Evening capital. (Annapolis, Md.) 1884-1910, 1888-04-09
THE CAMERAS MAGIC.
INGENIOUS USE or PHOTOGRAPHY
IN KINDRED ARTS.


Man"-aTodern Way of Making Watch
Dials-The sand Blast--A Costly TX
periment-EnIarged Pictures.
Mr. 7. C. Roach, familiarly known by pho
tographers all over the United States and
even in Europe as sthe old man, is recog-
nized by them as sort. of mahatma, one
who, il he does not quite "know it all, = is
very liable to find out anything more that is
TO be discovered. He has taken out greater
number of patents in photography than any
body else in this country. Speaking recently
of the practical applications of photography
in late years, he said to a reporter:
sDo you know that watch dials are now
made by photography at a mere fraction of
their former costl They all used to be painted
by hand. Now hundred are made in the
time formerly required to produce one, and
each of the hundred is better than the one
would have been. The dial is of copper COW
cred with enamel. Upon that they lay SEN
sitized coating of albumen and bichromate
of potash. A large drawing, say twelve
inches in diameter, Of the design, figures, and
dots that it is desired to put upon the dial is
photographed down to the required size,
which makes it so very fine that whatever
inaccuracies may have been in the drawing
are almost beyond discovery by the micro
scope The negative thus made is exposed to
the light in contact with the gelatine coated
watch dial for from three TO five minutes.
Electric light is just as good as sun light.
Where tho light has acted the gelatine is
made insoluble. The dial is now linked over
with common lithographic transfer ink
Next, with clean sponge moistened with a
little gum water, the ink and gelatine are
wiped Off the dial from all parts except
where the light has acted, and to those it ad-
here's, leaving the design in clear black upon
the enameled plate. But that design would
easily blur and rub or by wear. Another
process is necessary to- make it permanent.
A metallic enamel powder Of any color de-
sired-blaclz, blue, red, green, or purple--is
| busted upon the dials. 1t sticksto the.inked
portions, but nowhere else Then the dial is
put in tho mufi1e and fired The enamel
powder melts into the white enamel base
and the work is complete. The Waltham
Watch company paid 50 600 for that process
BY it they can turn out, for ten cents each,
dials that in the old way of making would
have cost ST apiece
Speaking of that necessity recalls to me
the effort now making for the production, for
purpose of magazine and book illustration,
nature or paintings, by means of what are
now called tint glasses. About that | am
going to tell you page of history that has
not before been published. and that viii make
no small stir among number of persons who
| are claiming to be the inventors of processes
in that direction at the present time. The
real inventor of tint glasses or, as no called
thcIn ruled spectrums was Baron Won Egloff-
stein, who patented his processes in the
United States and England as long ago as
1865. He was a brilliant, highly educated
man, who did a great deal of fine engineering
work for our government, and who went
away to Europe several years ago. There
was q rumor that he had died, but only re-
Gently | heard that he had retired TO a
monastery somewhere and was still living.
s'Well, big company, mainly Of United
States officials, was formed for the develop
ment Of Baron von Egloffsteins discovery and
its utilization for the printing of greenbacks
and other paper money in such wise as to defy
counterfeiting. Secretary Chase was in that
company, as were also Baron Perault, Capt.
Eads, Governor Sprague, Of Rhode Island;
Mr.. Knapp, the Pittsburg gun founder; Mr..
| Schoonmaker, the A. T. Stewart of BaIti-
more; Representative Latin, Mr. Clark, Of
the bureau of printing; o Massachusetts, sem
ator, whose name / do not now recall, ard
several other prominent men. Jay Cooke &
Co. were the companys bankers. They had
any quantity of money. In one year they
spent over $I20, 900 in working the process on
steel, and they used to say that they had sc, :
100000 ready to put in it as soon as it was a
proved success Every Saturday they used
TO have a meeting at the Fifth Avenue hotel,
square up all the bills, have big dinner, and
drink champagne by. the basletful.
But their expectations were not realized.
Baron Won Egloffstein used a fine plate glass,
covered with very Opaque etching ground,
which was cross Matched by the finest posi-
ble lines, 500 to the inch, which was inter-
posed between the light and the object, or the
glass negative or positive, to be photographed.
You can see that the effect would be that in
stead Of producing picture in smooth half
tones, like an ordinary photograph, one would
be made that was all broken up into fine
cross Matched lines and dots. From this rc-
sulting negative transfers could be made to
stone, steel, or copper, or could be- printed
directly by contact upon q metal plate for
etching. or course, for intaglio work, as fer
printing from steel a positive picture would
be used and negative for type press print
ing. The principle Of the thing wasall right,
beautiful; but in practice it was found that
the closeness together Of the fine lines pre-
vented getting sufficient depth If the plates
were bitten down deep enough for printing,
there was no body to bcarr repeated and heavy
pressure and q few impressions would break
them down. The fexv impressions obtained
were superb, but the plates would not last.
More practical results ore now attained By o
coarsar ruling, of about 100 lines to the inch,
for tho production Of relief plates for typo
press printing. The old patents have now
run out and the process belongs to anybody
who chooses 60 employ it.
s'One Of the late and possibly rather sur
prising discoveries Id photography, which
also Ii patent Of mine, Is the enlargement
of photographs to ang required sizo without
the aid Of solar camera, merely by the light
OF an ordinary oil larnps or cven by fash
Of gun cotton I'll the old way costly solar
camera was necessary, machine costing
500 or $500; much time end clear sunlight,
ard very expensive prepared paper we're