Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1903-07-16

charming etching OF DetaZet, made at
about the time that Thackeray was in
Paris: and of Jules Janin, of whom he
speaks particularly. Then there are
pictures of places. Do you remember
how fondly Motley in his published
letters speaks of the school at North
ampton? 1t made the book. all the
more interesting that in an old maya
zine I found an engraving of the place,
and only the other day I found a wood
cut of Bismarck. in the time of his col
lege intimacy with Motley; of course, I
shall have 1t inserted in my copy of the
Letters" Then, for a collection of
letters there are generally to be OH
tanned plentiful portraits of the au-
thor; in, my ,itTbackeray's, Letters
have bound ip seven portraits, follow
ing along the chronology of the LETT
ters: and 1 have fully fifty to insert in
another Life of Thackeray" that l
have in hand for extra Illustration.
Autographs of the author or auto
graph letters of prominent persons that
are named are a noble enrichment to
books. In my copy of 'Roehe's adj
mirable life Of John Boyle O'Reilly l
have bound a sheaf of letters in his own
dashing handwriting and several man.
dashing handwriting and several
manuscript copies of his poems.
Then. too. if one has a gift at
sketching. or has a friend that is gen.
erously disposed for such friendly SER
vice. little sketches of men and places
may be done in the wide margins to
catch the eye as the book is opened.
In the search of engravings no book
stall is too mean to be a possible bonan-
"a. I found even in junk shop nearly
full set of the Eclectic Magazine, and
bought the lot for less than cent
apiece. with all the best Sartain por-
traits and many others. In the same
way ! found Bentleys dear old maya
zine. with a good impression of the
portrait of Cooper, which 1 had long
sought, and which, with six other por-
| traits. now enriches my 'Lounsbury's
Life of Cooper"
l. Old woodcuts, genuine woodcuts, not
smudgy process prints. but real en-
, drawings that have in them the life and
touch of the artist, and not the mere
mechanical cleverness Of the machine.
: How excellent as likeneSses are some
/ of Charles Barry's portraits that ap-
peared in Gleason's and Ballou's pic
= torials'; none better, and none others
of many subjects obtainable at any
l price. The collector should treasure all
J really engraved portraits on wood; they
are becoming more and more rare, and
t more and more valuable. But the
= portraits and other Woodcuts often
. have the impression on the other side
: of the paper. 1t shows through, and
destroys the effect of the engraving.
Moreover. it makes a raised or en-
bossed impression like printing for the
blind. There is a remedy for this
MOisten the print, soak it q little while
in clean water if it is on thick. hard
lpaper. then lay it face down on a sheet
: of glass, pressing it firmly there, and
4 with the soft cushion of the finger tips
y rub off the back in little rolls till half
t the thickness of the paper is reached.
f Then you have your engraving on a
4 thin film of paper, almost as beautiful
r as an India proof. From the process
e have described the cuts or the engrav-
= ings come in various sizes of the page,
e some being too large and some being
= too small For those too large there is
o but one of two things to be done
e build up all the pages of the book to the
n standard of the largest, or fold the en-
r cravings, which is a cruel and dis
). astrous proceeding. For those that are
I too small there is an easy method of
S adjustment. They must be inlaid on
e sheets of paper that will fit the pages
e of the book and leave a slight margin
for trimming. This inlaying is a deli
y cate art. There are a score or so of
= well-known experts, who make of it a
good business, but some of the best
u work 1 have seen has been done by
: amateurs. At the beginning it is best
l. to trust to the professional inlayers, in
the meantime practising inlaying until
the hand becomes deft with the sharp
u est of knives-such thing, sharp knives
as will cut bevel on even the thin
. nest paper. And the process of inlay
= ing is not difficult of description nor of
. accomplishment. 1t is simply matter
Il of practice, of good sight and tact.
= First the engraving that has been
y rubbed down must be carefully
. squared; then sheet of paper being
- found as nearly as possible the same
;. thickness and texture as the printed
book. it should be cut in pieces an inch
:, larger than the pages Of the printed
e. book. The squared engraving is laid
- on this. exactly in the centre and a
-. fine line is drawn around and close to
it with a very fine, sharp pencil, draw
O ling so lightly as to be only discernible
q lin strong light and to good sight.
v Take away the engraving, and with :,
e sharp, thin, strong knife run beveled
O cut from the line inward, so that not
;. less than sixteenth of an inch is in
@ the bevel, and a longer bevel than that
:, If one is expert enough to cut it. Such
e a bevel cannot be cut with the paper
V lying on soft surface; it should rest
e on smooth but not polished stone; for
v this purpose there is nothing better
). than discarded lithogra piers stone,
t to be bought for a few shillings at any
v lithographing establishment. The bev-
e ell on the page should be rubbed very
e smooth with pumice powder and the
e edge of the engraving similarly treated.
- Then the two may be attached, fitting
r the bevels neatly together with some
). strong. slow-d drying paste. The fine
=. photograph mounting paste answers
It lrerfectly. Before adjusting the en-
- craving to the paSte-S meared square