Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1890-06-28

damerton says that the bath should be heated
to ninety degrees. This temperature NAV be
determined by having bottle Of water in the
dish and placing the Thermometer in the bottle.
1t is an accepted fact that acid s'bites" differ
emily under different atmospheric conditions.
AFTER THE FIRST BITE.
You now make what is called the first sbite. I"
You may not be sure Of the result. You want n
proof. Take rough rag we'll loaded with tur-
pentine and by brisk rubbing you will soon
clean the copper. Now comes the printing
process, which is identical with that employed
in producing results from the steel plate. Get
the proper ink, which may be obtained from
any dealer, and fill the incised lines-thst is
the lines bitten into the plate. Take any rough
rag that may be handy and very tenderly wipe
off from the surface of the plate all the ink
Then, with l. cleaner rag, go over the whole
plate. You will now find some ink or oil stains
on the plate. Have at hand some powdered
chalk. Dip the palm of the hand into this and
then carefully polish the surface You will
then find your surface clean and the ink filling
all OF the incised lines, whether cut by acid or
the graver.
THE TRIAL PROOF.
In default of printing press with which to
make the trial proof. the ordinary clothes
wringer of commerce will serve very we'll The
rubber rolls will answer as BLANKETS" so that
you will need only to dampen the paper and
leave it over night between slightly wetted
sheets OF any common paper. Try an i'm
preston on the clothes wringer. 1t will not
be fine, but it will give you an idea of your
work. Get your plate between the rubber
rollers, put on the screws and am sure you
will get a fair result. The process Of .'rebit-
ing" should be avoided until the amateur has
reached good degree OF artistic proficiency;
but If you feel that you must rebite your plate,
clean the whole thing with rag and turpen-
tine and then roll it up with the protecting
varnish, taking care that the varnish does not
enter the etched lines. Now what has been
sufficiently bitten may be stopped out by
painting on the varnish with brush. This is
the whole story.
1t may be necessary to add something after
the plate is bitten, and this is called dry
point work. With your needle You simply
scratch on the copper such lines as you feel
are necessary in some of the lighter tones.
This dry-point work you will find in most of
the better class of etchings, but it should be
used very sraringly, as its work does not stan
as does the etched line. SOM plates are done
entirely by "dry-point," but they are not etch-
lngs. An etching is result that is produced
only by the corrosive properties OF acid. A
dry point is no more an etching than is q Bit
OF scratching on the photographic stone.
1t is common to call any pen-and-ink work
on linen-such things as are sold at church
falrs-etchings. So you may find in some OF
your magazines a column of funny stories with
the heading "Etchings." The word comes
thing which has been bitten into from which
proof may be taken.
PAINTERS AS ETCHERs.
A good etching made by painter comes
nearer to his artistic thought than is possible
by any other method Very few painters have
the power of expressing themselves with the
point, SO that the painter etchers are very fe W.
Rembrandt Was, and is, the very grandes
artist who ever placed his thoughts on copper
Many so-called reproductive etchers, mel
with great capacities for translating the
ideas of others. have done work only second to
the great master. So you will see that, mex
rank.
Line engraving has nearly gone out as a re.
productive art. Years must be spent in learn.
ing the manual dexterity necessary to handle
the graver. Years may be spent on a single
plate. which may or may not appeal to the pub
lie. Mr.. Haden, the great English etcher,
spent two hours on his well-known plate, THE
Agamemnon." He has realized, l am told,
over $50, 900 from the sale of prints from this
plate. Bear in mind that the process of print
ing rapidly wears away the copper, but by the
process of steel facing. which is electric de-
post of iron on the face of the copper, all wear
comes on the facing" and not on the copper,
and this facing" when it shows wear. is
easily removed, and another coat of steel is
added at very small cost.
Steel engraving. therefore, by reason of its
great cost is becoming one of the things of the
past Etching has taken its place as a medium
between the artist and the buyer.
Nine-tenths of the etchngs on the market
have no art value The fine ones are treasures
Wood engraving, though costly, is SO cheaply
printed that it now fills the eye with all that is
desirable a translator for the general public
1t is printed on the ordinary type press and its
quality is only controlled by the excellence of
the paper, the grade of ink and the intelligence
of the printer or the superintendent who looks
after the general result -