The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1882-10-15
THE PICTURE MEMBERS ARE
Tricks or Trade-The Art Of BIeac ching and
Observation-Disclosures that are Able 10 De-
ccive Conn Oisseurs-OId Plates Touched
Up-The Present Fashion in Engravings.

cctve COnuOlsseurs-O1d Plates Touched
Up-The Present Fashion in Engraving
ut would be very dilapdated engraving
indeed" rcstorer Of damaged prints said,
whlch my sons and would not undertake to
mako worry nearly as good as new. Two been in
this business over thirty years. Prints become
injured in all sorts Of ways You would be sur
prised to hear of tho variety OF accidents which
We are called upon to cover UP. Engravings
that dealers send us are sometimes though
rarely, injured by salt water These
We have to bleach. They may be re-
peatedly dipped In water and dried in
tho sun: or II this fails may be soaked with
mild solution OF chloride of lime or cyanide of
potassium. Should the stain still hold we may
boil them In coffee and 80 get al even tint
throughout. The latter method can only be
This coloring process Is often resorted to by
sccond-rate dealers in prints. even when they
ous value Many rood eneraSh 1es or e ts
ing, ing, py inc old masters have limitations APP
ornn work. and ss IN ira the
name. These are aged as 1t is called. put
into handsome frames. and deceive q wonder
l.. miscellaneous lot Of limitations was sent
to me tho other day by a Boston dealer. Every
damaged Intentionally by the ' owner Ma. The The
ce0cS was to age them and give only necessary
rsna:s Nov these were Sn fresh prints sonied
SIssFs ss% sSn ssys f;si'a ,1s A.
glass. But. to satisfy this particular sort Of
customer. IL was necessary TO let the defect
show 9 little. Its one Of the signs Of aye. and
not bring AS much rs perfect one. If the latter
be, genuine. But 1t often brings q, very high
customer fixes his attention apon SO palpable q
defect as u tear. he is less likely to investigate
the much more imp ortant point of gen ineness.
A a gentleman brought
an engraving which 1 Mt once recognized
one Oh l9t 81 limitations which had fixed up
as described. There's n splendid Berghem
etching said he. holding ii up to the light
bought it at q great bargain on account of
mcnded.' He lett it to I've liked up but did not
want it bicaehed: he preferred the antique
pSd 2 for G orgna p srrhe H wom
have cost him nearer s50. The real value of
his purchase was in the ncighborhood of llfty
cents, It shows tina! print should not be
considered genuine because it Is dilapidated
orhns undergone repair.
As to how far a lrst-class dealer would go
in receptions of this nature. am not prepared
to say, though my opinion Is that "a a rule he
for good print than to deceive him as to the
genuineness OF a bad one. The truth is that in
nianyof the old and rare engravngs, those
of Mantegna. Marc Antonio, Schongauer. and
others. the dealer is deceived almost as often
q his customer. ! think; toe: the remark viii,
Lucas of Leyden and Of D6rer.
As for Rembrandt's etchings, it is notorious
tllnl inc market Is lull OF limitations OF lntm,
all sorts of conditions. Every rare old print of
value has, its limitations. and since the in
vention of photography some OF them have
been excellent The works OF the great line
engravers living in the earlier part Of the. cen
tnry have been enormously multiplied as have
also some of those produced within twenty-five
years. :, But where the reprodpction of q great
was in question. it has been found better
plan. when the plate wears out. to have an en-
trely new engrayng made def from It by an artist
made rom Ai The hardsst o steel Plates The he
will seriously impair the finer work OF great
engraver; We have. ilrst, the artists proof.
Then tho proof before letters and unsigned;
then the proof with the name Of the painter
and engrayer etched in: then the hollow letter
proof and lastly the print with the letters filled
up Each of these has its price. As the i'm
presstons become weak, giving worn look to
lines deepened. But such operations soop de-
stroy the plate and make new one necessary.
was who su
Sas ssGn n + r. was warned shs, IL Would
ished his work and became blind Here Is a
worth not less than $500 It came to us for re- re-
pair through private hands, The engraving
had been loaned for an exhibition. Awoman
the, divine-human EXPRESSION of the Christ
Child. put her parasol through his head; The
than the hole itsel II. 1t will take me three days
70 Tx it, have also copy Of Steirle's engray
deTenee e y s See u Maer print has maro
n h5T,ns and precision Of touch; perfect
having been sold at the Hotel Druot sales for
5000. Stelnle,s engraving Is preferred by some
price. This one by Nordheim. OF the same
subject, IS really an excellent engraving.
in about ten years. | could have purchased
many Of them for -. but now "a good impress:
through allowing a baby to have access to the
portfolio. lie has seriously injured this work
Of genius 10y crqmpiing and tearing it into
would have had to transfer it.
The operation OF transfer is simple when
you have strong impression. The print is
soaked in a solution Of common potash and al
coAo and then, the ink being solened. it is
being laid carefully on a sheet OF print paper
prepared aitera process Of my own. Every ink
line leaves the old paper and sticks TO the new.
soaked again in water to take out tho chemi-
Gals. is redried. pressed with "a plain plate 10
give the usual indentaton and framed. A
drawback 10 this process Is that the right hand
portion OF the picture i now found on the left
transfer if the picture is worth it. The engrav-
ing suffers, Of course. by such process.
Ihe value Sr Of an Snsraving is cG,5nsderahly
Here il n beautiful impression of Raphael
Morghen's Last Supper" after Da Vinci's
wonderful fresco in Milan. Tho engraving is
worth 500 as it is 1t would sell for rs much
more IL some donkey had not. years ago. cut
oil its margin to make it N II frame that from
the looks of it. could not have cost over 81. To
pat on a margin properly Is a delicate opera
ton. We first place the print face downward
upon this plate-glass slab. Then we take
heavy steel ,ule and, with very sharp knife.
give tho edges II clean cut; These edges
must then be pared or sandpapered down
to n smooth beyel. The margin for the
engraving is made hy cutting from the
centre OF n piece OF plate paper n portion an
eighth ot an inch larger each way than the
PRINT and FARO down its inner edges in the
same way. Al the edges are then worry care,
fully touched with thln heachei glue. and
placed in the press dark surrounding line
OF ink completes the restoration, Ii is n simple
but nice operation. and deccives many OF the
amateurs. OF course a glance at the blck dis
closes This process: but tho dealer airangos for
this contingency by framing the engraving,
An ordinary passo-pnrtout will also cuiceal
defects of margin. The wise amateur will al.
ways insist upon examining u print out OF the
frame before purchasing.
Until quito recently, most Of the work wa
have had from irstcass dealers has been to
bleach stained modern engravings. to fix
those which have been torn or soled in
portfolios. and 10 repair injuries from va
rious accidents. You would not imagine.
| think. that this superb ToSchi after one
Of Corrcgglo's greatest frescocs was once