a_.) That appears
+paradoxical to you; but the nitric acid will soon tell you why this is
+so. I shall indicate to you, after your plate has been bitten, those
+cases in which you will have to proceed differently, or, in other words,
+in which you will have to draw your lines nearer together or farther
+apart without regard to the different distances. I cannot explain this
+subject more fully before you have become acquainted with the process of
+biting in, as without this knowledge it must remain unintelligible to
+you. This remark holds good, also, of what I have told you on the
+subject of the needles of different degrees of sharpness.
+
+"It is curious, my dear sir, to notice how at one and the same time the
+point combines a certain degree of softness and of precision; those who
+draw with the pen ought also to be admirers of etching. It seems to me,
+however, that my lines are too thick; I have already laid several of
+them, and the varnish is no longer visible; I am afraid I have taken it
+up altogether."
+
+You need not feel any uneasiness about that; it is simply owing to the
+irradiation of the copper, the brilliancy of which the screen does not
+completely subdue. The bright line is made to look broader than it
+really is by the brilliant gloss of the metal. But if you lay a piece of
+tracing-paper on the plate you will see the lines as they really are;
+that is to say, with plenty of space between them. By the aid of a lens
+you can convince yourself still more easily; you will often have
+occasion to avail yourself of this instrument to enable you to do fine
+work with greater facility, or to give you a better insight into what
+you have already done.
+
+As the irradiation of which we have just spoken is apt to deceive us in
+regard to the quantity of the work done, we may happen to find less of
+it than we expected when the plate has been bitten. Plates which to the
+beginner seem to be quite elaborately worked, present to the acid lines
+widely spaced and insufficient in number, thus necessitating retouches.
+It is essential, therefore, in principle (except in the special cases to
+be pointed out hereafter), to give to our work, in its first stages, all
+the development that is necessary.
+
+I forgot to tell you that you must provide yourself with a very soft
+brush, say a badger, which, from time to time, you must pass lightly
+over your plate so as to remove the small particles of varnish raised by
+the needle. Otherwise you will not be able to see properly what you have
+been doing.
+
+Continue, and follow your own feeling; work away without fear of going
+wrong; some of your errors you will be able to remedy. Thus, if you have
+made a mistake, you can lay a thin coat of liquid varnish over the
+spoiled part by means of a brush; in a few seconds the varnish will have
+dried, and you can make your correction. You can employ this method for
+the correction of a faulty line, or to restore a place which should have
+remained white, but which you have inadvertently shaded.
+
+Here I shall stop for the present, and shall close by saying, May good
+luck attend your point, as well as your acid! There is nothing more to
+be said to you until after your plate has been bitten.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER III.
+
+BITING.
+
+
+27. =Bordering the Plate.=--This work took some time. Our young student,
+impatient to see the transformation wrought by the acid, came back
+without keeping me waiting for him.
+
+"Hurry up! A tray, acid, and all the accessories!"
+
+Instead of using a tray, I tell him, we can avail ourselves of another
+method, which is used by many engravers, and which consists in bordering
+the plate with wax. This wax,[6] having been softened in warm water, is
+flattened out into long strips, and is fastened hermetically and
+vertically around the edges of the plate, so that, when hardened, it
+forms the walls of a vessel, the bottom of which is represented by the
+design drawn with the point. To avoid dangerous leaks, heat a key, and
+pass it along the wax where it adheres to the plate; the wax melts, and,
+on rehardening, offers all possible guarantees of solidity. We now pour
+the acid on the plate thus converted into a tray, and as we have taken
+care to form a lip in one of the angles made by the bordering wax, it is
+an easy matter to pour off the liquid after each biting. This proceeding
+is useful in the case of plates which are too large for the tray.
+Otherwise, however, I prefer a tray made of gutta-percha or porcelain.
+
+28. =The Tray.=--Let us now install ourselves at this table, and let us
+cover the margin and the back of the plate with a thick coat of
+stopping-out varnish. As soon as the varnish is perfectly dry, we place
+the plate into the tray standing horizontally on the table, and pour on
+acid enough to cover it to the height of about a centimetre. This depth,
+which is sufficient for biting, allows the eye to follow the process in
+its various stages.
+
+29. =Strength of the Acid.=--This acid is fresh, and has not yet been
+used; bought at forty degrees, I mix it with an equal quantity of
+water, which reduces it to twenty degrees. This is the strength
+generally adopted for ordinary biting. Its color is clear, and slightly
+yellow; but as soon as it takes up the copper it becomes blue, and then
+green. As, in its present state, it would act too impetuously, I add to
+it a small quantity of acid which has been used before. You may also
+throw a few scraps of copper into it the day before using it; the old
+etchers used for this purpose a copper coin, larger or smaller,
+according to the volume of the bath.[7]
+
+30. =Label your Bottles!=--One day, one of my pupils, having a bad cold,
+did not notice the difference between the smell of the acid and that of
+the turpentine, and so plunged a plate which he desired to bite, into a
+bath of the latter fluid. "It's queer," he said, "this won't bite, and
+yet the varnish scales off.... The lines keep enlarging, and run into
+one another! What does this curious medley mean, which appears on the
+plate?" It was simple enough. The spirits of turpentine had dissolved
+the ground, and consequently the plate developed a shining and radiating
+surface before the eyes of our wondering student, as if it had just left
+the hands of the plate-maker.
+
+Advice to those who are absent-minded, and who are liable to mistake
+fluids which look alike for one another,--Label your bottles!
+
+31. =The First Biting.=--Let us make haste now, I say to my pupil, to do
+our biting. As the heat of the day abates, the acid becomes less active;
+and besides, to judge by the delicate character of the original we are
+to render, we shall need at least two or three hours, all told, for this
+operation. The task before us consists in the reproduction of a given
+work, the merit of which lies in the gradation in the various distances.
+It needs time and attention to be able to carry all the necessary
+processes successfully into practice.
+
+It will be plain to you, from what I have just said, that the operation
+you are about to engage in is one of the most delicate in the etcher's
+practice. There is the plate in the acid; the liquid has taken hold of
+the copper; but your sky must be light, and a prolonged corrosion would
+therefore be hurtful to it. Hence we take the plate out of the bath,
+pass it through pure water, so that no acid is left in the lines, and
+cover it with several sheets of blotting-paper, which, being pressed
+against it by the hand, dries the plate. We shall have to go through the
+same process after each partial biting, because if the plate were moist,
+the stopping-out varnish which we are going to apply to it would not
+adhere.
+
+32. =The Use of the Feather.=--You noticed the lively ebullitions on the
+plate, which took place twice in succession. After the first, I passed
+this feather lightly over the copper, to show you its use. Its vane
+removed the bubbles which adhered to the lines. This precaution is
+necessary, especially when the ebullitions acquire some intensity and
+are prolonged, to facilitate the biting, as the gas by which the bubbles
+are formed keeps the acid out of the lines. If these bubbles are not
+destroyed, the absence of biting in the lines is shown in the proofs by
+a series of little white points. Such points are noticeable in some of
+the plates etched by Perelle, who, it seems, ignored this precaution.
+
+33. =Stopping Out.=--The two rapid ebullitions which you saw may serve
+you as a standard of measurement; the biting produced by them must be
+very light, and sufficient for the tone of the sky. You may, therefore,
+cover the entire sky with stopping-out varnish by means of a brush,
+taking care to stop short just this side of the outlines of the other
+distances. The importance of mixing lamp-black with your stopping-out
+varnish to thicken it, comes in just here; because if it remained in its
+liquid state, it might be drawn by capillary attraction into the lines
+of those parts which you desire to reserve, and thus, by obstructing
+them, might stop the biting in places where it ought to continue. Wait
+till the varnish has become perfectly dry; you can assure yourself of
+this by breathing upon it; if it remains brilliant, it is still soft,
+and the acid will eat into it; but as soon as it is dry it will assume a
+dull surface under your breath.[8]
+
+34. =Effect of Temperature on Biting.=--Let us now return the plate to
+the bath, to obtain the values of the other distances. The temperature
+has a great effect on the intensity of the ebullitions, and it is hardly
+possible to depend on it absolutely as a fixed basis on which to rest a
+calculation of the time necessary for each biting, as its own
+variability renders it difficult to appreciate the aid to be received
+from it. In winter, for instance, with the same strength of acid, it
+needs four or five times as much time to reach the same result as in
+summer, so that on very hot days the biting progresses so rapidly that
+the plate cannot be lost sight of for a single moment without risk of
+over-biting.
+
+[Illustration: Pl. I_a_.]
+
+35. =Biting continued.=--We have now obtained several moderate
+ebullitions, and as it would not do to exaggerate the tone of the
+mountain in the background, it is time to withdraw the plate once more.
+Uncover a single line by removing the ground, either with the nail of
+your finger or with a very small brush dipped into spirits of
+turpentine, to examine whether it is deeply enough bitten for the
+distance which it is to represent. If the depth is not sufficient, cover
+it with stopping-out varnish, and bite again. This is not necessary,
+however, in our present case, and you may therefore stop out the whole
+background. Remember, if you please, that the line must look _less_
+heavy than it is to show in the proof; for you must take into account
+the black color of the printing-ink. With your brush go over the edges
+of the trees which are to be relieved rather lightly against the sky, as
+well as over that part of the shadow in this tower which blends with the
+light. There are also some delicate passages in the figure of the woman
+in the foreground, in the details of the plants, and in the folds of
+this tent (Pl. I_a_). Stop out all these, and do not lose sight of the
+values of the original (Pl. II.). Make use of the brush to revarnish
+several places which are scaling off on the margin and the back of the
+plate. The temperature is favorable; the ebullitions come on without
+letting us wait long, and the plate is bluing rapidly. I do not like to
+see these operations drag on; in winter, therefore, I do my biting near
+the fire. We soon acquire a passion for biting, and take an ever-growing
+interest in it, which is incessantly sharpened by thinking of the result
+to which we aspire. Hence the desire of constant observation, and that
+assiduity in following all the phases of the biting-in.
+
+I notice that the acid does not act on certain parts of your work; you
+will find out soon enough what that means.
+
+36. =Treatment of the Various Distances.=--"I am thinking just now of
+what you told me in regard to the background:--that more work ought to
+be put into it than into the foreground."
+
+Nothing, indeed, is simpler. You understand that the background, which
+is bitten in quite lightly, must show very delicate lines, while in the
+middle distance and in the foreground the lines are enlarged by the
+action of successive bitings. When it comes to the printing, the
+quantity of ink received by these various lines will be in proportion to
+the values which you desired to obtain, and in the proofs you will have
+a variety of lighter or stronger tones, giving you the needed gradations
+in the various distances. It follows from this that, if you had worked
+too sparingly on the distances which receive only a light biting, you
+could not have reached the value of the tone which you strove to get,
+and if you had worked too closely on those parts which require continued
+biting, you would have had a black and indistinct tone, because the
+lines, which are enlarged by the acid, and consequently keep approaching
+one another, would finally have run together into one confused mass,
+producing what in French is called a _creve_ (blotch).
+
+In an etching the space between the lines must be made to serve a
+purpose; for the paper seen between the black strokes gives delicacy,
+lightness, and transparency of tone.
+
+37. =The Creve.--Its Advantages and Disadvantages.=--In very skilled
+hands the _creve_ is a means of effect. If you wish to obtain great
+depth in a group of trees, in a wall, in very deep shadows, you will
+risk nothing by intermingling your lines picturesquely and biting them
+vigorously. In this way you can produce tones of velvety softness, and
+at the same time of extraordinary vigor. Similarly, you may strike a
+fine note by means of running together several lines which, if
+sufficiently bitten, will form but a single broad one of great solidity
+and power. It is, indeed, only the exaggeration of this expedient,
+which, by unduly enlarging the limits of the broad line just spoken of,
+and thus producing a large and deep surface between them, constitutes
+the _creve_ properly so called; the printing ink has no hold in this
+flat hollow, and a gray spot in the proof is the result. I have warned
+you of the accident; later on you shall hear something of the remedy. We
+will now continue our biting. Plunge your plate into the bath again, if
+you please.
+
+38. =Means of ascertaining the Depth of the Lines.=--"My dear sir, I see
+that my drawing turns black; it disappears almost entirely, and is lost
+in the color of the ground.[9] I am quite perplexed. My mind endeavors
+to penetrate beneath this varnish, so as to be able to witness the
+mysterious birth of my _oeuvre_. See these violent ebullitions! What
+do you think of them?"
+
+Let them go on a moment longer, and then withdraw your plate. We have
+now arrived at a point where the eye cannot judge of the work of the
+acid as easily as before; henceforth we must, therefore, examine the
+depth of our bitings by uncovering a single line, as, for instance, this
+one here in the ground. Or we may even lay bare, by the aid of spirits
+of turpentine, a part of the foreground, provided, however, that we must
+not forget to cover it again with the brush. This will give us an idea
+of the total effect so far produced by the biting, and we can then
+regulate the partial bitings which are still to follow, either by a
+comparison of the time employed on those that have gone before, or by
+the intensity of the ebullitions, the action of which on the copper we
+have already studied. You perceive that, while it is difficult to fix a
+standard of time for the bitings at the beginning of the operation, it
+is yet possible to calculate those to come by what we have so far done.
+
+39. =The Rules which govern the Biting are subordinated to various
+Causes.=--In reality, it is impossible to establish fixed rules for the
+biting, for the following reasons:--
+
+1. Owing to the varying intensity of the stroke of the needle. The
+etcher who confines himself to gently baring his copper must bite longer
+than he who attacks his plate more vigorously, and therefore exposes it
+more to the action of the acid.
+
+2. Owing to the different quality of the plates.
+
+3. Owing to the difference in temperature of the surrounding air:--of
+this we have before spoken.
+
+4. Owing to difference of strength in the acid, as it is impossible
+always to have it of absolutely the same number of degrees. At 15 deg.
+to 18 deg. the biting is gentle and slow; at 20 deg. it is moderate;
+at 22 deg. to 24 deg. it becomes more rapid. It would be dangerous to
+employ a still higher degree for the complete biting-in of a plate,
+especially in the lighter parts.
+
+40. =Strong Acid and Weak Acid.=--It is, nevertheless, possible to put
+such strong acid to good service. A fine gray tint may, for instance,
+be imparted to a well-worked sky by passing a broad brush over it,
+charged with acid at 40 deg. But the operation must be performed with
+lightning speed, and the plate must instantly be plunged into pure
+water.
+
+As a corollary of the fourth cause, it is well to know that an acid
+overcharged with copper loses much of its force, although it remains at
+the same degree. Thus an acid taken at 20 deg., but heavily charged with
+copper from having been used, will be found to be materially enfeebled,
+and to bite more slowly than fresh acid at 15 deg. to 18 deg. To continue
+to use it in this condition would be dangerous, because there is no longer
+any affinity between the liquid and the copper, and if, under such
+circumstances, you were to trust to the appearance of biting (which
+would be interminable, besides), you would find, on removing the
+varnish, that the plate had merely lost its polish where the lines ought
+to be, without having been bitten. It is best, therefore, always to do
+your biting with fresh acid, constantly renewed, as the results will be
+more equal, and you will become habituated to certain fixed conditions.
+
+Some engravers, of impetuous spirit and impatient of results, do their
+biting with acid of a high degree, while others, more prudent, prefer
+slow biting, which eats into the copper uniformly and regularly, and
+hence they employ a lower degree. In this way the varnish remains
+intact, and there is not that risk of losing the purity of line which
+always attends the employment of a stronger acid.
+
+41. =Strength of Acid in relation to certain Kinds of Work.=--Experience
+has also shown that, with the same proportion in the time employed, the
+values are accentuated more quickly and more completely by a strong than
+by a mild acid; this manifests itself at the confluence of the lines,
+where the acid would play mischief if the limit of time were
+overstepped.
+
+Another effect of biting which follows from the preceding, is noticeable
+in lines drawn far apart. Of isolated lines the acid takes hold very
+slowly, and they may therefore be executed with a cutting point and
+bitten in with tolerably strong acid.
+
+The reverse takes place when the lines are drawn very closely together;
+the biting is very lively. Work of this kind, therefore, demands a
+needle of moderate sharpness and a mild acid.
+
+Hence, interweaving lines and very close lines are bitten more deeply by
+the same acid than lines drawn parallel to each other, and widely
+spaced, although they may all have been executed with the same needle.
+If, in an architectural subject, you have drawn the lines with the same
+instrument, but far apart on one side, and closely and crossing each
+other on the other, you must not let them all bite the same length of
+time, if you wish them to hold the same distance. It will be necessary
+to stop out the latter before the former, otherwise you will have a
+discordant difference in tone. There will be inequality in the biting,
+but it will not be perceptible to the eye, as the general harmony has
+been preserved. (See Pl. IV. Fig. 1.)
+
+In short, strong acid rather widens than deepens the lines; mild acid,
+on the contrary, eats into the depth of the copper, and produces lines
+which are shown in relief on the paper, and are astonishingly powerful
+in color. This is especially noticeable in the etchings of Piranesi, who
+used hard varnish.
+
+42. =Last Stages of Biting.=--But let us return to our operation. You
+noticed that I allowed your plate to bite quite a while; this was
+necessary to detach your foreground and middle-ground vigorously from
+the sky and the background. You may now stop out the trees, the tower,
+and the tent in the middle-ground, and the vertical part of the bridge,
+which is in half-tint, and then proceed. Note that the number of bitings
+is not fixed, but depends on the effect to be reached.
+
+"In that case it is to be hoped, for the sake of my apprentice hands,
+that I shall never have many bitings to do. Just look at my fingers!
+They are in a nice state. The prettiest yellow skin you ever saw!"
+
+Oh, don't let that color trouble you; it will be all black by to-morrow.
+
+"Much obliged to you for this bit of consolation!"
+
+Besides, it will take you a week to grow a new skin. In future you must
+soak your fingers in pure water whenever you have got them into the
+acid. You might have used india-rubber finger-gloves; they are excellent
+to keep the hands clean, but it is not worth while to trouble about them
+for the present, as we are almost done.[10] I think you may now stop out
+all that remains, with the exception of the darkest places in the
+foreground, to which we must give a final biting.
+
+There! Now we've got it! Withdraw your plate for the last time, and as
+there are some very widely spaced lines in this tree in the foreground,
+you will risk nothing by giving them a final touch with pure acid. The
+strongest accent in the landscape rests on this spot; it determines the
+color of the whole. By this application of pure acid we shall get a
+vigorous tone, a powerful effect.
+
+I may as well tell you here that it is sometimes advisable to add a
+small quantity of pure acid to the bath towards the end of the
+operation, so as to increase the activity of the biting on certain parts
+of the plate without running into excess. But as the place now under
+consideration is restricted, we shall adopt another means, so as to
+limit the action of the acid to the given point. See here: I let fall a
+few drops; the pure acid eats into the copper with great vehemence; the
+metal turns green, and the ebullition subsides. Now take up the
+exhausted liquid with a piece of blotting-paper, and let us commence
+again. Under these newly added drops of fresh acid, the varnish is ready
+to scale off, the lines sputter, and assume a strange yellow color;
+these golden vapors announce that the operation is finished.
+
+What follows, is the task of the printer; his press will tell us whether
+we have won, or whether we have been mated. Clean the plate with spirits
+of turpentine, using your fingers, or with a very clean old rag (calico,
+if possible), if you are afraid to soil your hands. Be sure to have the
+plate well cleaned, but take care not to scratch it.
+
+The acid, which may be of use hereafter, we will turn into a glass
+bottle with a ground stopper, and will store it in some safe place.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER IV.
+
+FINISHING THE PLATE.
+
+
+43. =Omissions.--Insufficiency of the Work so far done.=--The result you
+have obtained, I tell my pupil, as he shows a proof of the _first state_
+of his plate to me, is not final. Your work needs a few retouches and
+slight modifications, not counting the little irregularities which I had
+foreseen, and which it will be easy enough to repair. We will proceed in
+order. (See Pl. I^_a_). To commence with, here are certain parts which
+are sufficiently bitten, and which, nevertheless, are indecisive in
+tone, and do not hold their place. I allude to the columns and to the
+trees in the further distance; one feels that there is something wanting
+there, which must be added. You must, therefore, re-cover your plate, in
+the manner already known to you, either with transparent ground, or with
+ordinary etching-ground, just as if the plate had never yet been touched
+by the needle.
+
+44. =Transparent Ground for Retouching.=--The white or transparent
+ground or varnish[11] admirably allows all previous work to show
+through. It is preferred to the ordinary ground for working over parts
+that have been insufficiently bitten, on account of its transparency,
+which leaves even the finest lines visible, while under the ordinary
+ground these lines might be lost entirely. It will be an easy matter for
+you to combine the new work with the old; the very slight shadow thrown
+on the copper by the transparent ground will give a blackish appearance
+to your lines, which may serve as a guide to you, and, with your proof
+before your eyes, you will readily succeed in finding the places which
+need retouching. To make assurance doubly sure, you can indicate the
+retouches on your proof with a lead-pencil.
+
+The transparent ground has occasionally been found to crack and scale
+off, when left in the bath for a long while, or when strong acid is
+used. But as you are only going to use it for light and, consequently,
+short biting, you need not fear this danger. Another inconvenience,
+which may easily be prevented, consists in the presence of small bubbles
+of air, which appear on the varnish as soon as it begins to melt. Heat
+the plate just to the proper point of melting, and dab it vigorously for
+some length of time, until the varnish cools; then hold the back of the
+plate flat to the fire; the varnish melts again, and the rest of the
+bubbles disappear. If some of them should prove to be obstinate, cover
+them very lightly with the brush, as otherwise the acid will penetrate
+through the passages thus left open, and will make little holes in the
+copper, which, on removing the varnish, will cause an unpleasant
+surprise. You shall hear more of this further on.
+
+45. =Ordinary Ground used for Retouching.--Biting the
+Retouches.=--Ordinary etching-ground, such as we used in the first
+instance, does not show the work previously done as well as the
+transparent ground, but the later additions are seen all the better on
+it. It may be used in its natural state, or it may be smoked. It is
+preferable to the transparent varnish, whenever the work already
+achieved is deeply bitten, and hence easily seen.
+
+In the present case my advice is that you use the ordinary ground.
+Having made your retouches, introduce your plate into the bath, and
+proceed as before, by partial biting, endeavoring, as much as possible,
+to obtain the same intensity of tone. These additions, thus bitten by
+themselves, will mingle with the lines previously drawn, and now
+protected by the varnish.
+
+It is hardly possible to judge of the additions, especially on
+transparent varnish, until they have been bitten in. But, if you should
+then find that you have not yet reached your point, you can revarnish
+the plate once more, and complete the parts that appear to be
+unfinished.
+
+I must also call your attention to the fact, that all lines drawn on
+transparent ground seem to thicken most singularly, as soon as the acid
+begins to work. But do not let that deceive you.
+
+Now look at this spot in the immediate foreground (Pl. I^_a_), which has
+a somewhat coarse appearance. It is much softer in the original
+(represented by Pl. II.). You must add a few lines, and must bite them
+rather lightly; they will mingle agreeably with the energetic lines of
+the first state. You may put the large trees through the same process,
+and you will find that they gain in lightness by it. Later on, when you
+have acquired more experience, you will occasionally find it handy to
+make these additions between two bitings. You will thus reach the
+desired result without the necessity of regrounding your plate.
+
+Sometimes, when using strong acid for these retouches, the lines first
+drawn are also attacked by the liquid. In that case, stop the biting
+immediately, and rest contented with what you have got. It is not
+difficult to understand why these revarnished lines should commence to
+bite again, more especially if they are deep: the acid, finding the
+edges of the lines (which are sharp and angular, and therefore do not
+offer much hold to the varnish) but indifferently protected, attacks
+them, without going into their depths. The ravages thus committed along
+the edges of the lines may be quite disastrous; and it is well,
+therefore, whenever you revarnish a plate, to give additional protection
+to those parts which are not to be retouched, by going over them with
+stopping-out varnish.
+
+46. =Revarnishing with the Brush.=--Instead of revarnishing with the
+dabber, the ground may also be laid with the brush. For this purpose you
+can use the stopping-out varnish mixed with lamp-black. Spread a coat of
+varnish all over the plate, using a very soft brush; if the copper
+should not be perfectly covered on the edges of the deeply etched lines,
+add a second coat of varnish. Do not wait till the varnish has become
+too dry before you execute the retouches, which, of course, must also be
+bitten in as usual. Mixed with lamp-black, the stopping-out varnish
+allows even the finest lines to be seen, which would not show as well if
+the varnish were used in its natural state. Many engravers use this
+varnish instead of the transparent ground.
+
+47. =Partial Retouches.--Patching.=--For partial retouches and for
+patching the stopping-out varnish is also used, but in a simpler and
+more expeditious way. Cover the part in question with a tolerably thick
+coat of varnish, and when you have finished your retouch, slightly
+moisten the lines with saliva, to prevent the few drops of acid which
+you supply from your bath with the brush from running beyond the spot on
+which they are to act. If pure acid is used,--which is still more
+expeditious,--the effervescence is stopped by dabbing with a piece of
+blotting-paper, and the operation is repeated as long as the biting does
+not appear to be sufficient. For very delicate corrections it is
+advisable not to wait until the first ebullition is over; but it must be
+left to the feeling to indicate the most opportune moment for the
+application of the blotting-paper. If you proceed rapidly and
+cautiously, you can obtain extremely fine lines in this way, as you have
+had occasion to see under other circumstances (see paragraph 40, p. 25).
+
+You may recollect that I spoke of lines which had not bitten: I alluded
+to this spot in the middle of the bridge (see Pl. I^_a_). You did not
+bear on your needle sufficiently, and hence it did not penetrate clear
+down to the copper; consequently, after having compared the proof of the
+first state with the original (Pl. II.), you must do the necessary
+patching according to the instructions just given to you.
+
+48. =Dry Point.=--Whenever it is necessary to retouch, or to add to very
+delicate parts of the plate, such as the extreme distance, or any other
+part very lightly bitten, it is safer to use the _dry point_, as in such
+cases retouching by acid is a most difficult thing to do. The tone must
+be hit exactly, and without exaggeration.
+
+Your plate offers an opportunity for the use of the dry point: the sky
+and the mountain are partly etched; you can improve them by a few
+touches of the dry point.
+
+The dry point is held in a perpendicular position, and is used on the
+bare copper. It must be ground with a cutting edge, and very sharp, so
+that it may freely penetrate into the copper, and not merely scratch it.
+You cut the line yourself, regulating its depth by the amount of
+pressure used, and according to the tone of the particular passage on
+which you are working. For patching, it is more frequently used in
+delicate passages than in others, as, even with great pressure, the
+strength of a dry point line will always be below that of a line deeply
+bitten. In printing, the dry point line has less depth of color than the
+bitten line, as the acid bites into the copper perpendicularly at right
+angles; while the furrow produced by the dry point, which offers only
+acute angles, takes up less ink, although it appears equally broad.
+This inequality disappears if a plate in which etched lines and dry
+point work are intermingled is re-bitten; the difference in tone is then
+equalized.
+
+On the other hand, the difference in the appearance of etched lines and
+dry point work produces curious effects. Thus, if a passage which is too
+strong and appears to stand out is to be corrected, a few touches of the
+dry point will be sufficient to soften it, and to push it back to
+another distance.
+
+The dry point is not only used for retouching; it is sometimes employed,
+without any etching, to put in the whole background.
+
+49. =Use of the Scraper for removing the Bur thrown up by the Dry
+Point.=--The dry point work being finished, the _bur_ thrown up by the
+instrument must be removed. The bur is the ridge raised on the edge of
+the line, as the point ploughs through the metal; you can satisfy
+yourself of its existence by the touch. In printing, the ink catches in
+this ridge, and produces blots. The bur is removed by means of the
+_scraper_, an instrument with a triangular blade, one of the sides of
+which, held flat, is passed over the plate in the opposite direction to
+that of the stroke of the point, and so as to take the line obliquely.
+You need not feel any anxiety about injuring the plate; the touch will
+tell you when the bur has disappeared. In the case of dry point lines
+crossing one another, each set running in a different direction must be
+drawn as well as scraped separately, in the manner just described;
+otherwise you will run the risk of closing the lines which cross the
+path of the scraper, by turning the bur down into the furrows.
+
+50. =Reducing Over-bitten Passages.=--So much for the additions. We will
+now pass on to the very opposite: the shadow thrown by the parapet, and
+the ground between the man and the woman, have been _over-bitten_. These
+parts do not harmonize with the neighboring parts, and are stronger in
+tone than the corresponding parts of the original.
+
+To remedy this, there are four means at your command:--
+
+  The Burnisher.
+  Charcoal.
+  The Scraper.
+  Hammering out.
+
+51. =The Burnisher.=--As these passages are limited in extent, and not
+very deeply bitten, you may use the burnisher to reduce them. Moisten
+it with saliva, and take only a small spot at a time, holding the
+instrument down flat. If you were to use only the end, you might make a
+cavity in the copper. The burnisher flattens and enlarges the surface of
+the copper, and consequently diminishes the width of the line. The tone,
+therefore, is reduced.
+
+On fine, close, and equal work the burnisher does excellent service, the
+effect being analogous to that of the crumb of bread on a design on
+paper.
+
+It is less efficacious on deeply bitten work, because it rounds off the
+edges of the lines as it penetrates into the furrows, and thus detracts
+somewhat from the freshness of tone,--an unpleasant result, which, in
+very fine work, is beyond the power of the eye to see.
+
+You may use the burnisher to get rid of certain spots produced in the
+foliage by lines placed too closely together, and by the same means you
+can reduce those exaggerated passages in the stone-work of the
+right-hand column.
+
+You can also burnish these useless little blotches in the mountains.
+
+52. =Charcoal.=--Whenever it is necessary to reduce the whole of a
+distance, the use of charcoal is to be preferred. Charcoal made of
+willow, or of other soft woods, which can be had of the plate-makers, is
+used flat, impregnated with oil or water; it must be freed from its
+bark, as this would scratch the plate. It wears the metal away
+uniformly, and does not injure the crispness of the lines. Rub the
+passage to be reduced with the charcoal, regulating the length of time
+by the degree of delicacy you desire to attain. At the beginning soak
+your charcoal in water, so as leave it more tooth; then clean it, and
+continue with oil, which reduces the wear on the copper. The eye is
+sufficient to judge of the wear; the way in which the charcoal takes
+hold of the copper, and the copper-colored spots which it shows, may
+serve as guides. As the effectiveness of the different kinds of charcoal
+varies, these divers qualities of softness and coarseness are utilized
+according to the nature of the correction to be made. It is well to
+know, also, that it takes hold much more actively if used in the
+direction of the grain, than transversely. You may, according to
+circumstances, commence with a piece of coal having considerable tooth,
+continue with another that is less aggressive, and wind up with a
+somewhat soft piece. The heavier the charcoal the coarser its tooth, the
+lightest being the softest. The plate must be washed, so as to keep the
+charcoal always clean; as otherwise the dust produced, which forms a
+paste, will wear down the bottom of the furrows, and the result, in the
+proof, will be dull and reddish lines.
+
+Charcoal is also used to remove the traces of the needle in those parts
+of the plate in which changes were made while the drawing was still in
+progress.
+
+53. =The Scraper.=--The scraper is more efficacious than the burnisher
+in the case of small places that have been deeply bitten. If the scraper
+is sufficiently sharp, it leaves no trace whatever on the lowered
+surface of the copper.
+
+To sum up:--
+
+_Charcoal_ and _scraper_ are used to remove part of the surface of the
+copper. The furrows, having been reduced in depth, receive less ink in
+printing; the lines gain in delicacy in the impressions.
+
+The _burnisher_ simply displaces the copper; _charcoal_ and _scraper_
+wear it away. It follows that they must be used with discernment.
+
+54. =Hammering Out (Repoussage).=--These three means are employed when a
+moderate lowering of the plate is required. When it becomes necessary to
+go down to half the thickness of the plate or more, the result will be a
+hollow, which will show as a spot in printing. In that case recourse is
+had to the fourth means; that is to say, to hammer and anvil. Get a pair
+of compasses with curved legs (_calipers_); let one of the legs rest on
+the spot to be hammered out; the other leg will then indicate the place
+on the back of the plate which must be struck with the hammer on the
+anvil. In this way places which have been reduced with charcoal or
+scraper may be brought up to the level of the plate; but if the lines
+should be found to have been flattened, which would result in a dull
+tone in the proofs, it will be best to have the part in question planed
+out entirely, and to do it over.
+
+55. =Finishing the Surface of the Plate.=--The charcoal occasionally
+leaves traces on the plate, which show in the proof as rather too
+strong a tint. You can get rid of them, by rubbing with a piece of very
+soft linen, and the paste obtained by grinding charcoal with oil on a
+fine stone.
+
+By the same process the whole plate is tidied. It is likely to need it,
+as it has undoubtedly lost some of its freshness, owing to the abuse to
+which it was subjected in passing through all these processes.
+
+Our young pupil, having executed these several operations, and bitten
+his retouched plate, submits a proof to my inspection, which I compare
+with that of the first state (Pls. I^_a_ and I.). Now you see, I say to
+him, how one state leads to another. You have come up to the harmony of
+the original; your _second state_ is satisfactory, and so there is no
+need of having recourse to varnishing the plate a third time.
+
+[Illustration: Plate I.]
+
+[Illustration: Plate II.]
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER V.
+
+ACCIDENTS.
+
+
+56. =Stopping-out Varnish dropped on a Plate while Biting.=--You are
+just in time, I continued, to profit by an accident which has happened
+to me. I dropped some stopping-out varnish on a plate while it was
+biting; it has spread over some parts which are not yet sufficiently
+bitten, and of course it is impossible to go on now. I took the ground
+off the plate, and had this proof pulled. It is unequal in tone, and
+does not give the modelling which I worked for.
+
+"What are you going to do about it? Is the plate lost?"
+
+57. =Revarnishing with the Roller for Rebiting.=--Oh, no, indeed, thanks
+to the _roller for revarnishing_! My first precaution will be to clean
+the plate very carefully, first with spirits of turpentine, until the
+linen does not show the least sign of soiling, and then with bread. Or,
+having used the turpentine, I might continue the cleaning process with a
+solution of potash, after which the plate must be washed in pure water.
+I then put a little ground, specially prepared for the purpose, on a
+second plate, which must be scrupulously clean, and not heated; or,
+better still, I apply the ground directly to the roller itself by means
+of a palette-knife. I divide this second plate into three parts. By
+passing the roller over the first part, I spread the ground roughly over
+it; on the second part I equalize and distribute it more regularly; on
+the third, finally, I finish the operation. By these repeated rollings a
+very thin layer of ground is evenly spread over all parts of the surface
+of the roller, and we may now apply it to the plate which is to be
+rebitten.
+
+To effect this purpose, I pass the roller over the cold plate carefully
+and with very slight pressure, repeating the process a number of times
+and in various directions. This is an operation requiring skill. The
+ground adheres only to the surface of the plate, without penetrating
+into the furrows, although it is next to impossible to prevent the
+filling up of the very finest lines. Having thus spread the ground, and
+having assured myself that the lines are all right by the brilliancy of
+their reflection as I hold the plate against the light, I rapidly pass a
+burning paper under the plate. The ground is slightly heated, and
+solidifies as it cools.
+
+The varnish used in this operation is the ordinary etching-ground in
+balls, dissolved in oil of lavender in a bath of warm water. It must
+have the consistency of liquid cream; if it is too thick, add a little
+oil of lavender.[12]
+
+Both the plate and the roller must be well protected against dust.
+
+It is not necessary to clean the roller after the operation; only take
+care to wipe its ends with the palm of your hand, turning it the while,
+so as to remove the rings of varnish which may have formed there.
+
+If the lines are found closed, too much pressure has been used on the
+roller; if the ground is full of little holes, the plate has not been
+cleaned well, and wherever the surface of the copper is exposed the acid
+will act on it. There is nothing to be done, in both cases, but to wash
+off the ground with spirits of turpentine, and commence anew.
+
+My plate is now in the same state in which it was when I withdrew it
+from the bath. I stop out those parts which are sufficiently bitten,
+and, guided by my proof, I can proceed to continue the biting which was
+interrupted by the accident.
+
+58. =Revarnishing with the Roller in Cases of Partial Rebiting.=--You
+will find this method especially valuable whenever you desire to
+strengthen passages that are weak in tone. And furthermore, having thus
+revarnished your plate, you may avail yourself of the opportunity of
+giving additional finish. But if, before revarnishing, you should have
+burnished down some over-bitten lines in a passage which needs rebiting,
+you will find that the shallow cavity produced by the burnisher does not
+take the ground from the roller; such places are easily detected by the
+brilliant aspect of the copper, and good care must be taken to cover
+them with ground. Again, if, before proceeding to rebite, you should
+notice certain passages which are strong enough as they are, either
+because the copper was cut by the point, or because the lines in them
+are very close, you must cover them up with the brush. The same thing is
+necessary in the case of the excessively black spots which sometimes
+manifest themselves in places covered by irregularly crossing lines, and
+the intensity of which it would be useless to increase still further.
+This recommendation is valuable for work requiring precision.
+
+59. =Revarnishing with the Dabber for Rebiting.=--For partial rebiting
+the same result may be reached by applying the ground with the dabber.
+Heat your plate, and surround the part to be rebitten with a thick coat
+of ordinary etching-ground. Now heat your dabber, and pass it over the
+ground. Finally, when the dabber is thoroughly impregnated with the
+ground, carry it cautiously and little by little over the part in
+question, dabbing continually.[13]
+
+60. =Revarnishing with the Brush for Rebiting.=--Let me also call your
+attention to an analogous case which may arise. If you desire to
+increase the depth of the biting in a part of the plate in which the
+lines are rather widely apart, you may cover the plate with the brush
+and stopping-out varnish, and may pass the needle through the lines so
+as to open them again. You can then rebite in the tray, or by using pure
+acid, or by allowing acid at 20 deg. to stand on the part in question,
+just as you please.
+
+61. =Rebiting a Remedy only.=--Etchers who are entitled to be considered
+authorities will advise you to avoid as much as possible all rebiting by
+means of revarnishing, as it results in heaviness, and never has the
+freshness of a first biting obtained with the same ground. A practised
+eye can easily detect the difference. Never let the rebiting be more
+than a quarter of the first biting. Use the process as a remedy, but
+never count on it as a part of your regular work.
+
+62. =Holes in the Ground.=--Having once taken up the consideration of
+the little mishaps which may befall the etcher, I shall now show you
+another plate in which the sky is dotted by a number of minute holes of
+no great depth (_piques_). This plate has, no doubt, been retouched, and
+the ground having been badly laid, the acid played mischief with it. It
+is very lucky that the lines in the sky are widely separated, as
+otherwise these holes would be inextricably mixed up with them. We can
+rid ourselves of them by a few strokes of the burnisher, and by rubbing
+with charcoal-paste and a bit of fine linen. The burnisher alone would
+give too much polish to the copper; in printing the ink would leave no
+tint on the plate in these spots, and the traces of the burnisher would
+show as white marks in the proofs. To avoid this, the copper must be
+restored to its natural state.[14]
+
+"What would happen," asks another of my pupils, "if these little holes
+occurred in a sky or in some other closely worked passage? Here is a
+plate in which this accident has befallen some clouds and part of the
+ground. What shall I do?"
+
+To begin with, let me tell you for your future guidance that this
+accident would not have happened if you had waited for the drying of the
+ground with which you covered this sky after you had bitten it. The
+acid, which never loses an opportunity given it by mismanagement or
+inattention, worked its way unbeknown to you through the soft varnish in
+the clouds as well as in the ground, and went on a spree at your
+expense. Remember that nitric acid is very selfish; it insists that it
+shall always be uppermost in your mind, and all your calculations must
+take this demand into account; its powers, creative as well as
+destructive, are to be continually dreaded; it likes to see you occupy
+yourself with it continually, watchfully, and with fear. If you turn
+your back to it, it plays you a trick, and thus it has punished you for
+neglecting it for a moment.
+
+"Thank you. But you are acting the part of La Fontaine's schoolmaster,
+who moralized with the pupil when he had fallen into the water."
+
+63. =Planing out Faulty Passages.=--And that did not help him out. You
+are right. Well, you must go to some skilful copper-planer,[15] who will
+work away at the spoiled part of your plate with scraper and burnisher
+and charcoal, until he has restored the copper to its virgin state; then
+all you've got to do will be to do your work over again.
+
+"That is rather a blunt way of settling the question. Seeing that we are
+about to cut into the flesh after this fashion, might it not be as well
+to have the whole of the sky taken out altogether? I am not satisfied
+with it, any way."
+
+Certainly. By the same process the planer can remove every thing, up to
+the outlines of the trees and the figures in your plate; he will cut out
+any thing you want, and yet respect all the outlines, if you will only
+indicate your wishes on a proof. In this passage, where you see deep
+holes, scraper and charcoal will be insufficient; the planer must,
+therefore, hammer them out before he goes at the other parts. As regards
+the little holes in the foreground, since they are not as deep as the
+lines among which they appear, you can remove them, or at least reduce
+them, by means of charcoal, without injury to the deeply bitten parts.
+
+You may follow this plan whenever you are convinced that a lowering of
+tone will do no harm to your first work. In the opposite case, you must
+either have recourse to the planer, or put up with the accident. If you
+are not too much of a purist, you will occasionally find these _piques_
+productive of a _piquant_ effect, and then you will take good care not
+to touch them.
+
+"That's a 'point' which you did not mention among the utensils! You have
+ingenious ways of getting out of a scrape."
+
+We cut out, or cut down, or dig away, whole passages, according to
+necessity. I have seen the half of a plate planed off, because the
+design was faulty.
+
+64. =Acid Spots on Clothing.=--Here comes one of my friends, who is also
+an etcher. I wonder what he brings us! His clothing is covered all over
+with spots of the most beautiful garnet; he ought to have washed them
+with volatile alkali, which neutralizes the effect of the acid. But he
+does not mind it.
+
+65. =Reducing Over-bitten Passages and Creves.=--"Oh, gentlemen, that is
+not worth while speaking of! But you must see my plate. I drew a horse
+from nature, which a whole swamp-ful of leeches might have disputed with
+me. But I do believe it escaped the _biting_ of these animals only to
+succumb to mine. Judge for yourselves!"
+
+The fact of the matter is, that you have killed it with acid. There is
+nothing left of it, but an informal mass, ten times over-bitten.
+Fortunately there is no lack of black ink at the printer's! It is a
+veritable Chinese shadow, and looks as if the horse had gone into
+mourning for itself. However, although the carcass is lost, I hope you
+may be able to save some of the members. The wounds are deep and broad;
+but we can try a remedy _in extremis_: first of all, your horse will
+have to stand an attack of _charcoal_; if it survives this, we shall
+subject it to renewed and ferocious _bitings_. All this puzzles you.
+Therefore, having treated your beast to the charcoal, and having had a
+last proof taken, you place the latter before you, and re-cover your
+plate with a solid coat of varnish. With a somewhat coarse point you
+patch those places which show white in the proof, taking care to
+harmonize your patches with the surrounding parts.
+
+In this way you replace the lines which have disappeared, and then
+proceed to bite in, doing your best to come as near as possible to the
+strength of the first biting. The result may not be very marvellous, but
+it will be an improvement, at all events. If I were in your place, I
+should not hesitate to begin again. The process which I have just
+described is best suited to isolated passages.
+
+In closely worked and lightly bitten passages, blotches (or _creves_)
+are more easily remedied, as they are less deep. Rub them down with
+charcoal, very cautiously and delicately, and let the dry point do the
+rest.
+
+There, now! There's our friend, again, using acid instead of spirits of
+turpentine to clean his plate! That'll be the end of the animal. It is
+against the law, sir, to murder a poor, inoffensive beast this wise!
+Fortunately we can help him out with several sheets of blotting-paper,
+in default of water, which we do not happen to have at hand. We were in
+time! The copper has only lost its polish; a little more charcoal,--and
+Rosinante still lives.
+
+[Illustration: Plate III.]
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER VI.
+
+DIFFERENCE BETWEEN FLAT BITING, AND BITING WITH STOPPING-OUT.
+
+
+66. =Two Kinds of Biting.=--Now that you have become familiar with the
+secrets of biting, I say to my pupil, and are therefore prepared to be
+on your guard against the accidents to be avoided when you go to work
+again, I can make clear to you, better than if I had endeavored to do so
+at the outset, the difference between the two kinds of biting on which
+rests the whole system of the art of etching, and the distinctive
+characteristics of which are often confounded. The work thus far done
+will help you to a more intelligent understanding of this distinction.
+As it was impossible to explain to you, at one and the same time, all
+the resources of the needle as well as those of biting, between which,
+as I told you before, there exist very intimate relations, I had to
+choose a general example by which to demonstrate the processes employed,
+and which would allow me to explain the reasons for these processes.
+
+There are two kinds of biting,--_flat biting_ and _biting with
+stopping-out_. (See Pl. III.)
+
+These two kinds of biting resemble one another in this, that they
+involve only one grounding or varnishing, and consequently only one
+bath; they differ most markedly in this, that in _flat biting_ the work
+of the acid is accomplished all over the plate at one and the same time,
+and with only one immersion in the bath, while in _biting with
+stopping-out_ there are several successive, or, if you prefer the term,
+partial bitings, between each of which the plate is withdrawn from the
+bath, and the parts to be reserved are stopped out with varnish as often
+as it is thought necessary.
+
+It follows from this, that, with flat biting, the modelling must be done
+by the needle, using either only one needle, or else several of
+different thicknesses.
+
+67. =Flat Biting.--One Point.=--With a single needle the values are
+obtained by drawing the lines closely together in the foreground and
+nearer distances, or for passages requiring strength, and by keeping
+them apart in the off distances, and in the lighter passages of the near
+distances; furthermore, to obtain a play of light in the same distance,
+the lines must be drawn farther apart in the lights, and more closely
+together in the shadows. A single point gives a hint of what we desire
+to do, but it does not express it. It is undoubtedly sufficient for a
+sketch intended to represent a drawing executed with pen and ink or with
+the pencil; but it cannot be successfully employed in a plate which, by
+the variety of color and the vigor of the biting, is meant to convey the
+idea of a painting.
+
+68. =Flat Biting.--Several Points.=--When several points of different
+thickness are used, the coarser serve for the foreground and near
+distances, the finer in gradual succession for the receding distances.
+They are used alternately in the different distances, and the lines are
+drawn more closely together here, or kept farther apart there, according
+to the necessities of the effect to be obtained; the depth of the biting
+is the same throughout, but the difference in thickness of the lines
+makes it an easy matter, by more elaborate modelling, to give to the
+etching the appearance of a finished design.
+
+With a single point, as well as with several, the pressure used in
+drawing must remain the same throughout, so that the acid may act
+simultaneously, and with equal intensity on all parts of the plate. If
+there has been any inequality of attack, the values will be unequal in
+their turn, and different from what they were intended to be.
+
+[Illustration: Plate IV.]
+
+69. =Biting with Stopping-out.--One Point.=--In biting with
+stopping-out, it is the biting itself, and not the needle, which gives
+modelling to the etching. In this case, also, one or several points may
+be used. The simplest manner is that in which only one point is used.
+The stopping-out, and consequently the biting, is done in large masses.
+(See Pl. V. Fig. 1.)
+
+70. =Biting with Stopping-out.--Several Points.=--As a very simple
+example let us take a case in which it is necessary to have certain very
+closely lined passages in a foreground alongside of very coarse ones.
+In that case the first, or close, lines must be etched very delicately,
+while the whole force of the biting must be brought to bear on the
+latter (see Pl. IV. Fig. 2). In the same way the values of two different
+objects may be equilibrated; by employing close lines slightly bitten in
+the one case, and spaced lines more deeply bitten in the other. Biting
+with stopping-out, combined with the work of several points, requires
+more attention and discernment than any other.
+
+If the first biting is not successful, the plate is revarnished, and the
+work of repairing and correcting commences.
+
+Summing up the advantages offered by these various means, you will see
+what results the combination of the work of one or of several points
+with partial biting may be made to yield, either in giving to objects
+their various values, their natural color, and their modelling, or in
+disposing them in space, and thus producing the harmonious gradation of
+the several distances.
+
+71. =Necessity of Experimenting.=--If you will now call to mind our
+preceding operations, and will hold them together with the explanations
+just given, you will be able to appreciate them in their totality. The
+necessity of arriving at truth of expression, with nothing to guide you
+but these rules, which are influenced by a variety of conditions, will
+compel you to experiment for yourself, with special reference to the
+combination of _the surrounding temperature, the strength of the acid,
+the number of partial bitings, the pressure of the point, the different
+thicknesses of the points_, and _the various kinds of work that can be
+done with them_, on the one hand; and on the other, with regard to _the
+length of the bitings_. If you are called upon to imitate a given object
+very closely, you must proceed rationally, and your work must be
+accompanied by continual reflection. To familiarize yourself with these
+delicate operations, you must experiment for yourself; don't complain if
+you spoil a few plates; you will learn something by your failures, as
+your experience in one case will teach you what to do in others.
+Self-acquired experience is of all teachers the best.
+
+72. =Various other Methods of Biting.=--The two preceding methods,
+which, in a general way, comprehend the rules of biting, do not exclude
+other particular methods of a similar nature. Thus, it may be well
+sometimes to etch at first only the simple outline, biting it in more
+or less vigorously, according to the nature of the case (see Pl. IV.
+Fig. 3); and then, having revarnished and resmoked the plate, to
+elaborate the drawing by going over it either in some parts only or
+throughout the whole. Rembrandt often pursued this course; and we may
+follow the several stages of his work by studying the various states of
+his plates. We see that he took great pains to work out some part of his
+subject very carefully, without touching the other parts; he then took a
+proof, and afterwards went over the same part with finer lines, and
+passed on to the other parts, treating them according to the effect
+which he desired to reach.
+
+This method is often imitated; it is employed when it is necessary to
+lay a shadow over a passage full of detail, as, for instance, in
+architectural subjects, in the execution of which it is easier, and
+tends to avoid confusion, to fix the lines of the design first, and
+then, having laid the ground a second time, to add the shadows. (See Pl.
+IV. Fig. 4.)
+
+"Pardon me! But might not this result be obtained by the same biting, if
+the lines of the design were drawn with a coarse point, and the shading
+were added with a finer one?"
+
+Certainly; and in that case we should have an instance of work executed
+with several needles, such as I pointed out to you before.
+
+From the explanations previously given, it will be clear, also, that,
+the nature of the subject permitting, it may be advantageous sometimes
+to execute a plate by drawing and biting each distance by itself. Thus
+you may commence with the foreground, and may bite it in; having had a
+proof taken, revarnish your plate, and proceed in the same fashion to
+the execution of the other distances, and of the sky, always having a
+proof taken after each biting to serve you as a guide.
+
+This mode of operation--essentially that of the engraver--is of special
+advantage in putting in a sky or a background behind complicated
+foliage. You can draw and bite your sky or your background all by itself
+(see Pl. IV. Fig. 5), and then, having revarnished your plate, you can
+execute your trees on the background. As the trees are bitten by
+themselves, it is evident that we have avoided a difficulty which is
+almost insurmountable,--that, namely, of stopping out with the brush
+the lines of the sky between intricate masses of foliage. But we can
+also proceed differently. We can commence with the trees, drawing them
+and biting them in, and can finish with the sky, having revarnished the
+plate as usual: the sky will thus fall into its place behind the trees.
+You need not trouble yourself because the lines of the sky pass across
+the lines of the trees. The biting of the sky must be so delicate that
+it will not affect the value of the foliage, and you may therefore carry
+your point in all directions, and use it as freely as you please.
+
+Some etchers find it more convenient to commence with the sky and the
+background, on account of the points of resistance encountered by the
+needle in the more deeply bitten lines of the trees, which destroys
+their freedom of execution. They are correct, whenever the sky to be
+executed is very complicated; but if only a few lines are involved, it
+will be better to introduce them afterwards. It is, besides, an easy
+matter to get accustomed to the jumping of the point when it is working
+on a ground that has previously been bitten.
+
+What I have just told you applies also to the masts and the rigging of
+vessels, &c., and, indeed, to all lines which cut clearly and strongly
+across a delicately bitten distance.
+
+An etcher of great merit has conceived the original idea of executing an
+etching in the bath itself, commencing with the passages which need a
+vigorous biting, then successively passing on to the more delicate
+parts, and finally ending with the sky.[C] The various distances thus
+receive their due proportion of biting; but it is necessary to work very
+quickly, as the biting of a plate etched in the bath in this manner
+proceeds five to six times more rapidly than if done in the ordinary
+manner. Every etcher ought to be curious to try this bold method of
+working, so that he may see how it is possible to ally the inspiration
+of the moment with the uncertain duration of the biting, which in this
+process has emancipated itself from all methodical rule, and follows no
+law but that imposed upon it by the caprice of the artist.[16]
+
+  [C] The bath, in this case, is composed as follows:--
+        880 gr. water.
+        100  "  pure hydrochloric (muriatic) acid.
+         20  "  potassium chlorate.
+
+All this goes to show you that there is ample liberty of choice as to
+processes in etching. It is well to try them all, as it is well to try
+every thing that may give new and unknown results, may inspire ideas, or
+may lead to progress, neither of which is likely to happen in the
+pursuit of mere routine work.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER VII.
+
+RECOMMENDATIONS AND AUXILIARY PROCESSES.--ZINK AND STEEL
+PLATES.--VARIOUS THEORIES.
+
+
+A. RECOMMENDATIONS AND AUXILIARY PROCESSES.
+
+73. =The Roulette.=--The latitude which I gave you does not extend to
+the point of approving of all material resources without any exception.
+There is one which I shall not permit you to make use of, as the needle
+has enough resources of its own to be able to do without it. I allude to
+the _roulette_, which finds its natural application in other species of
+engraving.
+
+74. =The Flat Point.=--Employ the _flat point_ with judgment; it takes
+up a great deal of varnish, but gives lines of little depth, and of less
+strength than those which can be obtained by prolonged biting, with an
+ordinary needle.
+
+75. =The Graver or Burin.=--"And the graver: what do you say to that?"
+
+The graver is the customary and fundamental tool of what is properly
+called "line-engraving." Although it is not absolutely necessary in the
+species of etching which we are studying, there are cases, nevertheless,
+in which it can be used to advantage, but always as an auxiliary only.
+
+If, for instance, you desire to give force to a deeply bitten but
+grayish and dull passage, or to a flat tint which looks monotonous, a
+few resolute and irregular touches with the graver will do wonders, and
+will add warmth and color. A few isolated lines with the graver give
+freshness to a muddy, broken, or foxy tint, without increasing its
+value.
+
+The graver may also be employed in patching deeply bitten passages.
+
+The graver, of a rectangular form, with an angular cutting edge, is
+applied almost horizontally on the bare copper; its handle, rounded
+above, flat below, is held in the palm of the hand; the index finger
+presses on the steel bar; it is pushed forward, and easily enters the
+metal: the degree of pressure applied, and the angle which it makes with
+the plate, produces the difference in the engraved lines. The color
+obtained by the burin is deeper than that obtained by biting, as it cuts
+more deeply into the copper. If extensively used in an etching, the work
+executed by the graver contrasts rather unpleasantly with the quality of
+the etched work, as its lines are extremely clear cut. To get rid of
+this inequality, it is sufficient to rebite the passages in question
+very slightly, which gives to the burin-lines the appearance of etched
+lines.
+
+In short: use the graver with great circumspection, as its application
+to works of the needle is a very delicate matter, and gives to an
+etching a character different from that which we are striving for. It
+seems to me that to employ it on a free etching, done on the spur of the
+moment, would be like throwing a phrase from Bossuet into the midst of a
+lively conversation.[17]
+
+76. =Sandpaper.=--As regards other mechanical means, be distrustful of
+tints obtained by rubbing the copper with sandpaper; these tints
+generally show in the proof as muddy spots, and are wanting in
+freshness. Avoid the process, because of its difficulty of application.
+Only a very skilful engraver can put it to good uses.
+
+77. =Sulphur Tints.=--I shall be less afraid to see you make use of
+_flowers of sulphur_ for the purpose of harmonizing or increasing the
+weight of a tint. The sulphur is mixed with oil, so as to form a
+homogeneous paste thick enough to be laid on with a brush.
+
+By the action of these two substances the polish on the plate is
+destroyed, and the result in printing is a fresh and soft tint, which
+blends agreeably with the work of the needle.
+
+Differences in value are easily obtained by allowing the sulphur to
+remain on the plate for a greater or less period of time. This species
+of biting acts more readily in hot weather; a few minutes are sufficient
+to produce a firm tint. In cold weather relatively more time is needed.
+The corrosions produced in this way have quite a dark appearance on the
+plate, but they produce much lighter tints in printing. If you are not
+satisfied with the result obtained, you can rub it out with charcoal,
+as the copper is corroded only quite superficially.
+
+Owing to this extreme slightness of biting, the burnisher may also be
+used to reduce any parts which are to stand out white.
+
+This process, as you see, is very accommodating; but it is too much like
+mezzotint or aquatint, and, furthermore, it can only be applied in flat
+tints, without modelling. I have, nevertheless, explained it to you, so
+that you may be able to use it, if you should have a notion to do so, as
+a matter of curiosity, but with reserve. It is better to use the dry
+point, which has more affinity to the processes natural to etching.
+
+[Illustration: Plate V.]
+
+78. =Mottled Tints.=--You may also make use of the following process
+(but with the same restrictions) in the representation of parts of old
+walls, of rocks and earth, or of passages to which you desire to impart
+the character of a sort of artistic disorder:--Distribute a quantity of
+ordinary etching-ground on a copper plate sufficiently heated; then take
+your dabber, and, having charged it unequally with varnish, and having
+also heated your etched plate, press the dabber on the passages which
+are to receive the tint; the varnish adheres to the plate in an
+irregular manner, leaving the copper bare here and there. Now stop out
+with the brush those parts which you desire to protect, and bite in with
+pure acid; the result will be a curiously mottled irregular tint (see
+Pl. V. Fig. 2). Properly used in the representation of subjects on which
+you are at liberty to exercise your fancy, this process will give you
+unexpected and often happy results.
+
+79. =Stopping-out before all Biting.=--Before we proceed, I must show
+you an easy method of representing a thunder-storm (see Pl. V. Fig.
+2):--Work the sky with the needle, very closely, so as to get the sombre
+tints of the clouds; and, before biting, trace the streaks of lightning
+on the etched work with a brush and stopping-out varnish; being thus
+protected against the acid, these streaks will show white in the
+printing, and the effect will be neater and more natural than if you had
+attempted to obtain it by the needle itself, as you will avoid the
+somewhat hard outlines on either side of the lightning, which would
+otherwise have been necessary to indicate it.
+
+You can employ the same process for effects of moonlight, for reflected
+lights on water, and, in fact, for all light lines which it is difficult
+to pick out on a dark ground.
+
+
+B. ZINK PLATES AND STEEL PLATES.
+
+80. =Zink Plates.=--So far I have spoken to you of copper plates only;
+but etchings are also executed on zink and on steel. Zink bites rapidly,
+and needs only one quarter of the time necessary for copper, with the
+same strength of acid; or, with the same length of time, an acid of ten
+degrees is sufficient. The biting is coarse, and without either delicacy
+or depth. A zink plate prints only a small edition.[18]
+
+81. =Steel Plates.=--Steel also bites with great rapidity. One part of
+acid to seven of water is sufficient; and the biting is accomplished, on
+the average, in from one to five minutes, from the faintest distance to
+the strongest foreground.
+
+Free, artistic etchings are very rarely executed on steel, which is more
+particularly used in other kinds of engraving.
+
+
+C. VARIOUS OTHER PROCESSES.
+
+82. =Soft Ground Etching.=--There is a kind of etching known as
+_soft-ground etching_, and but little practised at present, which was
+successfully cultivated about thirty years ago by Louis Marvy and
+Masson. The engravers of the last century used to call it _gravure en
+maniere de crayon_.[19]
+
+[Illustration: Plate VI.]
+
+Take a ball of common etching-ground, and melt it in the water-bath in a
+small vessel, adding to it, in winter, an equal volume, and in summer
+only one-third of the same volume, of tallow. Let the mixture cool, form
+it into a ball, and wrap it up in a piece of very fine silk. Ground your
+plate in the usual way, and smoke lightly. On this soft ground fix a
+piece of very thin paper having a grain, and on the paper thus attached
+to the plate, execute your design with a lead-pencil. Wherever the
+pencil passes, the varnish sticks to the paper in proportion to the
+pressure of the hand; and, on carefully removing the sheet, it takes up
+the varnish that adheres to it. Bite the plate, and the result will be a
+facsimile of the design executed on the paper. (See Pl. VI.)
+
+If the proofs are too soft, or wanting in decision, the plate may
+be worked over with the needle, by regrounding, and then rebiting it.
+The first state can thus be elaborated like an ordinary etching, and the
+necessary precision can be given to it whenever the idea to be expressed
+is vaguely or insufficiently rendered; or the same end may be reached by
+the dry point. In either case, however, all the retouches must be
+executed by irregular stippling, so that they may harmonize with the
+result of the first biting. Otherwise there will be a lack of
+homogeneity in the appearance of etchings of this sort, in which the
+grain of the paper plays an important part. Smooth paper gives no result
+whatever. The paper used may have a coarse grain or a fine grain, at the
+pleasure of the etcher, or papers of different grain may be used in the
+same design. This style of etching requires great care in handling the
+plate, on account of the tenderness of the ground. In drawing, a
+_hand-rest_ must be used, so that the hand may not touch the plate.
+
+[Illustration: Plate VII.]
+
+83. =Dry Point Etching.=--The _dry point_ is also used for etching,
+without the intervention of the acid-bath. The design is executed with
+the dry point on the bare copper; the difference in values is obtained
+by the greater or less amount of pressure used, and by the difference in
+the distance between the lines. (See Plate VII.) The brilliancy of
+effect which etchings of this kind may or may not possess, depends on
+the use made of the _scraper_ (see paragraph 49, p. 33).
+
+You will find it convenient to varnish and smoke your plate, to begin
+with, and to trace the leading lines of your design on the ground,
+taking care to cut lightly into the copper with the point. Then remove
+the varnish, and continue your drawing, guided by these general
+outlines.
+
+It is best to commence with the sky, or other delicate passages, and to
+remove the bur from them, if there are other stronger lines to be drawn
+over them.
+
+You can see perfectly well what you are doing, by rubbing a little
+lamp-black mixed with tallow into the lines as you proceed, and cleaning
+the plate with the flat of your hand; in this way you can control your
+work, and can carry it forward until it is finished, either by removing
+more or less of the bur, or by allowing all of it to stand, or by the
+elaboration of those passages which seem to need it. The lines show on
+the plate as they are intended to show on the paper. You can therefore
+bring out your subject by shading; you can lay vigorous lines over lines
+from which the bur has been removed; you can take out, and you can put
+in. The effect produced in the printing is velvety and strong, similar
+to that produced by the stump on paper. Rembrandt employed the dry
+point, without scraping, in some of his principal etchings.
+
+84. =The Pen Process.=--I must now speak to you of a process which
+offers certain advantages. Clean your plate thoroughly, first with
+turpentine, and then with whiting, and take care not to touch the
+polished surface with your fingers. Execute a design on the bare copper
+with the pen and ordinary ink. You must not, of course, expect to find
+in the pen the same delicacy as in the needle.
+
+The design having been finished and thoroughly dried, ground and smoke
+your plate without, for the present, taking any further notice of the
+design; but be sure to see to it that the coat of varnish is not too
+thick; then lay the plate into water, and let it stay there for a
+quarter of an hour. Having withdrawn the plate, rub it lightly with a
+piece of flannel; the ink, having been softened by the water, comes off,
+together with the varnish which covers it, and leaves the design in
+well-defined lines on the copper, which you may now bite.
+
+You may work either with one pen and several bitings, or with several
+pens of various degrees of fineness and one biting.
+
+As in the case of soft ground etching, you may make additions with the
+needle to give delicacy.
+
+It is necessary to ground the plate and to soak it in water as soon as
+may be after the finishing of the design. At the end of two days, the
+ink refuses to rub off.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER VIII.
+
+PROVING AND PRINTING.
+
+
+85. =Wax Proofs.=--Our first desire, after the ground has been removed
+from the plate, is to see a proof. If you have no press, and yet desire
+to take proofs of your work after each biting, you may employ the
+following process to good advantage:--
+
+Take a sheet of very thin paper, a little larger than your plate, and
+cover it with a thin layer of melted wax. The latter must be real white
+wax. Then sprinkle a little lamp-black on your engraved plate, and
+distribute it with your finger, so as to rub it into the lines; clean
+the surface of the plate by carefully passing the palm of your hand over
+it. Now lay the sheet of paper on the plate, with its waxed surface
+down, and be sure to turn the edges of the paper over on the back of the
+plate, so as to prevent its moving; then rub with the burnisher in all
+directions. The lamp-black sticks to the wax, and is sure to give an
+approximate image, sufficient to guide you in the further prosecution of
+your work, if that should be necessary.[20]
+
+86. =The Printing-Press.=--These proofs, however, as well as those which
+were hurriedly printed for you so far, give only a mere idea of your
+work, without conveying its full meaning. If you desire to become
+acquainted with all the resources of the printing-press, you will have
+to go to a plate printer. It is well worth your while to acquire this
+knowledge, also, after you have familiarized yourself with the various
+processes at the command of the etcher.
+
+Here, then, is the printer at his press: at his side there is a box made
+of sheet-iron, enclosing a chafing-dish; there are also printing-ink, a
+ball for inking, rags, and paper.[21] He is about to explain the use
+made of these things to our young student, who delivers his plate to
+him, and is anxious to be instructed in all that relates to the taking
+of impressions.
+
+
+87. =Natural Printing.=--The printer now begins his explanations as
+follows:--
+
+I place the plate on the sheet-iron box (the plate-warmer); it there
+acquires the necessary degree of heat, and I then spread the printing
+ink over it by means of this ball; the ink penetrates into the lines,
+and completely covers the whole surface of the plate; I remove the
+excess of ink with a coarse muslin rag, precisely as this is done in all
+other kinds of plate printing; I now clean the plate with the palm of my
+hand, so that no ink is left on it anywhere but in the lines; I finally
+wipe the margins of the plate evenly, so as to leave a delicate tint on
+the etched part only, and then I put the plate into the press. The plate
+is laid on the travelling-board or bed of the press, which runs between
+two cylinders of iron or hard wood; on the plate I lay a piece of paper,
+slightly moistened, and I cover the whole with several thicknesses of
+flannel; I turn the wheel of the press, and the cylinders, turning on
+themselves, carry along the travelling-board, which, in passing between
+them, is subjected to great pressure. The paper is thus pressed into the
+lines on the plate, and this process is facilitated by the elasticity of
+the flannel. You see now that your plate has come out on the other side
+of the rollers (or cylinders): we have given the press only one turn,
+although, as a rule, the plate is passed through the press twice, by
+making it travel back again under the rollers. This imparts strength to
+the impression; but occasionally the lines are not rendered as
+delicately and with as much precision, as with only one turn. I remove
+the flannel, and very carefully lift the paper; it has absorbed the ink:
+we have before us a _natural proof_, which shows the exact state of the
+plate (see Pl. I.). Line-engravings are printed in the same manner; with
+this difference, however, that the tint, more or less apparent, which is
+preserved on an etching, is not allowed to remain on a plate engraved
+with the burin.
+
+88. =Artificial Printing.=--The printing of etchings very frequently
+differs from the simple method just described. It must be varied
+according to the style of execution adopted by the etcher; and, as much
+of the harmony of the plate may depend upon it, it sometimes rises to
+the dignity of an art, in which the artist and the printer are merged
+into each other,--the printer losing himself in the artist, as he is
+compelled to enter into the latter's ideas; and the artist giving way to
+the printer, to avail himself of his practical experience. The proof
+from your plate, for instance, has a dry look (see Pl. I.); it needs
+more softness, and this can be given to it by the printer.[D] (See Pl.
+II.)
+
+  [D] It would be a great advantage if every etcher could print his own
+  proofs. Rembrandt is the most striking example, as he was the author
+  of many of the devices in use even to-day. A press can easily be
+  procured. The firm of Ve. Cadart, Paris, has had a little portable
+  press constructed, especially for the use of artists and amateurs. All
+  the necessary accessories for printing can also be obtained of this
+  firm. (See Note 22.)
+
+I will now explain to you some of the various artifices which are
+employed in printing.
+
+89. =Handwiping with Retroussage.=--Having _wiped the plate with the
+palm of the hand_, we might _bring it up again (la retrousser)_ by
+playing over it very lightly with a piece of soft muslin rag rolled
+together. The muslin draws the ink out of the lines, and spreads it
+along their edges, so that, in the proof, the space between the lines is
+filled up by a vigorous tint. But this process can only be used on
+plates in which the lines are evenly disposed throughout, and, more
+especially, scattered. To produce the proper effect the _retroussage_
+must be general; because, if the rag passes over one passage only, and
+not over the others, or, if it is brought into play only on the dark
+parts, and not in the lights, there will be discordance of tone, and
+consequently want of harmony. In the present case, therefore,
+_retroussage_ would be unsatisfactory, because the work on your plate,
+while it is broadly treated in some parts, is so close in others that
+there is no room left between the furrows. It follows that there is no
+place for the ink, drawn out of the lines, to spread on; the result
+would be a muddy tint,--one of those overcharged impressions which bring
+criticism upon the printer, because he has applied _retroussage_ to a
+plate which did not need it.
+
+90. =Tinting with a Stiff Rag.=--Let us now try another means. The proof
+will gain in freshness if we soften the lines by going over the plate,
+_after it has been wiped with the hand_, somewhat more heavily with
+_stiff muslin_. Owing to the pressure used, the rag, instead of carrying
+away the ink which it has taken up out of the lines, retains it; a tint
+like that produced by the stump is spread over the plate, and envelops
+the lines without obscuring them; the proof is supple and velvety. (See
+Pl. II.)
+
+91. =Wiping with the Rag only.=--Here is another variety. I am just
+printing a number of original plates by different artists. Being true
+painter's etchings, some of these plates are boldly accentuated and
+heavily bitten; the lines are widely apart, and significant. If these
+plates were printed _naturally_, they would yield bare and poor-looking
+proofs. Wiping with the hand would be useless. I therefore go over the
+plate with _stiff_ muslin. In the same manner I continue and finish, so
+as to give the greatest amount of cleaning to the luminous passages,
+while a tolerably strong tint is left on the dark and deeply bitten
+ones.
+
+Or I might have wiped the plate energetically with soft muslin, and then
+might have brought up again certain passages with a soft and somewhat
+cleaner rag.
+
+This method of wiping, which leaves on the surface of the plate a tint
+of more or less depth, must not be confounded with _retroussage_. Here
+is a proof of one of the plates of which I spoke to you: it is well
+sustained at all points; the lines are full and nourished; the general
+aspect is harmonious and energetic; the lights are softened; the
+strongly marked passages are enveloped in a warm tint. One might almost
+say that the effect of painting has been carried into etching.
+
+This method is employed for plates which have been deeply bitten, but
+upon which stopping-out has been used but sparingly, for works in which
+there is sobriety of expression, or for sketches (see Pl. VIII.). It is
+all the more necessary, sometimes, for the printer to take the
+initiative, the simpler the plate has been etched; it is left to him, in
+short, to complete the intention merely indicated by the artist.
+
+[Illustration: Plate VIII.]
+
+92. =Limits of Artificial Printing.=--These examples have shown to you
+that difference in tone depends on the amount of pressure, and the
+variety of texture in the muslin. It is oftentimes necessary--and this
+is an affair of tact--to make use of these diverse qualities of the
+muslin on the same plate,--now reducing an over-strong tint by more
+vigorous wiping; now giving renewed force to it, in case it has become
+too soft.
+
+These various means constitute the art of printing etchings. But, while
+fully recognizing their efficiency when they are used to the purpose, we
+must also keep in mind the dangers which arise from their being applied
+without discernment. Plates produced by an intelligent combination of
+bitings, must be printed naturally, if they are not to lose the absolute
+character given to them by the needle and the acid. If they are at all
+wiped with the rag, so as to impart more softness to them, it must, at
+least, be done with the greatest of care.
+
+The artist has every thing to gain, therefore, by watching over the
+printing of his plates, and instructing the printer as to the manner in
+which he desires to be interpreted. Some etchers prefer the simplicity
+of the natural state; but the great majority favor the other method of
+printing, which, for the very reason that it is difficult, and on
+account of the many variations in its application, ought always to be an
+object of interest to the printer, and the aim of his studies. It is,
+moreover, the method which is generally understood and adopted by our
+first etchers.[22]
+
+93. =Printing Inks.=--The quality and the shade of the ink, as well as
+the way in which it is ground, are of great importance in the beauty of
+a proof. Inks are made of pure black, slightly tempered with bistre or
+burnt sienna, and the shade can be varied according to taste. A plate
+like yours needs a delicate black, composed of Frankfort black and
+lamp-black; the bistre-tint, which, in the course of time, loses its
+freshness and strength, would not answer. This tint is always best
+suited to strongly bitten work, but in your case it would be
+insufficient. A very strong black, on the other hand, would make your
+etching look hard. This last shade--pure, or very slightly broken with
+bistre--is preferable for strongly accented plates.[23]
+
+94. =Paper.=--_Laid paper_ is the most suitable paper for printing
+etchings; its sparkle produces a marvellous effect; its strength defies
+time itself.
+
+Some artists and amateurs ransack the shops for old paper with brown and
+dingy edges, which, to certain plates, imparts the appearance of old
+etchings.
+
+_India paper (Chinese paper)_ promotes purity of line; but, as its
+surface is dull, it furnishes somewhat dry and dim proofs.
+
+_Japanese paper_, of a warm yellowish tint, silky and transparent, is
+excellent, especially for plates which need more of mystery than of
+brilliancy, for heavy and deep tones, and for concentration of effect.
+Japanese paper absorbs the ink, and it is necessary, therefore, to bring
+up (_retrousser_) the plate strongly, and to wipe it with the rag. This
+paper is less favorable to sketches, the precise, free, and widely
+spaced lines of which accommodate themselves better to the tint of the
+laid paper.
+
+_Parchment_ may also be used for proofs; nothing equals the beauty of
+such proofs, printed either naturally, or wiped with the rag; they are
+the treasures of collectors.[24]
+
+95. =Epreuves Volantes.=--On Chinese and Japanese paper, as well as on
+parchment, so-called _epreuves volantes_ (flying proofs) are printed;
+that is to say, loose proofs, which are not pasted down on white paper.
+They are simply attached to Bristol board by the two upper corners,
+which brings them out perfectly.
+
+96. =Proofs before Lettering.=--All of these various kinds of paper,
+each of which has its own claim for excellence, and especially Japanese
+paper, are by preference used for artists' proofs and proofs before
+lettering, which are printed before the title is engraved on the plate.
+It is customary to print a greater or less number of such proofs, which,
+being struck off when the plate is still quite fresh, show it at its
+best. After that, the plate is lettered, and an ordinary edition is
+printed from it.
+
+It follows from this that the possessor of a proof without title has the
+best the plate can afford to give. But, as the pictures by the masters
+do not stand in need of a signature to be recognized, so the proofs
+before lettering may well do without the guaranty which is found in the
+absence of a title; even without this guaranty an amateur knows how to
+recognize the virgin freshness of an early impression, which is still
+further augmented by the extreme care bestowed on the printing of these
+exceptional proofs, but which cannot be kept up through a long edition.
+
+97. =Epreuves de Remarque.=--_Epreuves de remarque_ (marked proofs),
+showing the different states of the plate, and the various modifications
+which it underwent, are also sought after. Their rarity increases their
+price.[25]
+
+98. =Number of Impressions which a Plate is capable of yielding.=--The
+number of impressions which a plate can yield is not fixed, as the power
+of resisting the wear and tear of printing depends largely on the
+delicacy or the strength of the work. The quality of the copper must
+also be considered, a soft plate giving way much faster than a hard
+plate which has been well hammered. The plates prepared to-day do not
+resist as well as those formerly made; and as the popularity of works of
+art multiplied by the press has considerably increased, it became
+necessary to look about for means by which the surface of a copper plate
+may be hardened, and be made to yield a large edition. This has been
+accomplished by
+
+99. =Steel-facing.=--_Steel-facing_, which was invented by Messrs.
+Salmon and Garnier, and which M. Jacquin undertook to render
+practicable, consists in depositing a coating of veritable steel, by
+galvanic action, on the face of the copper plate, or, in other words, by
+the superposition of a hard metal on a soft metal.
+
+This mode of protection, which perfectly preserves the most delicate
+passages, even down to the almost invisible scratches of the dry point,
+not only guarantees the copper against the contact of the hand and the
+rag, which would tell on it more than the pressure of the rollers, but
+at the same time makes it possible to print a thousand proofs of equal
+purity. Certain plates, owing to the manner of wiping used on them, do
+not reach this figure; others, more simply printed, may yield three to
+four thousand proofs, and sometimes even a still larger number.
+
+As soon as the plate shows the slightest change, or the copper begins to
+reappear, the coating of steel is removed by chemical agents, which,
+acting differently on the two metals, corrode the one, while they leave
+the other untouched. The plate is thus brought back to its original
+state, and is therefore in the same condition as before to receive a
+second steel-facing. In this way plates may be _de-steeled_ and
+_re-steeled_ a great many times, and the proofs printed from them may be
+carried up to considerable quantities.
+
+As a rule, the plates are not steel-faced until after the proofs before
+lettering have been printed.
+
+Soft-ground etchings, the biting of which is quite shallow, must be
+steel-faced after two to three hundred impressions.
+
+The delicacy of the bur thrown up by the dry point hardly permits the
+printing of more than twenty or thirty proofs on an average;
+steel-facing carries this number up to a point which cannot be fixed
+absolutely, but it is certain that the bur takes the steel quite as well
+and as solidly as an etched line. Dry points may, therefore, yield long
+editions; the steel-facing must in that case be renewed whenever
+necessary.[26]
+
+100. =Copper-facing Zink Plates.=--Zink plates cannot be steel-faced,
+but they can be copper-faced.[27] Steel-facing has been adopted by the
+Chalcographic Office of the Louvre, and by the _Gazette des Beaux Arts_,
+that remarkable and unique publication which is an honor to criticism
+and is found in all art libraries. Steel-facing, in fact, is universally
+employed; it preserves in good condition the beautiful plates of our
+engravers, and makes it possible to put within reach of a great many
+people engravings of a choice kind, which but lately were found only in
+the _salons_ of the rich and the collections of passionate amateurs.
+
+[Illustration: AN ETCHER'S STUDIO.
+
+From the Third Edition of Abraham Bosse's "Treatise," Paris, 1758.]
+
+[Illustration: Croquis d'apres nature, pour servir de modeles, 1877.
+
+Le Waag, Amsterdam.]
+
+
+
+
+NOTES
+
+BY THE TRANSLATOR.
+
+
+[1] (p. 2.) To these associations may be added the German Etching Clubs
+at Duesseldorf and at Weimar, which issue yearly portfolios of plates
+executed by their members, and the American Etching Clubs at New York
+and at Cincinnati. The New York Etching Club was organized in April,
+1877, with Dr. L. M. Yale as its first president. At this writing Mr.
+James D. Smillie is the presiding officer of the club, which has about
+twenty-four members, including many of the leading artists of New York.
+The Cincinnati Etching Club is composed almost entirely of amateurs. Its
+president is Mr. George McLaughlin. Quite lately an Etching Club has
+also been formed in Boston, with Mr. Edmund H. Garrett as president.
+
+[2] (p. 3.) Benzine is preferable to turpentine for most of the
+operations of the etcher, but more especially for cleaning soiled hands.
+It is advisable to use turpentine only when the benzine proves
+insufficient to remove the last traces of ground or ink from the lines.
+
+[3] (p. 9.) Something about tools and materials has already been said in
+the Introductory Chapter, p. xiv. What is left to be said follows
+here:--
+
+_Copper plates_, from visiting-card size (at $1 per dozen), to any
+required size can be bought of, or ordered through, the firms named on
+p. xiii, or of Mr. Geo. B. Sharp, 45 Gold St., New York. Mr. Sharp will
+send price-lists on application. The plates usually sold, at least of
+the smaller sizes, are made of an alloy, not of pure copper. These alloy
+plates are cheaper and bite more quickly than those of pure copper, but
+it happens occasionally that they do not bite evenly, owing to want of
+homogeneity in the metal. Still, they are extensively used, and amateurs
+will find them preferable to the more expensive copper plates.
+
+_Etching-ground._ A recipe for a cheap and yet a very good ordinary
+ground has been given on p. xv. The transparent ground consists of
+
+  5 parts, by weight, of white wax.
+  3   "         "        gum-mastic.
+
+Gum-mastic costs about thirty-five cents an ounce. Melt the wax first,
+and add the gum-mastic in powder gradually, stirring all the while with
+a clean glass or metal rod.
+
+_Stopping-out varnish._ (See p. xvi.) There is a varnish sold at
+painters' supply-stores under the name of "Asphaltum Varnish for
+Sign-Writers' Use," which does very well. In Boston Asahel Wheeler sells
+it at fifteen cents a bottle.
+
+_Needle-holders_ are unnecessary if the points described on p. xvi are
+used.
+
+_Burnishers_ are sold at the hardware-stores, or by dealers in
+watchmakers' materials. They ought not to cost above fifty cents apiece.
+
+_Scrapers._ Same as burnishers. Price not above $1. Some dealers ask $2,
+which is exorbitant.
+
+_A lens_ can be obtained of any optician. In Boston they can also be had
+of A.J. Wilkinson & Co., hardware dealers, 184 Washington St., at prices
+varying from $1 to $1.50.
+
+_India-rubber finger-gloves_ are unnecessary if you use the
+"plate-lifter" described on p. xvii.
+
+_Nitric acid._ Messrs. Powers & Weightman's "Nitric Acid, C. P." (i. e.
+chemically pure), recommended on p. xvii, is 42 degrees, and Messrs. P.
+& W. inform me that the strength is tolerably uniform. If you are an
+enthusiastic etcher it will be best to buy a seven-pound bottle, which
+is the next largest to the one-pound bottles.
+
+_Tracing-paper_, _gelatine_, _chalk_, and _sanguine_ can be obtained at
+the artists' material stores.
+
+_Emery-paper._ Hardware-stores. Price four cents a sheet.
+
+_Roller for revarnishing._ See Note 5.
+
+To the tools and materials mentioned by M. Lalanne the following must be
+added: _Whiting_, _benzine_, _turpentine_, _alcohol_, _willow charcoal_.
+The last-named article can be supplied by Mr. Geo. B. Sharp, of 45 Gold
+St., New York, before mentioned.
+
+[4] (p. 11.) I wrote to M. Lalanne to find out the ingredients of the
+_petit vernis liquide_ and _vernis au pinceau_, but he says that he does
+not know, and that the recipes are a secret of the maker of these
+varnishes. The asphaltum varnish mentioned on p. xvi and in Note 3 does
+excellently well, however, both for stopping out and retouching. After
+it has been fanned (see p. xxi) until it has thickened sufficiently not
+to stick to the finger when touched, but before it is quite dry, it can
+be worked upon with the point. If not dry enough, which will manifest
+itself readily as soon as you have drawn the first line, fan again. If
+it were allowed to dry absolutely, it would chip off under the needle.
+There is a liquid ground, made by Mr. Louis Delnoce of the American Bank
+Note Company, New York, which--so Mr. Jas. D. Smillie informs me--is
+used for retouches by the engravers of the company, is applied with the
+brush, is a very quick dryer, tough, and resists acid perfectly. Mr.
+Delnoce sells it in ounce bottles at seventy-five cents each.
+
+[5] (p. 12.) The roller for revarnishing, spoken of by M. Lalanne, and
+also recommended by Mr. Hamerton, cannot be bought in this country.
+Nor--with all due deference to the great experience of M. Lalanne--is
+such a large and expensive roller necessary. The rollers used by our
+most experienced etchers--Mr. Jas. D. Smillie, for instance--are little
+cylinders of India-rubber, about one inch in diameter and one and
+one-half inches long. They cost from 50 cents to $2 each. _But these
+rollers cannot be used with etching-paste._ The oil of lavender in the
+paste attacks the rubber and destroys it. As to the manner of using the
+India-rubber roller see Note 12.
+
+[6] (p. 20.) The use of bordering wax is not advisable. But as some
+etchers still employ it, I add a recipe for making it, which was kindly
+communicated to me by Mr. Peter Moran of Philadelphia:--
+
+  3 lbs. Burgundy pitch.
+  1 lb. yellow beeswax.
+  1 gill sweet oil.
+
+Melt together and then form into strips.
+
+[7] (p. 21.) Etching is the most individual of the reproductive arts (or
+rather of the _multiplying_ arts, the German _vervielfaeltigende
+Kuenste_), even in its technical processes. Therefore nearly every etcher
+has his own ways of doing, and few agree on all points. Many etchers do
+not think it necessary to weaken the acid as described in the text. But
+be sure to let it _cool_ after it has been mixed with water, before you
+immerse your plate!
+
+[8] (p. 22.) It would take altogether too long to wait for the _perfect_
+drying of the asphaltum varnish, nor is it necessary. Fan it, as
+described in Note 4, and as soon as it ceases to stick you can again
+immerse your plate.
+
+[9] (p. 25.) I have never been able to notice this turning dark of the
+lines, although I have had plates in the bath for several hours, and
+some of my artist acquaintances whom I have consulted on the point, have
+confirmed my experience. Possibly the phenomenon described by M. Lalanne
+may be caused by impurities in the acid.
+
+[10] (p. 27.) If the reader will make use of the device for lifting the
+plate into and out of the bath, which I have described on p. xvii, there
+will be no necessity of burning his fingers. With a little precaution,
+and a plentiful use of benzine for washing and cleaning, the daintiest
+lady's hand need not suffer from etching.
+
+[11] (p. 29.) For directions for making this ground see Note 3.
+
+[12] (p. 38.) To make the varnish, or rather etching-paste, recommended
+in the text, a warm-water bath is not absolutely necessary.
+
+Take any small porcelain or earthenware vessel (a small gallipot is very
+convenient, because the etching-paste can be kept in it for use), and
+set it upon a metal frame, easily made of wire, so that you can
+introduce a spirit lamp under it. Break up a ball, or part of a ball, of
+ordinary etching-ground, and throw it into the pot. Heat the pot
+carefully, so as just to allow the ground to melt. When it has melted,
+add oil of lavender (worth thirty-five cents an ounce at the
+druggist's), drop by drop, and keep stirring the mixture with a clean
+glass rod. From time to time allow a drop of the mixture to fall on a
+cold glass or metal plate. If, on cooling, it assumes the consistency of
+pomatum, the paste is finished.
+
+As I have said before, this paste cannot be used with the India-rubber
+rollers recommended in Note 5. With these rollers the regrounding must
+be done with the ordinary etching-ground with the aid of heat. Warm your
+plate so that you can just bear to touch it with the hand, and allow
+some of the ground to melt on a second, unused copper plate. Also warm
+the roller slightly. Then proceed as M. Lalanne directs in his
+fifty-seventh paragraph. The slight changes in the proceeding, which
+grow out of the differences between cold and warm ground, are
+self-evident.
+
+It is hardly necessary to say that the roller can also be used for
+laying the first ground. _But it is of no use on any but perfectly
+smooth, straight plates, as it cannot penetrate into hollows._ When it
+is not available the dabber must be employed in the old manner.
+
+[13] (p. 39.) Some engravers prefer the dabber to the roller even for
+regrounding entire plates. In that case the ground is spread on the
+margin of the plate, if that be wide enough, or on a separate plate, and
+is taken up by the dabber. The plate to be regrounded must of course be
+warmed as for laying a ground with the roller, and care must be taken
+not to have the dabber overcharged with ground.
+
+[14] (p. 40.) In default of the charcoal-paste, rubbing with the finest
+emery-paper will do to remove the polish.
+
+[15] (p. 40.) I cannot direct the reader to a copper-planer, and
+therefore it will be best to give some directions for removing faulty
+passages. The following paragraphs are copied bodily from Mr.
+Hamerton:--
+
+"The most rapid way is to use sandpapers of different degrees of
+coarseness, the coarsest first, and then the scraper, and, finally,
+willow charcoal with olive oil. The charcoal will leave the surface in a
+fit state to etch upon.
+
+"This scraping and rubbing hollows out the surface of the copper, and
+if it hollows it too much the printing will not be quite satisfactory in
+that part of the plate. In that case you have nothing to do but mark the
+spot on the back of the plate with a pair of calipers, then lay the
+plate on its face upon a block of polished steel, and give it two or
+three blows with a hammer (mind that the hammer is rounded so as not to
+indent the copper)."
+
+[16] (p. 48.) The process here alluded to is the one used by Mr. Haden.
+The mordant is the so-called Dutch mordant, and the manner of making it
+is thus described by Mr. Hamerton:--
+
+"First heat the water by putting the bottle containing it into a pan
+also containing water, and keep it on the fire till that in the pan
+boils. Now add the chlorate of potash, and see that every crystal of it
+is dissolved. Shake the bottle to help the solution. When no more
+crystals are to be seen, you may add the hydrochloric acid. Make a good
+quantity of this mordant at once, so as always to have a plentiful
+supply by you."
+
+For a full account of the Haden process see Mr. Hamerton's "Etcher's
+Handbook," or the second edition of his "Etching and Etchers."
+
+This Dutch mordant is preferred to nitric acid by many etchers,--even
+when working, not in the bath, but in the ordinary way, as taught by M.
+Lalanne,--because it bites down into the copper, and hardly widens the
+lines. "From my experience," writes Mr. Jas. D. Smillie, in a letter now
+before me, "I unhesitatingly prefer the Dutch mordant for copper; it
+bites a very fine black line, it is not so severe a trial to the ground,
+and it does not need constant watching."
+
+Mr. Smillie, however, uses the mordant much stronger than Mr. Haden. He
+has, in fact, invented a process of his own, which, in a letter to me,
+he describes as follows:--
+
+"I draw and bite as I progress; that is, I draw in the darkest parts
+first, give them a good nip with the mordant, wash the plate and dry it,
+and then draw the next stage. I can thus, by drawing lines over a part
+that has already been exposed to the mordant, interlace heavy and light
+lines in a way that I could not by any other process. I etch upon an
+unsmoked ground, and as the Dutch mordant bites a _black_ line, I see my
+etching clearly as it advances, By holding the head well over the plate,
+the lines can be very distinctly seen as they are drawn. After a little
+experimenting, the etcher will find the angle at which he can see his
+unbitten work upon an unsmoked ground without trouble. Mr. Hamerton's
+formula seemed to me too weak, so I am experimenting with
+
+  Muriatic acid,       1 ounce.
+  Chlorate of potash, 1-5  "
+  Water,               5 ounces.
+
+"This is the mordant I am now using, and I have found it to work well.
+Still, as I am not a scientific chemist, and my knowledge is entirely
+empiric, I am prepared to believe any chemist who may tell me that I
+might do as well, or better, with more water.
+
+"Generally I do not get all the color I wish by the first process, as I
+can see without removing the ground; so, when my etching is finished, I
+reverse the engine and begin stopping out and biting upon the original
+ground, as it is ordinarily done. I do not use the black asphaltum
+varnish for stopping out, but a transparent varnish that is simply
+white resin dissolved in alcohol. If applied very carefully, and allowed
+time to dry, it is perfectly clear and transparent, and the relations of
+all parts of the plate can be seen,--the stopped out as well as the
+bitten lines,--but to a careless worker it presents many troubles. It is
+so transparent that it is hard to see what is stopped out and what is
+not, and if washed with very warm water, or before it is thoroughly dry,
+it turns cloudy and semi-opaque. I have no trouble with it, and could
+not get along without it. I make it myself,--have no formula,--adding
+alcohol until it is thin enough to flow readily from the brush. It has a
+great advantage over asphaltum varnish, as it does not flow along a
+line. It is viscid enough to remain just where it is put, and is as
+perfect a protection as any asphaltum varnish."
+
+Mr. Smillie heats his bath on the plate-warmer, but not to exceed 80 deg.,
+or at most 90 deg. Such a bath of hot mordant acts much more quickly than
+a cold acid bath, less than two minutes being sufficient for the lightest
+lines.
+
+[17] (p. 50.) Gravers are of different shapes, according to the nature
+of the line which they are intended to produce. They are sometimes kept
+at the hardware-stores, as, for instance, by A. J. Wilkinson & Co., 184
+Washington St., Boston. This house also issues an illustrated catalogue
+of engravers' tools.
+
+[18] (p. 52.) M. Lalanne, it seems to me, does not do full justice to
+zinc plates. Very delicate lines can be bitten on zinc if the acid is
+sufficiently weakened. I have found that one part of nitric acid to
+eight parts of water, used on zinc, is about equal to one-half acid and
+one-half water, used on copper for about the same length of time. Zinc
+plates can also be bought of Mr. Geo. B. Sharp, 45 Gold St., New York.
+As to the length of edition that can be printed from a zinc plate, see
+Note 27.
+
+[19] (p. 52.) This is not strictly correct. The "maniere de crayon," as
+practised by Demarteau and others, differs materially from soft-ground
+etching. A ground was laid and smoked as usual, and on it the drawing
+was produced, by a variety of instruments, such as points, some of them
+multiple, the roulette, the mattoir, etc.
+
+[20] (p. 55.) There is another method of getting what may be called a
+proof, i. e. by taking a cast in plaster. Ink your plate and wipe it
+clean, as described in Note 22, and then pour over it plaster-of-Paris
+mixed with water. When the plaster has hardened it can easily be
+separated from the plate, and the ink in the lines will adhere to it. To
+make such a cast you must manage a rim around your plate, or you may lay
+it into a paper box, face upward. Mix about half a tumbler full of water
+(or more, according to the size of the plate) with double the quantity
+of plaster, adding the plaster, little by little, and stirring
+continually. When the mixture begins to thicken pour it on the plate,
+and if necessary spread it over the whole of the surface by means of a
+piece of wood or anything else that will answer. Then allow it to
+harden.
+
+[21] (p. 55.) The chafing-dish and the ball (or dabber) are now replaced
+by the gas flame and the inking-roller in most printing establishments.
+But if you desire to do your own proving, you will have to use a dabber,
+the manner of making which is described in the next note.
+
+[22] (p. 59.) If there is no plate-printer near you, but you have access
+to a lithographic printing establishment, you can have your proofs taken
+there. "Lithographic presses," says A. Potemont, "give perfectly good
+and satisfactory proofs of etchings."
+
+Not every printer can print an etching as it ought to be printed. A man
+may be an excellent printer of line engravings and mezzotints, and yet
+may be totally unfit to print an etching. I would recommend the
+following printing establishments:--
+
+New York: Kimmel & Voigt, 242 Canal Street. Boston: J. H. Daniels, 223
+Washington Street.
+
+If you desire to establish an amateur printing-office of your own you
+will need, in addition to the tools and materials already in your
+possession:--
+
+  A press,
+  A plate-warmer,
+  An ink-slab,
+  A muller,
+  A dabber or ball,
+  Rags for wiping,
+  Printing-ink,
+  Paper.
+
+_The press._ The presses used by professional plate-printers will be
+thought too large and too costly by most etchers. There is a small press
+sold by Madame Ve. A. Cadart, 56 Boulevard Haussmann, Paris, of which a
+representation is given on the next page.
+
+This press, accompanied by all the necessary accessories,--rags, ink,
+paper, plate-warmer, dabber, etc.,--sells in Paris at the price of 150
+francs (about $30). There is an extra charge for boxing; and freight,
+duties, etc., must also be paid for, extra, on presses imported to this
+country. The publishers of this book are ready to take orders for these
+presses, but I cannot inform the reader what the charges will amount to,
+as no importations have yet been made by Messrs. Estes & Lauriat.
+
+There is also a small press invented by Mr. Hamerton and made in London
+by Mr. Charles Roberson, 99 Long Acre, which sells on the other side,
+for the press only, at two guineas for the smallest, and four guineas
+for a larger size. These presses are smaller than the Cadart presses,
+and, according to Mr. Hamerton, are "very portable affairs, which an
+etcher might put in his box when travelling, and use anywhere, in an
+inn, in a friend's house, or even out of doors when etching from
+nature."
+
+A small press has also quite lately been introduced by Messrs. Janentzky
+& Co., of Philadelphia, which costs only $16.50 (without accessories),
+and is well recommended by those who have used it.
+
+[Illustration]
+
+The press is not complete without the flannels spoken of in the text (p.
+56, Sec. 87). There is a kind of very thick flannel specially made for
+printers' use. But if this cannot be had (of some plate-printer) any
+good flannel with a piece of thick soft cloth over it will do well
+enough.
+
+In adjusting the press care must be taken that the pressure is neither
+too great nor too small. This is a matter of experience.
+
+_The plate-warmer_ is a box made of strong sheet-iron, into which either
+a gas-jet or a small kerosene lamp can be introduced. If you happen to
+have a gas-stove, and can get an iron plate of some kind to lay across
+the top, you will have an excellent plate-warmer.
+
+_The ink-slab._ Any _smooth_ slab of marble, slate, or lithographic
+stone, about a foot square, will do.
+
+_A muller._ This is a pestle of stone, flat at the bottom, used for
+grinding colors or ink.
+
+_A dabber or ball._ Take strips of thick cloth or flannel, about four or
+five inches wide; roll them together as tightly as possible, until you
+have a cylinder of two or three inches in diameter; bind firmly by
+strong twine wound all around the cylinder; then cut one end with a
+large sharp knife, so as to get a smooth surface. After the dabber has
+been used for some time, and the ink has hardened in it, cut off another
+slice so as to get a fresh surface.
+
+_Rags for wiping._ Fine Swiss muslin and the fabric known as cheese
+cloth make good rags for wiping. They can be bought at the dry-goods
+stores. As they are charged with some material to make them stiff and
+increase the weight, they must be washed before they are used. When they
+have become too much charged with ink they may be boiled out in a
+solution of potash or soda in water. The Swiss muslin costs about twelve
+cents a yard, the cheese cloth about five.
+
+I had a lot of rags specially sent to me from Paris, as I wished to see
+the difference between the soft and the stiff muslin. The parcel
+contained a collection of pieces of a sort of Swiss muslin, evidently
+old curtains, and some pieces of old cotton shirting, some of which had
+done duty at the Hotel des Invalides, still bearing its stamp!
+
+_Printing-ink and paper._ (See Notes 23 and 24.)
+
+To _ink the plate_, place it on the plate-warmer and allow it to become
+as hot as your hand can bear. Then take up the ink from the ink-slab
+with the dabber and spread it all over the surface, moving the dabber
+along with a rocking motion, but not striking the plate with it. Take
+care that the lines are well filled. Sometimes, in the first inking of
+the plate, it is necessary to use the finger to force the ink into the
+lines.
+
+In _wiping the plate_ the first operation is to remove all the
+superfluous ink from the surface by means of a rag. What follows depends
+on the kind of impression you desire to get. If you want a _natural_,
+_clean_, or _dry_ proof, as these impressions are variously called (i.
+e. an impression which shows only black lines on a perfectly clear white
+ground), charge the palm of your hand with a _very little_ whiting or
+Spanish white, and with it finish the wiping of the plate. This
+operation will leave the surface of the plate perfectly clean and
+bright, while the ink remains in the lines. If you desire to have an
+even tint left all over the plate, avoid the use of the hand, and wipe
+with the rag only. Plate-printers use their rags moist, but for printing
+etchings a dry rag is preferable, as it leaves more of a tint on the
+plate. Note, also, that the rag must be tolerably well charged with ink
+to enable you to wipe a good tint with it.
+
+The margin of the plate, even if a tint is left over it, must always be
+wiped clean. This is best accomplished by a bit of cotton cloth charged
+with whiting.
+
+For the rest, nothing is left but to experiment according to the hints
+given in the text by M. Lalanne.
+
+[23] (p. 59.) If you can, buy your ink of a plate-printer or of a
+lithographer. That used by book-printers will _not_ do! The trouble is
+that the ink used by ordinary plate-printers is of a disagreeably cold
+cast, as it is mixed with blue. Etchings ought to be printed with a warm
+black, and sometimes, especially in the case of somewhat over-bitten
+plates, with an ink of a decidedly brownish hue. Inks are made of
+linseed-oil varnish (i. e. linseed oil that has been boiled down or
+burned), and the blacks mentioned in the text. There are various
+qualities of varnish according to its consistency, varying from thin
+through medium to stiff. If you wish to mix your own ink, you must try
+to procure the materials of some plate-printer or lithographer. For
+varnish use the medium, for black the Francfort. The burnt Sienna (which
+you can buy at any paint-shop) is used only to warm up the black. Lay
+some of the dry color on your ink-slab, add a very little of the
+varnish, and mix with the muller. Then add more varnish until the ink
+forms a tolerably stiff paste. The grinding must be carefully done, so
+as to avoid grittiness. Besides, if the color is not thoroughly well
+incorporated with the varnish, the ink will not stand. To preserve the
+ink for future use, put it into some vessel with a cover, and pour water
+over it. The water standing on top of the ink keeps it soft. Otherwise
+the varnish would harden.
+
+[24] (p. 60.) The heavy Dutch hand-made papers are still preferred by
+most people for etchings; but it is very difficult, if not impossible,
+to procure them in this country. The paper known as Lalanne charcoal
+paper, which is likewise a hand-made paper, can be bought at the
+artist's material stores. Good drawing-paper will also answer. The
+worst, because most inartistic, of all, is the plain white plate paper.
+The paper used for the etchings in the AMERICAN ART REVIEW, first made
+especially for this journal according to my suggestions, has excellent
+printing qualities, although, being a machine-made, unglued paper, it
+lacks some of the characteristics of the Dutch hand-made paper. But its
+texture is very good, and it takes up the ink even _better_ than the
+Dutch papers.
+
+Japanese paper can be procured of the firms named on page xiii.
+
+Dry paper will not take a decent impression, and the sheets to be used
+for printing must therefore be moistened. To prepare the ordinary paper,
+take three or four sheets at a time, and pass them slowly through clean
+water contained in a pail or other vessel. Wet as many sheets as you may
+need, lay them on top of one another, place the pile between two boards,
+and allow them to lie thus under tolerably heavy pressure for at least
+twelve, or, better still, for twenty-four hours. The paper will then be
+ready for use.
+
+To prepare Japanese paper, lay each sheet between two wet sheets of
+ordinary paper, and let it lie as before.
+
+[25] (p. 60.) _Epreuves de remarque._ The _remarque_ usually consists in
+leaving unfinished some little detail in an out-of-the-way corner of the
+plate. After the _epreuves de remarque_ have been printed, this detail
+is finished. A person who cannot tell a good impression from a bad one,
+or does not know whether a plate is spoiled or still in good condition,
+without some such extraneous sign, has slight claim to be considered a
+connoisseur.
+
+[26] (p. 62.) New York is, for the present, I believe, the only place
+where steel-facing is done in America. I can recommend Mr. F. A.
+Ringler, 21 and 23 Barclay Street, New York.
+
+[27] (p. 62.) Zinc plates _can_ be steel-faced, but the facing cannot be
+renewed, as it cannot be removed. The zinc plate on which Mr. Lansil's
+little etching, given in this volume, is executed, was steel-faced. It
+is feasible also, the electrotypers tell me, to deposit a thin coating
+of copper on the zinc first, and then to superimpose a coating of steel.
+In that case the steel-facing can be renewed as long as the
+copper-facing under it remains intact.
+
+
+
+
+LIST OF WORKS ON THE PRACTICE AND HISTORY OF ETCHING.[E]
+
+  [E] This list is very far from being complete, especially in the last
+  section, "Individual Artists." I have made a few additions, which have
+  been marked by an asterisk. Those who desire to pursue the subject
+  will find a very full bibliographical list in J. E. WESSELY'S
+  _Anleitung zur Kenntniss und zum Sammeln der Werke des Kunstdruckes_,
+  Leipzig, Weigel, 1876, p. 279 et seq.--_Translator._
+
+
+A. TECHNICAL TREATISES.
+
+_De la gravure en taille-douce, a l'eau-forte et au burin_, ensemble la
+maniere d'en imprimer les planches et d'en construire la presse, par
+ABRAHAM BOSSE. Paris, 1645.
+
+_Traite des manieres de graver en taille-douce sur l'airain_ par le
+moyen des eaux-fortes et des vernis durs et mols, par le s. ABRAHAM
+BOSSE, augmente de la nouvelle maniere dont se sert M. LECLERC, graveur
+du roi. Paris, 1701.
+
+* _De la maniere de graver a l'eau-forte_ et au burin, et de la
+gravure en maniere noir ... par ABRAHAM BOSSE. Nouvelle edition....
+Paris, 1758. Small 8vo. Ill.
+
+* _Die Kunst in Kupfer zu stechen_ sowohl mittelst des Aetzwassers als
+mit dem Grabstichel ... durch ABRAHAM BOSSE.... Aus dem Franzoesischen
+ins Deutsche uebersetzt. Dresden, 1765. Small 8vo. Ill.
+
+_The Art of Graveing and Etching_, wherein is exprest the true Way of
+Graveing in Copper; allso the Manner and Method of that famous Callot,
+and M. Bosse, in their several Ways of Etching. Published by WILLIAM
+FAITHORNE. London, 1662. 8vo. Ill.
+
+_Idee de la gravure_, par M. DE M * * *. Without place or date. 12mo.
+(This essay appeared originally in the "Mercure" for April, 1756, and
+was afterwards printed separately. See, also, in the "Mercure" for 1755,
+a notice, announcing the publication of a print by de Marcenay de Ghuy
+after the elder Parrocel. This notice was also printed separately.)
+
+_Idee de la gravure_ ... par M. DE MARCENAY DE GHUY. Paris, 1764. In-4
+de 16 et 10 pag. (This is a second edition of the work last mentioned.)
+
+* _Anleitung zur Aetzkunst_ ... nach eigenen praktischen Erfahrungen
+herausgegeben von JOHANN HEINRICH MEYNIER. Hof, 1804. 8vo. Ill.
+
+_Lectures on the Art of Engraving_, delivered at the Royal Institute of
+Great Britain, by JOHN LANDSEER, Engraver to the King. London, 1807.
+8vo.
+
+_Three Lectures on Engraving_, delivered at the Surrey Institution in
+the Year 1809, by ROBERT MITCHELL MEADOWS. London, 1811. 8vo.
+
+_Manuel du graveur_, ou Traite complet de la gravure en tous genres,
+d'apres les renseignements fournis par plusieurs artistes. Par A. M.
+PERROT. Paris, 1830. In-18.
+
+_Des mordants, des vernis et des planches dans l'art du graveur_, ou
+Traite complet de la gravure. Par PIERRE DELESCHAMPS. Paris, 1836. In-8.
+
+* _Vollstaendiges Handbuch der Gravirkunst_, enthaltend gruendliche
+Belehrungen ueber die Aetzwaesser, die Aetzgruende, die Platten und die
+Gravir-maschinen.... Von PET. DELESCHAMPS. Deutsch, mit Zusaetzen, von
+Dr. CHR. H. SCHMIDT. Quedlinburg und Leipzig, Basse, 1838. Ill.
+
+_The Art of Engraving_, with the various Modes of Operation.... By T. H.
+FIELDING. London, 1844. 8vo. Ill.
+
+_Lettre de Martial_ sur les elements de la gravure a l'eau-forte. Paris,
+1864. (Etched on 4 fol. plates, illustrated.)
+
+_Nouveau traite de la gravure a l'eau-forte_ a l'usage des peintres et
+des dessinateurs, par A. P. MARTIAL. Paris, A. Cadart. 1873. Ill.
+
+* _The Etcher's Handbook_: giving an Account of the Old Processes, and
+of Processes recently discovered. By PHILIP GILBERT HAMERTON. London,
+Roberson, 1871. Ill. (See also Mr. Hamerton's _Etching and Etchers_, 2d
+edition.)
+
+* _Mr. Seymour Haden on Etching._ Lectures delivered at the Royal
+Institution, reports of which were published in "The Magazine of Art,"
+1879, and in the London "Building News," 1879.
+
+* _The Etcher's Guide._ By THOMAS BISHOP. Philadelphia, Janentzky,
+1879. Ill.
+
+_Grammaire des Arts du Dessin_, par CHARLES BLANC. In this work (of
+which there is also an English translation), there is a special chapter
+on Etching.
+
+_Charles Jacque._ Articles by him on Etching in the "Magasin
+pittoresque."
+
+_Gravure._--Article extrait de l'Encyclopedie des arts et metiers.
+In-fol, de 9 pag., fig.
+
+
+B. HISTORICAL AND THEORETICAL.
+
+* _Anleitung zur Kupferstichkunde._ VON ADAM VON BARTSCH. Wien, 1821.
+2 vols. 8vo. Plates.
+
+_Des types et des manieres des maitres graveurs_, pour servir a
+l'histoire de la gravure en Italie, en Allemagne, dans les Pays-Bas et
+en France, par JULES RENOUVIER. Montpellier, 1853-1856. 4 parties in-4.
+
+_La gravure depuis son origine_, par HENRI DELABORDE. 1860. (These
+articles appeared in the _Revue des Deux Mondes_ for Dec. 1 and 15,
+1850, and Jan. 1, 1851.)
+
+_Histoire de la gravure en France_, par GEORGES DUPLESSIS. Paris, 1861.
+In-8. (This work was crowned by the French Institute [Academie des
+beaux-arts].)
+
+_Etching and Etchers._ By PHILIP GILBERT HAMERTON. London, Macmillan,
+1868. 4to. Ill.
+
+* _Etching and Etchers._ By PHILIP GILBERT HAMERTON. (Second edition.)
+1876. London, Macmillan. Boston, Roberts Bros.
+
+* _The Origin and Antiquity of Engraving_.... By W. S. BAKER. Boston,
+Osgood, 1875. 4to. (Second edition. Ill.)
+
+_La Gravure a l'eau-forte_, essai historique par RAOUL DE
+SAINT-ARROMAN.--_Comment je devins graveur a l'eau-forte_, par le comte
+LEPIC. Paris, Cadart, 1876.
+
+* _Anleitung zur Kenntniss und zum Sammeln der Werke des
+Kunstdruckes_, von J. E. WESSELY. Leipzig, Weigel, 1876. 8vo.
+
+* _About Etching._ Part I. Notes by Mr. SEYMOUR HADEN on a Collection
+of Etchings by the Great Masters.... Part II. An Annotated Catalogue of
+the Etchings exhibited. 148 New Bond Street (London), 1879. (Second
+edition, which has some additions.)
+
+* _About Etching._ By SEYMOUR HADEN. Illustrated with an original
+etching by Mr. Haden, and fourteen facsimiles from his collection.
+Imperial 4to. London, The Fine Art Society, 1879.
+
+
+C. CATALOGUES OF THE WORKS OF THE ARTISTS.
+
+(_a._) DICTIONARIES.
+
+_Le peintre-graveur_, par ADAM BARTSCH. Vienne, 1803-1821. 21 vol. in-8
+et un atlas in-4.
+
+* _Le peintre-graveur._ Par J. D. PASSAVANT. Leipzig, 1860. 6 vols.
+8vo. (Continuation of Bartsch's work.)
+
+_Le peintre-graveur francais_, ... par ROBERT DUMESNIL. Paris,
+1835-1874. 11 vol. in-8.
+
+_Le peintre-graveur francais continue_, par PROSPER DE BEAUDICOUR.
+Paris, 1859. 2 vol. in-8.
+
+* _Le peintre-graveur hollandais et flamand._ Par J. P. VAN DER
+KELLEN. Utrecht, 1866. 4to. (Continuation of Bartsch's work.)
+
+* _Le peintre-graveur hollandais et belge du XIX^e siecle._ Par T.
+HIPPERT et JOS. LINNIG. Bruxelles, 1874 (first vol.) et seq. 8vo.
+
+* _Der deutsche Peintre-graveur._ Von A. ANDRESEN. Leipzig, 1864, et
+seq. 5 vols. 8vo.
+
+* _Die Malerradirer des 19. Jahrhunderts._ Von A. ANDRESEN. Leipzig,
+1866-1870. 4 vols. 8vo.
+
+* _Die Malerradirer des 19. Jahrhunderts._ Von J. E. WESSELY. Leipzig,
+1874. 8vo. (Continuation of Andresen's work.)
+
+
+(_b._) INDIVIDUAL ARTISTS.
+
+_Beredeneerde catalogus_ van alle de prenten van NICOLAAS BERGHEM ...
+beschreven door HENDRICK DE WINTER. Amsterdam, 1767.
+
+_Catalogue de l'oeuvre d'Abraham Bosse_, par GEORGES DUPLESSIS. Paris,
+1859. In-8. (From the "Revue Universelle des Arts.")
+
+_Eloge historique de Callot_, par le P. HUSSON. Bruxelles, 1766. In-4.
+
+_A Catalogue and Description_ of the whole of the Works of the
+celebrated JACQUES CALLOT ... by J. H. GREEN (attributed to CLAUSSIN).
+1804. 12mo.
+
+_Eloge historique de Callot_, par M. DESMARETZ. Nancy, 1828. In-8.
+
+_Recherches_ sur la vie et les ouvrages de J. CALLOT, par E. MEAUME.
+Paris, 1860. 2 vol. in-8.
+
+_OEuvre de Claude Gelee_, dit le Lorrain, par le comte GUILLAUME DE L.
+(LEPPEL). Dresde, 1806. In-8, fig. (For the engraved works of Claude
+Lorrain, see also the "Peintre-graveur" of M. Robert Dumesnil, vol. i.,
+and the "Cabinet de l'Amateur et de l'Antiquaire," by Eugene Piot, vol.
+ii. pp. 433-466.)
+
+_Eloge historique de Claude Gelee_, dit le Lorrain, par J. P. VOIART.
+Nancy, 1839. In-8.
+
+_A Description_ of the Works of the ingenious Delineator and Engraver,
+WENCESLAUS HOLLAR, disposed into Classes of different Sorts; with some
+Account of his Life. By G. VERTUE. London, 1745. 4to, Portr.
+
+_De la gravure a l'eau-forte et des eaux-fortes de Charles Jacque._ By
+CHARLES BLANC. In the "Gazette des Beaux Arts," vol. ix. p. 193 et seq.
+
+_Les Johannot_, par M. CH. LENORMANT. Paris (1858). In-8. (From
+Michaud's "Biographie universelle.")
+
+* _Essay on Meryon, and a Catalogue of his Works_, by FREDERIC
+WEDMORE. London, Thibaudeau, 1879. (Announced as about to be published.)
+See also _Meryon and Meryon's Paris_, by F. WEDMORE, in the "Nineteenth
+Century," for May, 1878.
+
+* _P. Burty's Catalogue of the Etchings of Meryon_, revised from the
+Catalogue in the "Gazette des Beaux Arts," and translated by Mr. M. B.
+HUISH, is announced to be published by the London Fine-Art Society.
+
+_M^e. O'Connell, Meissonier, Millet, Meryon, Seymour Haden._ Articles
+on these etchers by PHILIPPE BURTY in the "Gazette des Beaux Arts."
+
+_Catalogue raisonne_ des estampes gravees a l'eau-forte par GUIDO RENI,
+par ADAM BARTSCH. Vienne, 1795. In-8.
+
+_Catalogue raisonne_ de toutes les estampes qui forment l'oeuvre de
+_Rembrandt_, ... par ADAM BARTSCH. Vienne, 1797. 2 vol. in-8.
+
+_A Descriptive Catalogue of the Prints of Rembrandt_, by an Amateur
+(WILSON). London, 1836. In-8.
+
+_Rembrandt and his Works_, ... by JOHN BURNET. London, 1859. 4to. Ill.
+
+_Rembrandt._ Discours sur sa vie et son genie, avec un grand nombre de
+documents historiques, par le Dr. P. SCHELTEMA, traduit par A. WILLEMS.
+Revu et annote par W. BURGER. Bruxelles, 1859. In-8. (From the "Revue
+universelle des Arts.")
+
+_L'OEuvre complet de Rembrandt_, remarquablement decrit et commente
+par CHARLES BLANC. Paris, 1859. 3 vol. in-8.
+
+* _Rembrandt Harmens van Rijn._ Ses precurseurs et ses annees
+d'apprentissage. Par C. VOSMAER. La Haye, Nijhoff, 1863.
+
+* _Rembrandt Harmens van Rijn._ Sa vie et ses oeuvres. Par C.
+VOSMAER. La Haye, Nijhoff, 1868. (A second, revised edition appeared
+some years ago.)
+
+* _The Etched Works of Rembrandt._ A Monograph. By FRANCIS SEYMOUR
+HADEN. With three plates and appendix. London, Macmillan, 1879. Medium
+8vo.
+
+* _Descriptive Catalogue_ of the Etched Works of _Rembrandt van Rhyn_.
+With Life and Introduction. By C. H. MIDDLETON. Royal 8vo. London, 1879.
+
+_Pictorial Notices_; consisting of a Memoir of _Sir Anthony van Dyck_,
+with a Descriptive Catalogue of the Etchings executed by him.... By
+WILLIAM HOOKHAM CARPENTER. London, 1844. 4to. Portrait.
+
+* _The Works of the American Etchers._ In the "American Art Review."
+
+
+
+
+TRANSCRIBER'S NOTES:
+
+
+Obvious typos and inconsistencies corrected/standardised:
+  Bruxelle to Bruxelles,
+  Nitrid Acid to Nitric Acid,
+  i.e. to i. e.,
+  Societe des aqua-fortistes to Societe des Aqua-fortistes (as
+  elsewhere in text),
+  Epreuves to Epreuves (as elsewhere in text),
+  cardboard to card-board,
+  overbitten and over bitten to over-bitten,
+  travelling board to travelling-board (as elsewhere in text).
+
+Other inconsistencies generally left as in original:
+  Zinc/zinc v Zink/zink,
+  facsimile v fac-simile,
+  nowadays v now-a-days,
+  India-rubber v india-rubber,
+  Rembrandt van Rhyn v Rembrandt van Rijn.
+
+The oe-ligature (as in oeuvre) is represented as oe. Passages in italics
+are surrounded by _underscores_. Likewise passages in bold are indicated
+by =bold=. The carat character ^ is used to indicate superscripts (as in
+Fig. 1^a).
+
+Table of Contents: expanded (compared to original book) by including all
+sections in the List of Works. Note that the section headed My Dear M.
+Lalanne in the text is called Letter by M. Charles Leblanc in the Table
+of Contents.
+
+Plate IX and page xxiv: the writing on the plate is not very clear, but
+the building is actually called the Waag, this has been used in the
+text.
+
+Footnotes (A, B, ...) moved to end of paragraph, endnotes (notes from
+the translator, 1, 2, ...) left together in separate chapter, as in
+original.
+
+
+
+
+
+End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of A Treatise on Etching, by Maxime Lalanne
+
+*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK A TREATISE ON ETCHING ***
+
+***** This file should be named 33751.txt or 33751.zip *****
+This and all associated files of various formats will be found in:
+        https://www.gutenberg.org/3/3/7/5/33751/
+
+Produced by Chris Curnow, Harry Lame and the Online
+Distributed Proofreading Team at https://www.pgdp.net (This
+file was produced from images generously made available
+by The Internet Archive)
+
+
+Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions
+will be renamed.
+
+Creating the works from public domain print editions means that no
+one owns a United States copyright in these works, so the Foundation
+(and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United States without
+permission and without paying copyright royalties.  Special rules,
+set forth in the General Terms of Use part of this license, apply to
+copying and distributing Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works to
+protect the PROJECT GUTENBERG-tm concept and trademark.  Project
+Gutenberg is a registered trademark, and may not be used if you
+charge for the eBooks, unless you receive specific permission.  If you
+do not charge anything for copies of this eBook, complying with the
+rules is very easy.  You may use this eBook for nearly any purpose
+such as creation of derivative works, reports, performances and
+research.  They may be modified and printed and given away--you may do
+practically ANYTHING with public domain eBooks.  Redistribution is
+subject to the trademark license, especially commercial
+redistribution.
+
+
+
+*** START: FULL LICENSE ***
+
+THE FULL PROJECT GUTENBERG LICENSE
+PLEASE READ THIS BEFORE YOU DISTRIBUTE OR USE THIS WORK
+
+To protect the Project Gutenberg-tm mission of promoting the free
+distribution of electronic works, by using or distributing this work
+(or any other work associated in any way with the phrase "Project
+Gutenberg"), you agree to comply with all the terms of the Full Project
+Gutenberg-tm License (available with this file or online at
+https://gutenberg.org/license).
+
+
+Section 1.  General Terms of Use and Redistributing Project Gutenberg-tm
+electronic works
+
+1.A.  By reading or using any part of this Project Gutenberg-tm
+electronic work, you indicate that you have read, understand, agree to
+and accept all the terms of this license and intellectual property
+(trademark/copyright) agreement.  If you do not agree to abide by all
+the terms of this agreement, you must cease using and return or destroy
+all copies of Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works in your possession.
+If you paid a fee for obtaining a copy of or access to a Project
+Gutenberg-tm electronic work and you do not agree to be bound by the
+terms of this agreement, you may obtain a refund from the person or
+entity to whom you paid the fee as set forth in paragraph 1.E.8.
+
+1.B.  "Project Gutenberg" is a registered trademark.  It may only be
+used on or associated in any way with an electronic work by people who
+agree to be bound by the terms of this agreement.  There are a few
+things that you can do with most Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works
+even without complying with the full terms of this agreement.  See
+paragraph 1.C below.  There are a lot of things you can do with Project
+Gutenberg-tm electronic works if you follow the terms of this agreement
+and help preserve free future access to Project Gutenberg-tm electronic
+works.  See paragraph 1.E below.
+
+1.C.  The Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation ("the Foundation"
+or PGLAF), owns a compilation copyright in the collection of Project
+Gutenberg-tm electronic works.  Nearly all the individual works in the
+collection are in the public domain in the United States.  If an
+individual work is in the public domain in the United States and you are
+located in the United States, we do not claim a right to prevent you from
+copying, distributing, performing, displaying or creating derivative
+works based on the work as long as all references to Project Gutenberg
+are removed.  Of course, we hope that you will support the Project
+Gutenberg-tm mission of promoting free access to electronic works by
+freely sharing Project Gutenberg-tm works in compliance with the terms of
+this agreement for keeping the Project Gutenberg-tm name associated with
+the work.  You can easily comply with the terms of this agreement by
+keeping this work in the same format with its attached full Project
+Gutenberg-tm License when you share it without charge with others.
+
+1.D.  The copyright laws of the place where you are located also govern
+what you can do with this work.  Copyright laws in most countries are in
+a constant state of change.  If you are outside the United States, check
+the laws of your country in addition to the terms of this agreement
+before downloading, copying, displaying, performing, distributing or
+creating derivative works based on this work or any other Project
+Gutenberg-tm work.  The Foundation makes no representations concerning
+the copyright status of any work in any country outside the United
+States.
+
+1.E.  Unless you have removed all references to Project Gutenberg:
+
+1.E.1.  The following sentence, with active links to, or other immediate
+access to, the full Project Gutenberg-tm License must appear prominently
+whenever any copy of a Project Gutenberg-tm work (any work on which the
+phrase "Project Gutenberg" appears, or with which the phrase "Project
+Gutenberg" is associated) is accessed, displayed, performed, viewed,
+copied or distributed:
+
+This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with
+almost no restrictions whatsoever.  You may copy it, give it away or
+re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included
+with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org
+
+1.E.2.  If an individual Project Gutenberg-tm electronic work is derived
+from the public domain (does not contain a notice indicating that it is
+posted with permission of the copyright holder), the work can be copied
+and distributed to anyone in the United States without paying any fees
+or charges.  If you are redistributing or providing access to a work
+with the phrase "Project Gutenberg" associated with or appearing on the
+work, you must comply either with the requirements of paragraphs 1.E.1
+through 1.E.7 or obtain permission for the use of the work and the
+Project Gutenberg-tm trademark as set forth in paragraphs 1.E.8 or
+1.E.9.
+
+1.E.3.  If an individual Project Gutenberg-tm electronic work is posted
+with the permission of the copyright holder, your use and distribution
+must comply with both paragraphs 1.E.1 through 1.E.7 and any additional
+terms imposed by the copyright holder.  Additional terms will be linked
+to the Project Gutenberg-tm License for all works posted with the
+permission of the copyright holder found at the beginning of this work.
+
+1.E.4.  Do not unlink or detach or remove the full Project Gutenberg-tm
+License terms from this work, or any files containing a part of this
+work or any other work associated with Project Gutenberg-tm.
+
+1.E.5.  Do not copy, display, perform, distribute or redistribute this
+electronic work, or any part of this electronic work, without
+prominently displaying the sentence set forth in paragraph 1.E.1 with
+active links or immediate access to the full terms of the Project
+Gutenberg-tm License.
+
+1.E.6.  You may convert to and distribute this work in any binary,
+compressed, marked up, nonproprietary or proprietary form, including any
+word processing or hypertext form.  However, if you provide access to or
+distribute copies of a Project Gutenberg-tm work in a format other than
+"Plain Vanilla ASCII" or other format used in the official version
+posted on the official Project Gutenberg-tm web site (www.gutenberg.org),
+you must, at no additional cost, fee or expense to the user, provide a
+copy, a means of exporting a copy, or a means of obtaining a copy upon
+request, of the work in its original "Plain Vanilla ASCII" or other
+form.  Any alternate format must include the full Project Gutenberg-tm
+License as specified in paragraph 1.E.1.
+
+1.E.7.  Do not charge a fee for access to, viewing, displaying,
+performing, copying or distributing any Project Gutenberg-tm works
+unless you comply with paragraph 1.E.8 or 1.E.9.
+
+1.E.8.  You may charge a reasonable fee for copies of or providing
+access to or distributing Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works provided
+that
+
+- You pay a royalty fee of 20% of the gross profits you derive from
+     the use of Project Gutenberg-tm works calculated using the method
+     you already use to calculate your applicable taxes.  The fee is
+     owed to the owner of the Project Gutenberg-tm trademark, but he
+     has agreed to donate royalties under this paragraph to the
+     Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation.  Royalty payments
+     must be paid within 60 days following each date on which you
+     prepare (or are legally required to prepare) your periodic tax
+     returns.  Royalty payments should be clearly marked as such and
+     sent to the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation at the
+     address specified in Section 4, "Information about donations to
+     the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation."
+
+- You provide a full refund of any money paid by a user who notifies
+     you in writing (or by e-mail) within 30 days of receipt that s/he
+     does not agree to the terms of the full Project Gutenberg-tm
+     License.  You must require such a user to return or
+     destroy all copies of the works possessed in a physical medium
+     and discontinue all use of and all access to other copies of
+     Project Gutenberg-tm works.
+
+- You provide, in accordance with paragraph 1.F.3, a full refund of any
+     money paid for a work or a replacement copy, if a defect in the
+     electronic work is discovered and reported to you within 90 days
+     of receipt of the work.
+
+- You comply with all other terms of this agreement for free
+     distribution of Project Gutenberg-tm works.
+
+1.E.9.  If you wish to charge a fee or distribute a Project Gutenberg-tm
+electronic work or group of works on different terms than are set
+forth in this agreement, you must obtain permission in writing from
+both the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation and Michael
+Hart, the owner of the Project Gutenberg-tm trademark.  Contact the
+Foundation as set forth in Section 3 below.
+
+1.F.
+
+1.F.1.  Project Gutenberg volunteers and employees expend considerable
+effort to identify, do copyright research on, transcribe and proofread
+public domain works in creating the Project Gutenberg-tm
+collection.  Despite these efforts, Project Gutenberg-tm electronic
+works, and the medium on which they may be stored, may contain
+"Defects," such as, but not limited to, incomplete, inaccurate or
+corrupt data, transcription errors, a copyright or other intellectual
+property infringement, a defective or damaged disk or other medium, a
+computer virus, or computer codes that damage or cannot be read by
+your equipment.
+
+1.F.2.  LIMITED WARRANTY, DISCLAIMER OF DAMAGES - Except for the "Right
+of Replacement or Refund" described in paragraph 1.F.3, the Project
+Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation, the owner of the Project
+Gutenberg-tm trademark, and any other party distributing a Project
+Gutenberg-tm electronic work under this agreement, disclaim all
+liability to you for damages, costs and expenses, including legal
+fees.  YOU AGREE THAT YOU HAVE NO REMEDIES FOR NEGLIGENCE, STRICT
+LIABILITY, BREACH OF WARRANTY OR BREACH OF CONTRACT EXCEPT THOSE
+PROVIDED IN PARAGRAPH 1.F.3.  YOU AGREE THAT THE FOUNDATION, THE
+TRADEMARK OWNER, AND ANY DISTRIBUTOR UNDER THIS AGREEMENT WILL NOT BE
+LIABLE TO YOU FOR ACTUAL, DIRECT, INDIRECT, CONSEQUENTIAL, PUNITIVE OR
+INCIDENTAL DAMAGES EVEN IF YOU GIVE NOTICE OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH
+DAMAGE.
+
+1.F.3.  LIMITED RIGHT OF REPLACEMENT OR REFUND - If you discover a
+defect in this electronic work within 90 days of receiving it, you can
+receive a refund of the money (if any) you paid for it by sending a
+written explanation to the person you received the work from.  If you
+received the work on a physical medium, you must return the medium with
+your written explanation.  The person or entity that provided you with
+the defective work may elect to provide a replacement copy in lieu of a
+refund.  If you received the work electronically, the person or entity
+providing it to you may choose to give you a second opportunity to
+receive the work electronically in lieu of a refund.  If the second copy
+is also defective, you may demand a refund in writing without further
+opportunities to fix the problem.
+
+1.F.4.  Except for the limited right of replacement or refund set forth
+in paragraph 1.F.3, this work is provided to you 'AS-IS' WITH NO OTHER
+WARRANTIES OF ANY KIND, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO
+WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTIBILITY OR FITNESS FOR ANY PURPOSE.
+
+1.F.5.  Some states do not allow disclaimers of certain implied
+warranties or the exclusion or limitation of certain types of damages.
+If any disclaimer or limitation set forth in this agreement violates the
+law of the state applicable to this agreement, the agreement shall be
+interpreted to make the maximum disclaimer or limitation permitted by
+the applicable state law.  The invalidity or unenforceability of any
+provision of this agreement shall not void the remaining provisions.
+
+1.F.6.  INDEMNITY - You agree to indemnify and hold the Foundation, the
+trademark owner, any agent or employee of the Foundation, anyone
+providing copies of Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works in accordance
+with this agreement, and any volunteers associated with the production,
+promotion and distribution of Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works,
+harmless from all liability, costs and expenses, including legal fees,
+that arise directly or indirectly from any of the following which you do
+or cause to occur: (a) distribution of this or any Project Gutenberg-tm
+work, (b) alteration, modification, or additions or deletions to any
+Project Gutenberg-tm work, and (c) any Defect you cause.
+
+
+Section  2.  Information about the Mission of Project Gutenberg-tm
+
+Project Gutenberg-tm is synonymous with the free distribution of
+electronic works in formats readable by the widest variety of computers
+including obsolete, old, middle-aged and new computers.  It exists
+because of the efforts of hundreds of volunteers and donations from
+people in all walks of life.
+
+Volunteers and financial support to provide volunteers with the
+assistance they need are critical to reaching Project Gutenberg-tm's
+goals and ensuring that the Project Gutenberg-tm collection will
+remain freely available for generations to come.  In 2001, the Project
+Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation was created to provide a secure
+and permanent future for Project Gutenberg-tm and future generations.
+To learn more about the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation
+and how your efforts and donations can help, see Sections 3 and 4
+and the Foundation web page at https://www.pglaf.org.
+
+
+Section 3.  Information about the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive
+Foundation
+
+The Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation is a non profit
+501(c)(3) educational corporation organized under the laws of the
+state of Mississippi and granted tax exempt status by the Internal
+Revenue Service.  The Foundation's EIN or federal tax identification
+number is 64-6221541.  Its 501(c)(3) letter is posted at
+https://pglaf.org/fundraising.  Contributions to the Project Gutenberg
+Literary Archive Foundation are tax deductible to the full extent
+permitted by U.S. federal laws and your state's laws.
+
+The Foundation's principal office is located at 4557 Melan Dr. S.
+Fairbanks, AK, 99712., but its volunteers and employees are scattered
+throughout numerous locations.  Its business office is located at
+809 North 1500 West, Salt Lake City, UT 84116, (801) 596-1887, email
+business@pglaf.org.  Email contact links and up to date contact
+information can be found at the Foundation's web site and official
+page at https://pglaf.org
+
+For additional contact information:
+     Dr. Gregory B. Newby
+     Chief Executive and Director
+     gbnewby@pglaf.org
+
+
+Section 4.  Information about Donations to the Project Gutenberg
+Literary Archive Foundation
+
+Project Gutenberg-tm depends upon and cannot survive without wide
+spread public support and donations to carry out its mission of
+increasing the number of public domain and licensed works that can be
+freely distributed in machine readable form accessible by the widest
+array of equipment including outdated equipment.  Many small donations
+($1 to $5,000) are particularly important to maintaining tax exempt
+status with the IRS.
+
+The Foundation is committed to complying with the laws regulating
+charities and charitable donations in all 50 states of the United
+States.  Compliance requirements are not uniform and it takes a
+considerable effort, much paperwork and many fees to meet and keep up
+with these requirements.  We do not solicit donations in locations
+where we have not received written confirmation of compliance.  To
+SEND DONATIONS or determine the status of compliance for any
+particular state visit https://pglaf.org
+
+While we cannot and do not solicit contributions from states where we
+have not met the solicitation requirements, we know of no prohibition
+against accepting unsolicited donations from donors in such states who
+approach us with offers to donate.
+
+International donations are gratefully accepted, but we cannot make
+any statements concerning tax treatment of donations received from
+outside the United States.  U.S. laws alone swamp our small staff.
+
+Please check the Project Gutenberg Web pages for current donation
+methods and addresses.  Donations are accepted in a number of other
+ways including including checks, online payments and credit card
+donations.  To donate, please visit: https://pglaf.org/donate
+
+
+Section 5.  General Information About Project Gutenberg-tm electronic
+works.
+
+Professor Michael S. Hart was the originator of the Project Gutenberg-tm
+concept of a library of electronic works that could be freely shared
+with anyone.  For thirty years, he produced and distributed Project
+Gutenberg-tm eBooks with only a loose network of volunteer support.
+
+
+Project Gutenberg-tm eBooks are often created from several printed
+editions, all of which are confirmed as Public Domain in the U.S.
+unless a copyright notice is included.  Thus, we do not necessarily
+keep eBooks in compliance with any particular paper edition.
+
+
+Most people start at our Web site which has the main PG search facility:
+
+     https://www.gutenberg.org
+
+This Web site includes information about Project Gutenberg-tm,
+including how to make donations to the Project Gutenberg Literary
+Archive Foundation, how to help produce our new eBooks, and how to
+subscribe to our email newsletter to hear about new eBooks.