(j SHRUBSOLE 
 
 THIRD KpmON 
 
V 
 
ETCHING: 
 
 ITS PEINCIPLES AND PEACTICE. 
 
 A BOOK FOR STUDENTS AND AMATEURS. 
 
 BY 
 
 W. G. SHRUBSOLE. 
 
 ASSOCIATE OF THE EOTAL CAMBRIAN ACADEMY. 
 ASSOCIATE OF THE MANCHESTER ACADEMY OF ARTS. 
 
 THIRD EDITION. 
 
 LONDON : 
 
 GEOEaE EOWNEY & COMPANY, 
 
 MANUFACTURING AETISTS' COLOUEMEN, 64, OXEOED STREET, 
 AND 190 AND 192, (princes' HALL) PICCADILLY, W. 
 
LONDON : 
 
 flENDERSON AKD SPALDING, GENERAL PRINTERS, 
 3 & 5, MARYLEBONE LANE, W. 
 
CONTENTS. 
 
 PAGE 
 
 Introductory 7 
 
 Materials Employed 10 
 
 Practice. 1.— The Plate 11 
 
 2. — The Ground 12 
 
 3. — Spreading^ THE Ground ., 13 
 
 4. — The Dabber • 14 
 
 5. — Smoking the Ground 15 
 
 6. — The Outline ... 17 
 
 7. — The Design or Sketch 19 
 
 8. — Work on the Plate 22 
 
 9. — biting-in the work, different mordants, &c. ... 35 
 
 10. — Stopping -OUT 41 
 
 11. — Other Methods of Laying the Ground, &c 43 
 
 12. — Re-biting 46 
 
 13. — Working in the Bath 46 
 
 14. — Etching from Nature 47 
 
 15. — Remedial Processes 48 
 
 16. — Soft Ground Etching 50 
 
 17. — Dry-Point and the Use of the Graver 51 
 
 18. — Auxiliary Processes 57 
 
 19. — Printing, Cleaning the Plate 60 
 
 20. — The Frontispiece, and the Interpretation of Land- 
 
 scape in Etching 65 
 
 21. — Conclusion 67 
 
PEEFAOE. 
 
 This little book is intended, as set forth in the title, 
 for students and amateurs ; it will be found to inculcate 
 a definite and limited range of effort in the early- 
 attempts of the student ; some of these directions and 
 limitations, may appear to the skilled etcher, useless 
 and even trivial. It must, however, be remembered 
 that numbers of people practise art with a genuine love 
 for it, and an earnest desire to follow its best traditions, 
 who cannot, from circumstances, advance to the study 
 of a special form of art, through that wide portal of 
 general study and practice necessary to the professional 
 artist. To those unable to give a life's devotion to, 
 but who are not innocent of some preliminary training 
 in art, the author thinks this work may be of service 
 should they be desirous of acquiring the art of etching. 
 
 The use of the graver, properly employed, is so 
 important an auxiliary in finishing an etched plate, and 
 the information concerning its use is so meagre in all 
 works on etching, that herein a section is specially given 
 to its use. The aid of illustrations, too, have been 
 called in to show the tyro the correct method of holding 
 and using the instrument. A few words concerning 
 
6 
 
 PREFACE. 
 
 the accompanying illustrations may not be out of place. 
 They are strictly minding their own business ; that is to 
 say, they are not given as specimens of the full resources 
 of effect to be obtained in etching, or of the author's 
 work, they simply are intended to illustrate the effects 
 of the particular method the author has etched them to 
 elucidate. Although this book is intended for beginners 
 it will be found to contain an explanation of every 
 process that can be used in exhausting the range of 
 modern etching ; but the student is recommended 
 earnestly to confine his early endeavours to the methods 
 specially described for his use. 
 
 Manchester, February, 1889. 
 
INTEODUOTOEY. 
 
 — — 
 
 This is not only an age of progress, it is an age of 
 revivals, and what more natural tlian that the art 
 of etching should be numbered amongst those beau- 
 tiful things of the past that have been rescued from 
 desuetude and placed triumphantly in the Chariot of 
 Progress ? Progress, indeed, for if the old etchers could 
 see the enormous size of the plates, and the successful 
 treatment of the most ambitious effects by their modern 
 brethren, they would indeed be surprised ; not that we 
 have achieved more than the old etchers did in their 
 own walks, but that we have extended the horizon as 
 it were of the art, that we aim at and produce effects 
 quite beyond their notions, and this too without altering 
 in any marked degree the essential details of their prac- 
 tice. Etching was, and still is, the biting or eating 
 away of lines upon the polished surface of a copper- 
 plate, these lines being drawn by a needle-point through 
 a thin film of a waxy nature (called the ground) pre- 
 viously spread upon the plate, the biting of the lines 
 into the plate being accomplished by placing it in a bath 
 of diluted acid, which effectually corrodes into the 
 copper the lines drawn through the ground by the etch- 
 
8 
 
 INTRODUCTORY. 
 
 ing-needle^ but has no effect on those portions of the 
 plate protected by the ground ; the back and edges of 
 the plate are protected by some form of varnish, some- 
 times Brunswick black, sometimes a more specially pre- 
 pared kind called stopping-out varnish. The acid used 
 for the biting-in of the lines is called the mordant. 
 When lines forming the drawing have been bitten in 
 over the plate, prints may be obtained from it by spread- 
 ing ink over it, rubbing and dabbing it well into the 
 etched lines, and then wiping and polishing the plate 
 with rag and the printer's hand lightly smeared with 
 whitening ; the effect of this being to remove the ink 
 from the polished surface of the plate, and to leave it 
 in the lines bitten into it ; these inked lines are then 
 transferred to a piece of (damped) paper of a suitable 
 nature, by the plate with the paper laid on its surface, 
 being passed beneath the roller of a printing press, the 
 pressure of the roller causing the inked lines in the 
 plate to be transferred (in reverse) upon the surface of 
 the paper ; thus we have a proofs which shows us every 
 one of the lines etched upon the plate as a dark line on 
 the white or toned paper. This is simply the broad 
 theory of etching and printing. But this has been 
 magnified into something very like a bugbear in its 
 difficulties by some writers, the fact being that although 
 those unpractised in art would naturally fail to produce 
 satisfactory etchings, it is equally certain that the large 
 number who have had some preliminary training in 
 drawing and light and shade, would soon find their 
 efforts, if properly directed, yield encouraging results in 
 
INTRODUCTORY. 
 
 9 
 
 the direction of etching. To sum up, the great difficulties 
 of etching are identical with those of other forms of art ; 
 the primary difficulty of drawing so as to have at com- 
 mand a means of expression in line, then the difficulties 
 of composition, selection, arrangement, &c. ; as to the 
 purely individual technical difficulties of etching, those 
 soon yield by following the old plan of attacking them 
 one by one. So we recommend the interested student 
 who is already a draughtsman to grasp at the fascinating 
 art of etching without trepidation, for it is a fascinating 
 art, and perhaps there is no other that has such a charm- 
 ing mixture of technical and high artistic interest but 
 one, and that is playing the violin. On the other hand, 
 we cannot recommend any person who has not learnt 
 to draw to commence their artistic studies by attempting 
 to etch on copper ; however, thanks to art schools of one 
 kind and another, the number qualified to attempt the 
 achievement of success in etching is large enough, and 
 if once they taste its charm, they will surely find it im- 
 possible to relinquish it. 
 
MATERIALS 
 
 EMPLOYED. 
 
 Copper plates. 
 
 Small hand-vice, with wooden 
 
 handle. 
 Etching ball or ground. 
 Dabber. 
 Spirit-lamp. 
 Etching needles. 
 Acids, nitric and hydrochloric. 
 Porcelain baths. 
 Stopping-out varnish. 
 Transparent ground. 
 Methylated spirit. 
 Wax tapers. 
 Whitening. 
 
 Burnisher. 
 Scraper. 
 
 Willow charcoal. 
 Crocus powder. 
 Oil-stone. 
 
 Hand-rest or bridge. 
 
 Blind or shade. 
 
 Tracing paper. 
 
 Tracing gelatine. 
 
 Wash-leather, 
 
 Soft white blotting-paper. 
 
 Turpentine. 
 
 Emery paper. 
 
 Oil rubber. 
 
ETCHING: 
 
 ITS PEINCIPLES AND PEACTIOE. 
 
 PRACTICE. 
 
 Cleaning theplate^ laying^ dabbing^ and smoking the ground. 
 
 1. — The Plate. 
 
 Copper-plates prepared specially for etcliing may now 
 be procured at nearly all the artists' colourmen, as may 
 also all the materials and appliances necessary for the 
 practice of the art. Some copper-plates are softer than 
 others, and are more rapidly attacked by the acid ; this 
 seems unavoidable, but at any rate they should be of 
 equal hardness throughout, and free from flaws. The 
 student who purchases from the respectable colourman, 
 or those firms who make the preparation of copper- 
 plates for engraving their speciality, need be under no 
 apprehension as to the quality of the plate. The 
 beginner should not attempt to etch plates other than 
 of a small size at first, as the difiiculties from beginning 
 to end are greatly increased by additional size in the 
 plates. The first thing to do before laying the ground 
 upon the plate is to thoroughly clean it, first with spirit 
 of turpentine and rag and then with whitening. Upon 
 the thoroughly clean state of the surface about to 
 
12 
 
 ETCHING : 
 
 receive the ground depends its perfect adhesion — a 
 matter of the utmost consequence. After cleaning, 
 avoid touching the surface of the plate with the fingers 
 or any greasy rag. 
 
 After cleaning the plate, take a small hand- vice (one 
 with a wooden handle preferably) and screw it firmly 
 on to the edge in the middle of one of the long sides of 
 the plate. The jaws of the vice must be prevented from 
 disfiguring the surface of the plate by having a piece 
 of thin cardboard put between them and the plate. 
 You are now ready to cover the plate with 
 
 2. — The Gtround. 
 
 Balls of etching-ground may be bought ready pre- 
 pared — very much the better way of obtaining them 
 for the student, as the making of the ground is rather 
 a dirty job; anything, too, that unnecessarily multiplies 
 the number of vessels, etc., one has to keep stored is 
 certainly undesirable. But in case the etcher cares to 
 make his own ground, the following recipe is, on the 
 authority of Hamerton, the best that can be used. It 
 is known as Bosse's ground, and is composed of white 
 wax, 30 parts ; gum mastic, 30 parts ; and asphaltum, 
 15 parts. Burgundy pitch may be substituted for the 
 gum mastic. The asphaltum must be powdered and 
 melted first in a glazed earthenware pot over a slow 
 fire ; the other ingredients powdered are added to the 
 asphaltum as soon as it melts, and the whole thoroughly 
 incorporated by being stirred with a glass rod. When 
 
ITS PRINCIPLES AND PRACTICE. 
 
 13 
 
 the ground is properly mixed, pour it into warm water, 
 and knead it up into small balls about the size of a 
 large walnut. It may be observed that in winter the 
 proportion of wax may be increased, as this renders the 
 ground softer and less likely to shell off the plate in the 
 bath ; in very hot weather a harder ground may be 
 preferable. A ball of the ground should be wrapped 
 in a piece of fine textured silk free from all " flossy " 
 particles, and it is then ready for use. 
 
 3. — Spreading the Gtround. 
 
 Take the plate up by the vice which is secured to it, 
 and hold it over the flame of a spirit-lamp or over a 
 small gas-stove or jet — it may be put on a stove if there 
 is no dust. When it is equally heated throughout, and 
 about as hot as you can bear to touch, take the ball of 
 ground wrapped in the silk and rub it all over the plate 
 so as to cover it with a coating of the ground. If the 
 plate is just at the right heat the ground will melt through 
 the silk and spread easily over the plate ; it must not 
 cling, but should move easily if the plate is hot enough ; 
 if it is too hot, it may run through the silk in too great 
 profusion, and may even boil and bubble, and finally 
 burn. If this happens, even if the ground only 
 smokes, there is only one remedy, that is, clean the 
 plate and try again. But the etcher will know almost 
 as soon as the ball of ground touches the plate 
 whether it is at the right heat. Of course the plate 
 may be made hotter if before it is covered the ground 
 
14 
 
 ETCHING : 
 
 does not go on freely. When the plate is satisfactorily 
 covered with the ground, heat it again if necessary, and 
 take 
 
 4. — The Dabber. 
 
 This is made of a circular piece of cardboard about 
 three inches in diameter, on which a pad of horsehair is 
 pla,ced, this is then covered evenly with fine cotton wool, 
 and the whole covered with a piece of silk drawn 
 together at the back and tied with thread to form a 
 handle. Dabbers may be bought ready made. With 
 the dabber dab the ground all over the plate until it is 
 spread in an even, thin film, if the ground refuses to 
 attach itself to any part of the surface of the plate, it 
 must be persistently dabbed until it does, the plate, if 
 necessary, being warmed again for the purpose. When 
 this operation is successfully accomplished the plate is 
 covered with a thin film, and looks of a bright golden 
 colour, the copper showing well through it ; if the film 
 of ground is too thick it will be unpleasant to work on 
 with the needle, and more difficult to remove thoroughly 
 where each line i's drawn, thus being the cause of lines 
 only partially bitten, called " rotten " lines ; a very 
 thin film of the ground is sufficient to prevent the acid 
 from biting, and it is not uncommon for the tyro to 
 find many of the lines he has drawn with the needle 
 turning out quite unbitteUo So pains should be taken 
 to secure a thin ground, the dabber being cleaned, if 
 necessary, during the dabbing process by wiping it on 
 coarse printers' canvas. Another reason why the thin 
 
ITS PRINCIPLES AND PRACTICE. 
 
 15 
 
 ground is advantageous is that it is so much more easily 
 smoked ; this is the next process, and is called 
 
 5. — Smoking the Gtround. 
 
 The plate must be again evenly heated until the 
 ground shines^ it must then at once be held over the 
 flame of several wax tapers twisted together (they may 
 be warmed in warm water before twisting, which will 
 prevent the wax breaking off) ; according to the general 
 practice, the plate is held at such a distance from the 
 lighted tapers that the tip only of the flame just touches 
 the plate, which must be kept constantly in motion 
 over the flame until the ground is thoroughly 
 blackened all over. The greatest care must be exercised 
 to keep the flame from playing continuously upon the 
 same spot on the plate, or the ground will assuredly be 
 burnt, and thus be rendered useless as a protection against 
 the acid; if this has happened, it may be detected when 
 the plate has cooled after the smoking ; the burnt 
 places (if there are any) being dull-looking, while the 
 rest of the surface is rather polished ; dull places may 
 be caused too by the smoke not having become properly 
 incorporated with the ground at places. During this 
 process, as in former ones, the plate may, if necessary, 
 be reheated over the spirit-lamp, as the ground will not 
 take the smoke if it is too cool, but the heat of the 
 tapers usually is sufficient to keep the ground in a 
 proper state. In an old book on etching I found the 
 directions for smoking the plate said that the tip of 
 
16 
 
 ETCHING : 
 
 thetapers.TLotthe tipof the flame, shouldbe justclearof the 
 ground while the smoking is being performed ; I tried 
 this myself, and found the smoking performed much 
 more rapidly and easily, and, as far as my own practice 
 is concerned, without any injurious effects on the 
 ground. Let the reader make atrial of this method, 
 and if he finds it answer he may adopt it permanently ; 
 it certainly is more expeditious, and I should think, 
 from the flame being broken up and dispersed over the 
 ground, the risk of burning is less. The volume of smoke 
 given oflE by the tapers is certainly greater, as may be 
 seen by drawing the lighted tapers across the underside 
 of a dinner-plate, first with the tip of the fiame just 
 touching the plate, and then with the tip of the tapers just 
 clear of the plate — it will be found in the latter case the 
 amount of smoke deposited greatly exceeds that in the 
 former; of course, the greatest care must be taken to keep 
 the plate from being at rest over the flame at any time. 
 
 After smoking, and while the plate is still hot, it is my 
 practice to give the back of the plate a coat of Brims- 
 wick black ; laid on thus tvhile the plate is hot, it dries at 
 once very hard, and sticks tenaciously to the surface of 
 the copper ; laid on while the plate is cold it takes a 
 long time to dry and easily comes off. The plate after 
 this may be stood on edge to allow the ground to cool 
 and the Brunswick black on the back to become quite 
 hard ; the use of this coat of black is to protect the 
 back of the plate from the action of the acid during the 
 process of biting in. The ground being quite cold and 
 firm the plate is ready to receive 
 
ITS PRINCIPLES AND PRACTICE. 
 
 17 
 
 6. — The Outline. 
 
 There are several metliods by wMcli the outline of 
 the subject may be placed upon the prepared ground. 
 If the subject be simple, it may be sketched with a 
 small brush and some body colour paint with a little 
 gum mixed in it, or it may be drawn with a soft lead 
 pencil ; in any case, the work on the plate will have to 
 be reversed if it is desired that the prints should come 
 out right way about," but often this is of no conse- 
 quence. The usual and the best way of marking the 
 outline on the ground is by transferring, that is to say, 
 a drawing is made beforehand of the subject the size of 
 the plate, the questions of margin, &c., being deter- 
 mined therein ; from this drawing a tracing is made on 
 tracing-paper with a lead pencil, this being placed with 
 the side on which the pencil lines are drawn downwards 
 upon the surface of the plate, may be passed through 
 the printing press, by which the lead lines are trans- 
 ferred upon the smoked ground ; or the tracing may be 
 made with ink and a crow-quill, or fine-pointed pen ; 
 the lines may then be rubbed over with soft white 
 chalk, rubbed down with the finger until no loose chalk- 
 dust remains on the drawing ; this may then be placed 
 upon the surface of the plate, the edges of the tracing 
 being turned down and folded upon the back of the 
 plate, and secured with a touch of sealing-wax or gum 
 to keep the tracing from shifting ; the lines may then 
 be gone over with a finely pointed H pencil, or a tracer, 
 
 B 
 
18 
 
 ETCHING : 
 
 care being taken that the pencil is not too sharp, and 
 the pressure on it not too great, or it may tear through 
 the paper ; even if this happens, little or no harm will 
 be done in all probability. The hand may be rested 
 upon the bridge described in section 8, to prevent the 
 chalk being pressed into the ground by the weight of 
 the hand while transferring. The outline being gone 
 over in this way, the paper is then removed from the 
 plate, and the lines will be found transferred to its sur- 
 face ; the loose particles of chalk should first be removed 
 by dusting well with a soft brush ; when no more can 
 be removed in this way, the surface of the palm of the 
 hand or the fingers may be employed, and it will be 
 found quite easy and safe to remove all superfluous 
 chalk, leaving a perfectly visible and delicate line on the 
 surface of the ground. This method obviates the use 
 of a press, and is all that can be desired for landscape 
 and architecture, and with care it can be used for deli- 
 cate figure drawing ; for this purpose, however, tracing 
 gelatine is far superior; it maybe obtained at the colour 
 shops, is beautifully transparent, and will take a most 
 delicate outline; this is to be traced upon it by a needle 
 point, the bur raised by the point being carefully re- 
 moved with a stiff brush ; lead-pencil dust is then 
 rubbed into the lines, and the gelatine being laid face 
 downwards upon the plate, is to be passed through the 
 press, or have its back rubbed over with the burnisher, 
 moistened with a little olive oil ; this will transfer the 
 leaded lines upon the ground. The gelatine may be 
 kept in position upon the plate by the small hand- vice 
 
ITS PRINCIPLES AND PRACTICE. 
 
 19 
 
 being screwed upon it and the plate, taking care that 
 the jaws of the vice have a piece of thick paper inter- 
 posing between them and the surface of the gelatine 
 and back of plate. 
 
 7. — The Design or Sketch. 
 
 Before going into the description of the method of 
 work with the etching needle, I should like to urgently 
 advise the tyro in etching to adopt a plan that may 
 simplify matters very considerably ; it may, in fact, 
 be the means of a more or less successful result being 
 obtained at the first attempt. Now of all graphic 
 methods, there is certainly not one in which the faculties 
 of judgment are so imperatively brought into play as in 
 etching. When the etcher draws a line with his needle 
 on the smoked ground what does he obtain? A glitter- 
 ing light line on a dark ground ; but when the plate is 
 printed this line will be Mack on a tvhite piece of paper; 
 in fact the etcher produces a negative as far as the 
 appearance of the plate goes, and it requires a practised 
 efi'ort of the mind to realize approximately the effect of 
 these lines and masses of lines of glittering copper 
 when translated into the black and white print. This 
 difficulty however disappears, and a curious result 
 follows practice in the work ; and exactly in the same way 
 that a musician looks at an assemblage of lines and dots, 
 and they convey to his mind melody and harmony, so 
 the etcher may look at his copper and see the glittering 
 
 B 2 
 
20 
 
 ETCHING : 
 
 lines on the dark smoked ground; but this visual image 
 is at once translated into a mental one by an act of 
 judgment, in which the light and dark relations are 
 intelligently appreciated as in the proof ; the photo- 
 grapher does the same thing with his negative. 
 Meantime, anything which can make the effect in the 
 print less obscure to the mind of the beginner must be 
 obviously of great assistance. I therefore advise the 
 beginner to select for his first etching a simple subject, 
 such as a bit of an old cottage or corner of an old 
 church, and from this to make a carefully-finished 
 drawing in pen-and-inh^ in which the lines are laid on 
 as nearly as possible in the same way as he wishes the 
 proof of his etching to print. Let him keep the lines 
 open, getting the various weights of shade or tone by 
 increasing the thickness of the lines, avoiding too much 
 cross-hatching and niggle. This drawing will be of 
 immense service ; in it will be all the arrangement — 
 the composition of the drawing, the various strength of 
 tint are settled, and even the lines to be employed are 
 almost numbered. I remember I etched one of my 
 early plates in this way ; it had an old building with 
 projecting buttresses in it. In the pen-and-ink drawing 
 these buttresses were shaded with broken perpendicular 
 lines, and it took about eight to shade the width of the side 
 of each buttress. Now, after transferring, I looked at 
 my drawing, and I argued to myself somewhat as 
 follows : — ''It takes eight lines to shade the side of that 
 buttress ; very well, if I draw eight lines about the 
 same width with my needle through the ground, and 
 
ITS PRINCIPLES AND PRACTICE. 
 
 21 
 
 about the same distance apart, they will, when bitten 
 and printed, be bound to give very much the same effect 
 as these pen-and-ink lines." This turned out to be the 
 case ; and, what is still more important, the deliberate 
 recognition of the problem seemed to help to clear up 
 subsequent similar difficulties very rapidly. Of course, 
 I know there is a grand critical objection to this: 
 " Etching is the freest, the most spontaneous art there 
 is, to imitate in a mechanical way lines drawn by pen- 
 and-ink is to reduce it to," &c , &c. But never mind; 
 let the student remember that what he wants at first 
 is not to be free and spontaneous, but to learn to get what 
 he wants in the method he is using or studying, and the 
 great help of the pen-and-ink drawing is that for one 
 thing it sets forth clearly what the artist is after (and 
 when you know what you want you have half obtained 
 it), so that, instead of being troubled by several things 
 worrying him all together, he simply for a time con- 
 centrates his judgment upon the one act of translating 
 mentally his glittering light lines into dark lines and 
 tones of varying strength. This once achieved, a great 
 individual and technical difficulty of etching is conquered. 
 Another benefit accruing from the pen-and-ink drawing 
 is its value as a monitor. Your plate is finished and a 
 print taken, you look at it and you are able at once to 
 estimate how nearly you have approached the realiza- 
 tion of your intentions ; instead of comparing the plate 
 with a perhaps never very clearly defined mental image, 
 you compare it with your own drawing, every line of 
 which rises up against you if the effect in your etching 
 
22 
 
 ETCHING : 
 
 is not as good as it miglit be. Hamerton speaks of the 
 splendid practice afforded by attempting to facsimile 
 etchings by great masters of the art. I certainly do 
 not advise the student to facsimile his own pen-and-ink 
 drawing, but I do say it will be a great help to him in 
 the employment of his lines in the etching. Such 
 questions are constantly arising as, for example, Had 
 I better give this distance with a tint, or shall I make 
 the lines more expressive of character ? " " Had I 
 better shade this roof with lines following the slope, or 
 had they better run in the perspective direction of the 
 lines of the edges of the tiles ? " These matters can be 
 settled by experiment in the pen-and-ink work, and, 
 having been once decided, they do not embarrass the 
 mind of the etcher — thus allowing his lines to be more 
 "free" and " spontaneous." It is quite certain that all 
 dash and freedom worth having is the result not only of 
 command of the hand, but in the clearness of the mental 
 vision of that which is to be delineated. 
 
 8. — Work on the Plate. 
 
 Screen, Best, Needles. 
 
 The outline being transferred, the student now com- 
 mences to draw with the etching needles, the lines re- 
 quired to produce the desired forms and tones upon the 
 copper ; whilst doing this it is requisite that the plate 
 should be sloped slightly, and placed in a good light 
 
ITS PRINCIPLES AND PRACTICE. 
 
 23 
 
 near a window ; the light however, should be rendered 
 soft by the interposition between the window and the 
 plate, of a wooden frame over which is strained a piece 
 of tissue paper ; this will render the light more agree- 
 able to the eye, and will also in a great measure, abolish 
 the confusing glitter of the copper where exposed by 
 the needle. In order to prevent injury to the ground 
 by the hand resting upon it during the work, a rest or 
 bridge is employed. This is simply a piece of thin, 
 light wood a few inches wide and long enough for the 
 ends to project beyond each side of the plate when the 
 bridge is placed over it. The bridge has on its under- 
 side across each end a slip of wood large enough to cause 
 it to clear the plate by about half an inch — perhaps less ; 
 these slips in my bridge are cut out of cork, and are 
 fastened to the underside of bridge by sealing-wax. 
 The cork is less likely to injure the ground, should the 
 end of the bridge by mistake or mischance come upon 
 it. The needles used to etch with are generally made 
 for the purpose, and may be held in a handle specially 
 contrived, or each may be mounted in the end of a pen- 
 holder split to receive it, and then whipped round with 
 fine wire or thread; the ferule of an ordinary pen- 
 holder forced down on the end of the wooden handle 
 also effectually prevents the split deepening and 
 holds the needle firmly. The needles should be stiff 
 enough to bear the pressure laid upon them while 
 working without causing them to bend. Very pleasant 
 needles to work with, may be made of pieces of round 
 iron or steel about the thickness of a lead pencil, and 
 
24 
 
 ETCHING : 
 
 the same length, having one or both ends brought 
 to rather an acute point on a grindstone, and then 
 finished to the requisite degree of sharpness on a 
 hone ; the finest needle employed may be an ordinary 
 fine sewing needle mounted as above. A difficulty often 
 encountered, is that of getting a sufficiently broad line, 
 such as may be used in foreground work and strong 
 darks. A very effective tool for the purpose, well known 
 to the old etchers, but left without description in modern 
 books on the art, was known to them as the " oval point." 
 This was shaped as in the accompanying cuts (Figs. 1 
 and 2), and consisted of a thin bar of steel, with an 
 
 oblique face ground upon one end as shown. It will be 
 readily perceived that this instrument is capable of giving 
 not only a broad line, but that by turning it in the fingers 
 a line changing in thickness from thin to thick, and to 
 thin again, may be had : this is declared by Hamerton 
 in his work, ''Etching and Etchers" (3rd edition), to 
 be apparently beyond the reach of etching, which only 
 showed that the old fellows knew a thing or two more 
 than we possibly think they did, and that it is worth 
 while too, to look up old books on subjects as well as 
 new ones. A needle I use myself very extensively, is 
 made out of an old steel mathematical pen, one nib of 
 which I broke away, and then sharpened the other, as 
 
ITS PRINCIPLES AND PRACTICE. 
 
 25 
 
 shown magnified in the illustration ; at (a) the tip 
 
 needle, or rather tool, by tipping the needle while 
 drawing with surface (c), so as to bring the angle (1) 
 into action, instead of the whole surface of {c). Fre- 
 quently, in etching a plate, I scarcely have any other 
 needle than this in my hand during the whole progress 
 of the work. The " dry-point " is a needle, sharpened 
 with a cutting sort of point, and is used for putting in 
 very fine work upon the plate (after the ground is re- 
 moved), such as may be useful in skies or distance, the 
 bur raised by the ploughing-up of the copper is 
 removed by the scraper when the object is to procure 
 the fine delicate lines, but it is frequently allowed to re- 
 main on, and its effect in the printing forms part of the 
 artist's intention ; this effect is to produce a rich vel- 
 vety dark about the line, of the quality of mezzotinto, 
 very useful in foreground work, etc. ; sometimes whole 
 plates are entirely produced by " dry-point," but, 
 strictly speaking, this is not " etching,'' which neces- 
 sarily involves the biting-in of the lines drawn by the 
 
 is brought to a chisel-like edge, 
 and draws rather fine lines of 
 a certain kind with great comfort 
 and clearness when moved in 
 the direction of its length; the 
 corner (6) is slightly rounded, 
 and draws lines moderately thick; 
 the edge {c) draws very thick lines, 
 and it is very easy to get the 
 graduation of line, too, with this 
 
26 
 
 ETCHING : 
 
 action of a mordant : " dry-point " is, in fact, more 
 nearly allied to engraving with the graver or burin than 
 to etching. 
 
 Various methods are employed by artists to produce 
 the effects they require by the etched lines ; mostly 
 there is a very strong tendency to make the lines and 
 touches not only expressive as shade, but also indicative 
 of the nature and texture of the object represented, and 
 of the direction and position of surfaces ; for example, 
 tints on upright walls or surfaces are usually put in 
 with perpendicular lines more or less varied ; sloping 
 surfaces are shaded with lines drawn in the direction 
 the surface slopes in ; roofs are shaded with lines drawn 
 in the direction of the tiles or slates ; thatch the same 
 way ; skies seem generally to be put in with horizontal 
 lines ; distance the same, or with the lines crossed dia- 
 gonally. Looking at the work of good etchers will 
 give the student more information in a short time than 
 volumes of print on this branch of the subject. The 
 question of style, too, is sure to be decided in a great 
 measure hy the individuality of the student, and if he 
 has strong notions of what is or is not " legitimate " in 
 art or etching he will of course try to embody them in 
 his work. Something concerning the author's ideas on 
 this point will be found in brief further on, meantime 
 we must get on with our plate. But let the student 
 take any way he may choose to use his etched lines, 
 there is one thing he cannot ignore — in fact, he must 
 never lose sight of it — and that is that there must be 
 observed a certain relation between the thickness of the 
 
ITS PRINCIPLES AND PRACTICE. 
 
 27 
 
 lines employed and their closeness to each other ; the 
 finer the lines the closer they must be together, and the 
 thicker they are the wider they must be kept apart. 
 There are several good reasons for observing this, the 
 principal being that the acid is slower in attacking iso- 
 lated lines than lines laid close together, and it is 
 quicker in attacking broad lines than fine ones ; there- 
 fore, by keeping the fine lines close together we en- 
 sure their being rapidly enough attacked by the 
 acid, and by keeping the dark lines well apart we 
 prevent their being too rapidly bitten by the mordant : 
 of course too, it commends itself instantly to our sense 
 of the fitness of things when we are informed that the 
 distance of the work should be done in fine lines laid 
 closely and evenly together; in fact, in producing 
 certain qualities of soft distant tone the lines cannot 
 be too fine, and cannot be laid too closely together. 
 Another matter that must not be lost sight of is the 
 relation of the line work to the biting-in ; if a couple 
 of tree-trunks, for example, be drawn and shaded 
 with the same needle, and the lines laid the same 
 distance apart, one can be made to appear more dis- 
 tant than the other by not being so deeply bitten in 
 by the mordant, the biting being arrested by taking 
 the plate from the bath, drying it, and then painting 
 the portion intended to be fainter over with a protective 
 varnish called stopping-out- varnish," before returning 
 the plate to the bath for the completion of the biting-in 
 of the deeper portions. Thus it is possible to obtain 
 delicacy in the sky and distance, not only by the use 
 
28 
 
 ETCHING : 
 
 of a fine needle for the lines, but also by subjecting 
 tbem to the mordant's action for a very short space of 
 time. At the time of writing I have in hand an etching 
 of a mountain subject in which wreaths of mist are 
 floating about the crags ; I have made a differ- 
 ence in the needle-work, so that it is possible to 
 see on the plate now the different tone-strengths 
 of the mountains and mist ; but this will be much 
 more emphatic in the print, as in my calculations I 
 have written concerning the times of biting the 
 different positions of the plate, I have allotted a 
 difference of four minutes more time in the bath 
 to the crags than the mist will have ; in the same 
 plate the middle distance is only just distinguishable 
 from the distance, its strength being left for the biting 
 to accomplish. Now we begin to see how truly etching 
 is an affair of judgment ! Not only does the etcher 
 have to calculate the positive effect of his plate which 
 shows in negative, but he has also, while he is working, 
 to determine the time he intends to bite every set of 
 lines he makes. This sounds very formidable, and it is 
 doubtless difficult enough, but by resolutely adopting the 
 plan now about to be recommended, the student will soon 
 find the matter clear itself from its complexities, real 
 and apparent. The beginner is advised for some time 
 at least to rigidly limit his effect to what can be ob- 
 tained in three bitings, each having a well-defined time 
 and giving a marked tonic difference, and in the same 
 way he is strenuously advised to use only three different 
 points for his lines ; one a very fine one for sky and 
 
ITS PRINCIPLES AND PRACTICE. 
 
 29 
 
 distance, another of a moderate thickness for the middle 
 tones and nearer parts of the subject, and the third, a 
 broad one not to be used much for tints or outlines^ but to 
 be employed for dark touches and markings to clear up 
 the masses of near strong tone, and to indicate the organic 
 character of the object delineated. The pen-and-ink 
 drawing will be found of great service here. We will 
 suppose the student to make his first effort with three 
 bitings, and without stopping out. Let him take his 
 broad point, and carefully and decidedly put in the darks 
 as above, quite ignoring the lighter portions, only allowing 
 the very strongest touches and lines to be drawn ; the 
 plate is then to be bitten the full time required by the 
 mordant selected, for it to produce the darkest lines. 
 The plate should then be cleaned and a print taken ; 
 this " artist's proof " will show the etcher exactly what 
 he has done, and consequently make what he has yet to 
 do more clearly defined in his mind. The next thing 
 is to ground and smoke the plate again ; it will be 
 found that the dark organic markings are clearly ap- 
 parent through the smoked ground. Now, with the 
 needle of medium fineness, etch all the portions of the 
 plate to be of moderate strength ; of course, at this 
 stage the work in hand may be carried over, and 
 amongst the lines already bitten ; all dark near 7nasses 
 now to be shaded and the dark markings in middle dis- 
 tance. The plate is then to be placed in the bath again 
 and allowed to be bitten for about or rather more than 
 two-thirds of the total time ; this being done, it is to be 
 again cleaned and proof No. 2 to be taken. There now 
 
30 
 
 ETCHING : 
 
 remains to be etched the distant and delicate work with 
 the finest point ; for this purpose the ground this time 
 should be a " transparent ground," in order that the 
 work already done may be clearly seen ; it should of 
 course not be smoked. During this final stage the dis- 
 tance is executed, and veils of delicate tone may be 
 thrown like a glaze over the work already done, 
 softening and fusing up the values, so that the method 
 employed shall not be too easily apparent. A sky may 
 be slightly put in, with the work in it more open than 
 that in the distance, or it may be left for a delicate tone 
 in dry-point. The needle-work having thus been com- 
 pleted, the plate is bitten finally, and for a period of 
 time about one-third, or a little less than one-third, of 
 the whole time of biting. A proof is once more taken, 
 and the resulting effect of the different tints and 
 bitings carefully studied ; the etcher may allow himself 
 a little work here and there with the dry-point, 
 leaving the bur on in the richest darks, or he may allow 
 himself a touch or two with the graver to clear up ill- 
 bitten lines, &c. Delicate tints may be got with the 
 dry-point by removing the bur, and a great deal can be 
 done too with the graver, if employed with circum- 
 spection ; but the young etcher is urged to avoid 
 trusting to these aids, but to resolve firmly to obtain his 
 effect with the needle and mordant. The careless 
 reader or critic may think this is a very limited range 
 of effect to offer the student — " Only three different 
 tints to attempt to represent Nature's infinite variety 
 with ? — Preposterous ! " But let us see how the 
 matter really stands : — 
 
ITS PRINCIPLES AND PRACTICE. 
 
 31 
 
 1st. We may have strong darks detached. 
 2nd. Strong darks with middle tint worked over 
 them. 
 
 3rd. Strong darks with last delicate tint worked over 
 them. 
 
 4th. Strong darks with middle and last delicate tint 
 over them. 
 
 5th. Middle tint alone. 
 
 6th. Middle tint with delicate last tint over it. 
 7th. Delicate tint alone. 
 
 8th. Delicate tint more open in character, as in sky. 
 These are only a few of the coarsest and most obvious 
 effects, but we might go on to say : — 
 
 9th. Strong dark with middle tint over against bright 
 light (as in tree branches and foliage against light in 
 sky). 
 
 10th. Strong dark with middle tint over against 
 delicate distance. 
 
 11th. Strong dark with middle tint over against 
 middle distance. 
 
 And so on, for a practically endless number of oppo- 
 sitions. The accompanying plates show clearly that the 
 three bitings yield at any rate all the above-numbered 
 effects and many others, not to mention differences of 
 texture and quality produced by lines, which, although 
 of the same thickness, are otherwise different in 
 character. 
 
 A great advantage to the student, enabling him to 
 check his work as he goes along, is the taking of the 
 
32 
 
 ETCHING : 
 
 proof between each stage of the needle- work and dif- 
 ferent bitings. 
 
 The same effects may be produced by reversing the 
 order of the needle-work ; that is to say, by first putting 
 in on the smoked ground all the delicate work all over 
 the plate^ biting it in for the shortest time, cleaning 
 plate and obtaining proof ; ground with transparent 
 ground^ and etch middle tints wherever they are to 
 come, bite in for longer period, again clean plate and 
 obtain proof No. 2. Lay and smoke the ordinary 
 ground, put in all powerful darks, bite in for 
 total length of time, and clean plate and finish as 
 before. 
 
 After the etcher has had some experience he may 
 feel strong enough to dispense with the proofs between 
 the bitings ; the first then becomes a very rapid method 
 (commencing with the darks), as the regrounding of 
 plate is thus obviated ; in this case, however, the 
 bitings have, of course, to be differently timed. For 
 instance, suppose we are using a mordant that will bite 
 the strongest darks in half an hour, our modus ope- 
 randi would be somewhat as follow: — 
 
 1st. Draw strong darks, bite ten minutes. 
 2nd. Draw middle tones, bite fifteen minutes. 
 3rd. Draw lightest tones, bite five minutes. 
 
 Adopting this plan a small plate can be easily etched 
 at a single sitting, the work with the needle being carried 
 on immediately after the plate has been removed from 
 
ITS PRINCIPLES AND PRACTICE. 
 
 33 
 
 the bath, washed with pure water and dried with soft 
 blotting-paper. 
 
 The accompanying plate illustrates two conditions of 
 a subject etched on the plan above recommended. The 
 first condition shows the result of the first and second 
 bitings ; the strongest darks were etched and bitten 
 first, and it will be noticed they are put in as strong 
 markings^ not necessarily outlines, or even often so, 
 although they are serviceably indicative of the position 
 of some forms. When these were bitten, the plate was 
 removed from the bath, washed and dried, and the 
 lighter middle tint added with a finer point ; this not 
 only gave the distance, but also the shading of the 
 nearer masses over the darks where required. The 
 second condition shows the final addition of a still 
 lighter tint, giving the sky, and carried over the distance 
 in places, and over the road and elsewhere in foreground. 
 
 The notice of the student is invited to the figures in the 
 times of bitings; the first biting was for only ten minutes, 
 but the darks received in all the full thirty minutes, as of 
 course they were continuously bitten during the sub- 
 sequent bitings. The next bitingwas for fifteen minutes^ 
 which may seem too long ; but, as a matter of fact, 
 most beginner's work is poor in the middle tones, and 
 the twenty minutes allotted in all to them will not be 
 found too much. Five minutes for the last tint may 
 seem very little, but two things go a long way to make 
 this short biting very effective — the first, that the lines 
 being closely laid are on that account more strongly 
 bitten throughout the biting, the second, that the point 
 
 c 
 
34 
 
 ETCHING : 
 
 employed being a sharp one for the last tones, the sur- 
 face of the copper will most likely be scratched slightly 
 where every line is drawn ; this greatly assists the im- 
 mediate and incisive action of the mordant. In a plate 
 where stopping-out is employed, and all the work there- 
 fore put on the plate before biting it, when it is put 
 into the bath it will be seen at once that where the fine 
 lines are closely drawn, there the action of the acid is 
 immediately perceptible. 
 
 It is of the greatest importance that during the whole 
 of the time the work with the needle is going on that 
 the pressure on it is sufficient to thoroughly remove the 
 ground through the whole length of each line ; if this 
 is not accomplished the result is that the lines are in- 
 completely bitten, and in place of a clean, continuous 
 line we have a ragged broken one, consisting of dashes 
 and intervening blank spaces ; these are destructive of 
 all good quality, and are known as " rotten lines." 
 Specks sometimes occur in the prints, and these are 
 caused by minute portions of the ground being re- 
 moved, or by particles of foreign matter in the 
 ground ; where such imperfections occur the acid eats 
 deep pits into the surface of the plate, utterly ruining 
 any delicate or even moderately strong tint : prevention 
 is better than cure in this case, and before trusting the 
 plate in the bath it should be carefully examined 
 through a magnifying- glass, and any specks or bright 
 spots carefully touched out with a small brush and 
 stopping-out varnish. 
 
 A small engraver's glass to be held in the eye is use- 
 
ITS PRINCIPLES AND PRACTICE. 
 
 36 
 
 ful when drawing minute portions of the work, and a 
 large glass to be held in the hand is occasionally of 
 service. As little work as possible should, however, be 
 done under a glass. 
 
 In re-grounding a plate for the addition of work 
 with the needle, it is most important to fill the lines 
 abeady on the plate well up with the ground ; if this 
 is insufficiently done, the following biting will be liable 
 to attack the previously completed lines, most likely to 
 the destruction of all good quality they possess. 
 
 9. — BiTING-IN THE WoRK. 
 
 Different Mordants. Deceptions in Biting, 
 
 This is really the most uncertain of the etcher's 
 processes ; so very many causes may combine to affect 
 the acceleration or retardation of the action of the 
 mordant, that the most experienced etchers are fre- 
 quently the victims of an error of judgment as to 
 the effect of the biting upon the plate. There are 
 several mordants in use at the present day, but the two 
 most generally employed are the nitric and the hydro- 
 chloric acid baths ; of these the former is more liable 
 to vary in its action, but it has the two great advant- 
 ages of being much more rapid and affording the 
 student the means of watching it, and thus, when neces- 
 sary, checking its action. The nitric mordant may be 
 composed of either nitric or nitrous acid and water ; if 
 the former, it is diluted equally with water, but if the 
 
 c 2 
 
36 
 
 ETCHING : 
 
 latter, the proportions should be ten parts of water to 
 nine of the acid. Nitrous acid is rather more regular 
 in its action than nitric, but the fumes it evolves during 
 the process of biting are much more unpleasant, and if 
 the ground be properly laid and the needle-work duly 
 performed, the nitric acid bath is safe enough under 
 ordinary circumstances. The temperature has a very 
 perceptible effect on the rate of biting, and during hot 
 weather the quantity of acid employed should be 
 lessened, the standard of biting being that, with the 
 nitric mordant, the full time of biting should be thirty 
 minutes for the darkest lines and touches ; if the action 
 of the bath is lessened by cold, the effect will be to 
 prolong the biting a few minutes. This is of little 
 consequence, but if the biting be hastened too much 
 there is a great risk that the strong ebullition, caused 
 by the acid acting upon the copper, will, as it were, blow 
 up the ground from the surface of the plate, especially 
 if the ground be too hard. This shelling off of the 
 ground in the bath is fatal unless the biting-in is so far 
 advanced that the plate may be saved by taking it out, 
 and finishing it by an after-process, such as re-biting, 
 or by the use of the dry-point or graver. The hydro- 
 chloric mordant, not being effervescent, is much less likely 
 to cause foul biting, so that in important plates, or when 
 it is feared that there is a tendency in the ground to 
 detach itself from the plate, the hydrochloric bath may 
 be advantageously employed. This tendency in the 
 ground to shell up may sometimes be detected during 
 work with the needle, and very often the use of a sharp 
 
ITS PRINCIPLES AND PRACTICE. 
 
 37 
 
 needle will be less likely to initiate a looseness or 
 breaking of the ground at tbe edges of the lines, whicli 
 may result in shelling off in the bath. The ground 
 too is more likely to shell off during cold weather ; if 
 this be feared, the bath may be kept at an even tempera- 
 ture by placing it upon an iron box with two or three 
 small gas jets underneath, which can be regulated at 
 pleasure ; the temperature employed should be about 65 
 degrees Fahrenheit. Foul biting may be successfully 
 arrested, by covering the place so attacked with a 
 mixture of tallow and lamp-black, warmed and smeared 
 on, or touched on with the finger ; this, of course, after 
 the plate has been removed from the bath and dried with 
 blotting paper ; the tallow sets at once, and the plate 
 may be immediately returned to the bath and the biting 
 proceeded with. It is one of the advantages of the pro- 
 cess advocated for the student, that the ground is relaid at 
 different stages of the biting-in, for it is the prolonged 
 action of the bath that most frequently finds out the 
 tendency to shell in the ground. Often a biting will go 
 on satisfactorily until it seems certain all will go well 
 to the end ; suddenly the ground will commence to 
 flake off, and perhaps in a few seconds large pieces will 
 detach themselves. Of course, if this happens the plate 
 must be at once removed and washed in clean water ; 
 it may then be cleaned, and a proof taken, by which 
 the etcher may be enabled to judge best which process 
 is necessary (if any) to complete it. Generally the 
 biting-in of beginners is not ^'plucky'' enough — the 
 result is a pale, weak proof ; it is very easy to reduce an 
 
38 
 
 ETCHING : 
 
 over-bitten plate or passage, and as it is very tedious 
 and uncertain to re-bite a plate, it is far better to err 
 in the direction of over-biting than under. 
 
 The baths are usually shallow porcelain ones, such as 
 are used in photography, and they must be sufficiently 
 larger than the plate to admit of its being easily re- 
 moved from and replaced in the acid ; baths of vulcanite 
 and glass are also used, but the porcelain ones are best, 
 and will stand the heat of the gas-stove, which the others 
 will not do. Finger-stalls of India-rubber are useful to 
 prevent the acid from staining the fingers. To lift the 
 plate from the bath it is well to have a piece of wood 
 brought to a thin edge, which may be pushed gently 
 under the edge of the plate when lifting it out of the 
 bath. A large bowl of pure water may be kept near the 
 bath to rinse the plate and fingers in ; my own practice 
 is, however, to empty the acid ofE a plate into a beaker, 
 and then, with the plate still resting in the bath, to put 
 it under a tap, taking care to turn the plate over so 
 that the back may also be washed. The last thing 
 before putting the plate into the bath, it should be 
 minutely examined on the surface, back, and edges, and 
 the greatest care taken to paint over with stopping-out 
 varnish or Brunswick black the smallest specks or 
 scratches that may be detected in the ground. Avoid 
 inhaling the fumes arising from the bath during biting, 
 as they are both unpleasant and unhealthy ; a respirator 
 may be extemporized with a handkerchief when ex- 
 amining the plate when it is in the bath ; the room too 
 in which the biting-in is done should be well ventilated. 
 
ITS PRINCIPLES AND PRACTICE. 
 
 39 
 
 The student is recommended for some time to practise 
 the use of the nitric mordant, which, as before stated, 
 takes thirty minutes for the etching of the deepest 
 darks. A great advantage of the nitric bath is the pos- 
 sibility of watching its progress and varying the 
 lengths of the bitings as it is seen whether they are 
 progressing at the rate anticipated. The action of the 
 bath is visible in what is known as the " frosting of the 
 lines ; " this is caused by a sort of effervescence or 
 ebullition wherever the corrosion of the copper is going 
 on ; if the conditions are right, this will be seen 
 at places a few seconds after the mordant is poured 
 upon the plate, and in about thirty seconds it should 
 become general wherever the lines have been drawn ; if 
 the bath is too weak the attack will be deferred, and 
 acid should be cautiously added to bring it up to 
 strength, the plate being of course removed from the 
 bath imtil the additional acid is thoroughly mixed in 
 the bath. If this frosting is set up at once all over the 
 ground it is a sign that the bath is too strong to be 
 trusted, and that the ground is in danger of being re- 
 moved by the violence of the ebullition ; when this too 
 rapid attack takes places the mordant should at once be 
 poured oflf the plate into a jug or beaker, and the plate 
 (bath and all) plunged into pure water, or held under a 
 tap. If all goes well, the progress of the biting should 
 be carefully observed, and the accumulation of tiny 
 bubbles, which causes the ''frosted" look of the lines, 
 removed by the gentle use of a soft brush or feather ; 
 this is to allow the biting to go on unchecked (as it is 
 
40 
 
 ETCHING : 
 
 retarded by these clinging bubbles of gas), and to 
 observe whether the ground is standing under the 
 action of the mordant ; the feather should be used at 
 short intervals, and the progress of each biting watched 
 throughout. 
 
 Several things may occur together or separately to 
 upset the etcher's calculations about the action of the 
 bath : biting may be accelerated or retarded by the 
 temperature, and it is a good thing to keep the mordant at 
 the same temperature throughout the biting by perform- 
 ing it on the iron box with gas-jets beneath ; the tem- 
 perature should be regulated to about 60 degrees Fahren- 
 heit. Some of the lines may be slowly bitten or not 
 bitten at all by the ground being more or less imper- 
 fectly removed by the needle, and the etcher may with 
 vexation find some parts of the plate being attacked at 
 a great rate, while others seem to be very languidly 
 bitten ; this, of course, will throw out all the tone rela- 
 tions and ruin the plate. The prevention of this by 
 the habitual use of a firm and even pressure throughout 
 the drawing of every line should be sedulously culti- 
 vated. Once more, too, we must insist on the thorough 
 cleaning of the plate before the ground is laid, as a 
 matter of great importance ; the finest film of greasy 
 matter — caused perhaps by the touch of an oily finger 
 — seems sufficient to quite prevent the biting at times. 
 Then the action of the bath sometimes is weakened after 
 it has been on for some time, and the biting may perhaps 
 come almost to a dead standstill ; this is, of course, the 
 more likely to occur, as most etchers use the same bath 
 
ITS PRINCIPLES AND PRACTICE. 
 
 41 
 
 over and over again : fresh acid must be added from 
 time to time, or a new bath mixed. Again, the strength 
 of the acid varies when purchased of different vendors, 
 and this, of course, is productive of error in timing the 
 biting ; the remedy against these troubles is practice, 
 and the habit of loatchmg the action of the bath by the 
 way the "frosting " goes on. After a time this 
 becomes a very sure criterion — much more reliable than 
 any time system. 
 
 10. — Stopping-out. 
 
 If the plate is intended to be etched by the aid of 
 " stopping-out " it must be withdrawn from the bath 
 when the lightest and most delicate tints have been 
 sufficiently bitten ; this will take about five minutes 
 with the nitric mordant and fifteen with the Dutch or 
 hydrochloric. After the plate has been washed and 
 pressed between soft blotting-paper, and allowed to 
 become thoroughly dry, those parts which are bitten in 
 sufficiently must be painted over with stopping-out 
 varnish, or Brunswick black, with a little turps in it 
 to hasten its drying. A very good stopping-out varnish 
 may be made by dissolving resin broken up into small 
 pieces in turpentine ; put the resin in a small bottle, 
 and pour in the turps to about twice the height of the 
 resin ; to dissolve the resin the bottle must be heated in 
 a saucepan of water; the addition of a little lamp-black 
 will render the varnish then ready for use. The old 
 etchers used as a stopping-out varnish white picture 
 
42 
 
 ETCHING : 
 
 varnish, in which lamp-black was mixed with a small 
 brush on a piece of glass as it was required for use. 
 This varnish, when dry, can be worked on with the needle^ 
 a very great advantage indeed, as a plate that shells off 
 in places may be at once removed from the bath, dried, 
 and the defective portions painted over with this 
 varnish, the work re-drawn with the needle, and the 
 biting proceeded with. 
 
 When the first stopping-out is finished, the plate is 
 returned to the bath, and the next deeper portions of it 
 bitten as long as may be judged necessary ; the plate 
 is then dried and stopped-out as before ; and so the 
 biting is carried on with as many different lengths of 
 biting as the artist deems necessary to obtain the 
 different tones he desires. As a matter of fact, the 
 effect of very many stoppings-out is illusory, five or six 
 being quite sufficient to obtain as great a variety of 
 tones as is necessary, if the needle-work has been pro- 
 perly studied and varied ; the difference between the 
 portion of a set of lines bitten ten minutes and another 
 portion of the same set bitten for fifteen minutes is 
 imperceptible. If you etch a plate by stopping-out, do 
 not grudge plenty of time and trouble over it ; very 
 beautiful things may be done with it, and many effects 
 gained that could only be obtained with much labour 
 without its aid ; for example, reflections in water may 
 be put in with the needle very quickly with perpendi- 
 cular lines, and the light horizontal touches and blurs of 
 ripple painted across them with the varnish, thus ob- 
 taining an efl'ect that would cost much labour and 
 
ITS PRINCIPLES AND PRACTICE. 
 
 43 
 
 involve loss of freedom in the lines, if they had to be 
 put in carefully between the lights. Of course stopping- 
 out may be employed when treating a plate by the 
 process advocated for the student, if its need at any 
 stage of the bitings be felt. With the hydrochloric 
 bath the perceptible effect is less in proportion with the 
 time of the different bitings than with the nitric ; but 
 the former is very quiet and certain in its operation, 
 and it also has the very great merit of attacking all the 
 lines at the same time and at the same rate, whether 
 they be laid closely or otherwise. The hydrochloric 
 bath is composed of — 
 
 Chlorate of potash ... ... 2 parts 
 
 Hydrochloric acid ... ... 10 „ 
 
 Pure water ... ... ... 88 „ 
 
 The water is to be made hot, and the chlorate of 
 potash dissolved in it first, then the acid is to be added 
 to it. This bath takes about six hours to bite in the 
 deepest lines, in a moderate temperature. In making 
 the nitric bath, heat will be generated when the acid 
 and water are mixed together in the bottle ; this must 
 have subsided before the mordant is used. 
 
 11. — Other Methods of Laying the Gtround, &c. 
 
 The Boiler, Liquid and TransjMrent Grounds. 
 
 Lately the roller has come largely into use in etching 
 processes, and a little practice soon makes it a very de- 
 sirable adjunct to the etcher's apparatus. When the 
 roller is used for laying the ground instead of the 
 
44 
 
 ETCHING : 
 
 dabber, a liquid ground is employed ; this may be pur- 
 chased ready made, or it may be easily made by melting 
 the ordinary ground, and adding oil of lavender or 
 turpentine to it until it is of the right consistency — 
 about as thick as cream. In laying the ground a spare 
 piece of copper or piece of plate glass must be used, 
 and some of the liquid ground or paste spread upon it 
 with a palette knife, the roller is then rolled upon it 
 until charged evenly and thinly with the liquid ground ; 
 the plate to be etched upon is then rolled in all di- 
 rections whilst resting upon a firm, even surface, until 
 it is evenly and thinly covered. The lavender oil or tur- 
 pentine is then expelled by warming the plate gently 
 over the flame of a spirit-lamp ; as soon as it looks 
 transparent and shiny it is heated enough, and may 
 be allowed to cool, and it is then ready for use. 
 
 Liquid solutions of etching ground may be made 
 with ether or chloroform ; these are poured upon the 
 plate as photographers pour collodion on their plates, 
 a pool being formed which touches the edges of the 
 plate ; the plate is then canted gently until the ground 
 has run into every corner, and then the ground is 
 poured off at one corner back into the bottle. Hamer- 
 ton gives a recipe for a liquid ground, which he highly 
 recommends ; I used it years ago, and then, as now, 
 found it answer admirably. It is simply a solution of 
 beeswax and turpentine decanted again and again, after 
 being allowed to settle until the resultant fluid is a 
 perfectly clear golden colour, free from all sediment ; 
 this is poured on the plate (very carefully cleaned), as 
 
ITS PRINCIPLES AND PRACTICE. 
 
 45 
 
 above described, and allowed to dry for twelve hours, 
 a second coat is then poured on, and the plate im- 
 mediately smoked in the usual way. This ground 
 hardens in time, and should therefore only be laid 
 when it is wanted for use in a short time. 
 
 A liquid ground may be made, too, by breaking up 
 the ordinary etching ground, crushing it and dissolving 
 it in turpentine, by the means of placing a bottle 
 containing the turpentine in a saucepan of water ; the 
 powdered ground is put into the turpentine and the 
 bottle carefully watched, as the turpentine will boil over 
 long before the water boils ; the bottle may be loosely 
 corked and removed from time to time from the saucepan 
 and shaken ; when the ground is dissolved, it should be 
 allowed to cool and then be strained, and there will be 
 a considerable amount of impure sediment. The ground 
 should be about as thick as house-paint ; it is poured on 
 the plate like collodion, the tui'pentine evaporated by 
 holding the plate over a spirit-lamp until the liquid 
 look of the ground disappears ; it may then be immedi- 
 ately smoked. This is a capital ground, thin, resistant 
 to the acid, and pleasant to work on. 
 
 Transparent grounds are used when it is desired to 
 re-ground and work upon the plate without the work 
 already on it being obscured, as it would be if an ordi- 
 nary ground were used ; these grounds can be bought 
 in the ordinary ball form or in a liquid ; of course the 
 ground is not smoked. The ordinary ball of ground 
 dissolved in ether makes a good transparent ground, 
 or the etcher may make a ball according to the 
 
46 
 
 ETCHING : 
 
 following recipe : Powdered gum mastic, 1 part ; 
 powdered asphaltum or amber, 1 part ; white wax, 2 
 parts. Melt the wax and add the other ingredients 
 gradually. 
 
 12. — Ee-biting. 
 
 Sometimes a plate that is found to he insuflGlciently 
 bitten is re-grounded, and again bitten. The object 
 in this case is to cover the polished surface of the 
 plate with the new ground, without filling up the lines 
 already bitten in. It is very easy to do this with the 
 darker lines and portions, but almost impossible with 
 the finer ones. There are two methods, one with the 
 dabber, and the other with the roller. In the first a 
 little ground is spread upon a warmed spare copper, 
 and the dabber thinly charged from it, and then dabbed 
 on the plate to be re-bitten, which is also warmed for 
 the purpose, care being taken to dab the plate very 
 lightly, and not to work the ground into the lines. 
 The roller answers very much better when the plate is 
 quite flat, and a very thin film, being rolled upon a 
 glass or copper plate, may be successfully transferred 
 to the etched plate without filling up the lines. Ee- 
 biting is often very unsatisfactory, and it is frequently 
 much better to strengthen the plate by re-grounding it 
 in the ordinary way, and adding more work with the 
 needle. 
 
 13. — Working in the Bath. 
 Mr. Seymour Haden invented a way of executing a 
 
ITS PRINCIPLES AND PRACTICE. 47 
 
 plate entirely while in the bath. The mordant em- 
 ployed for the purpose is the hydrochloric one, and the 
 manner of work is to draw the darks first, and proceed 
 gradually to the lightest passages of the work. The 
 mordant should only be slightly above the surface of 
 the plate, or the point of the needle will be so much 
 altered in position (apparently) by refraction, as to make 
 it difficult to draw with certainty. This method is very 
 applicable to sketching from nature, and the bath is 
 then fashioned of a wooden tray, japanned to resist the 
 acid, and mounted upon a tripod like a camera's, with 
 sliding legs, so that the bath may be adjusted to a level 
 on any inequality of the ground. This method of 
 working requires much judgment and practice, and is 
 unsuitable for a beginner ; it has not come into very 
 great vogue, and has so many objections that it is not 
 likely to. 
 
 14. — Etching from Nature. 
 
 The plates are very convenient for this purpose, and 
 may be carried in small grooved boxes, such as photo- 
 graphers' dry plates are packed in. It is necessary for 
 the etcher to sit with his back to the subject, and draw 
 from its reflection in a small mirror, unless the reversal 
 of the scene in the print is of no consequence to him. 
 Of course, as the whole of the work is done on the 
 plate without the bath, the biting-in at home will have 
 to be proceeded with on the principle of stopping-out, 
 and the etcher must work with the needle in the best 
 way according to his judgment for this after-process. 
 
48 
 
 ETCHING : 
 
 All near rustic buildings, boats, weeds, &c., form 
 charming and suitable subjects for the etcher's art, and 
 very simple ones will be found to repay the student for 
 his trouble better than compKcated compositions with 
 many distances and effects. An etched plate from 
 nature should in fact be a sketch, and every advantage 
 should be taken of the free and decisive line-drawing 
 the method so perfectly affords ; while the working up 
 of elaborate tones should be avoided. Some of the 
 finest things done in etching have been sketches from 
 nature, executed in this way by masters of the craft. 
 
 15. — Remedial Processes. 
 
 Scraping out. Burnishing^ &(c. 
 
 Sometimes it is found that portions of a plate have 
 been over-bitten; they may easily be lowered by rubbing 
 the plate where it is desired to lighten it with a piece 
 of willow charcoal moistened with olive oil ; this will 
 reduce the surface without destroying the quality of the 
 lines, and for lightening delicate portions of the work 
 no other method should ever be employed. For making 
 more extensive and deep erasures the scraper must be 
 used ; this is a kind of knife made for the purpose, 
 triangular in section and coming to a point. Unless it 
 is kept very sharp, it is worse than useless, as it only 
 scratches the plate and makes bad worse ; it is used for 
 removing any scratches or small pits that occur on the 
 polished part of the plate from accident. With it a 
 faulty passage may be entirely removed, and the 
 
ITS PRINCIPLES AND PRACTICE. 
 
 49 
 
 poKshed surface of the copper regained by using crocus 
 powder with an oil rubber, or charcoal and olive oil, as 
 above ; the use of the burnisher then brings up the 
 final polish of the plate. The burnisher is a polished 
 tool made of steel, tapering to a blunt point ; it must 
 be kept in the best condition or is useless ; should it 
 lose its polish or become scratched, it must be rubbed 
 to and fro in a small groove cut in a piece of soft deal, 
 first with crocus powder and oil, until the scratches are 
 removed, and then finally polished in another groove 
 with putty powder used dry. The burnisher is very 
 useful to slightly reduce a heavy over-bitten passage, 
 by rubbing it on the plate and crushing as it were the 
 copper more together into the lines. Any roughness 
 of the surface of the copper caused by foul biting may 
 be burnished away, if it is too great to be removed thus, 
 then the charcoal must first be used, and finally the bur- 
 nisher. Spoilt coppers; if large, pay for replaning and 
 polishing at the maker's, if small they do not. Some- 
 times in erasing bad work the copper becomes hollowed 
 out so much that it will not print well ; it must then be 
 placed upon a polished anvil used for the purpose, and 
 struck upon the back with a convex-faced hammer until 
 the hollow part be hammered up to the level of the rest 
 of the surface. The place to be struck is marked upon 
 the back of the plate by means of a pair of callipers 
 with turn-down points, one of which is sharp and the 
 other blunt ; these being opened slightly, the blunt 
 point is brought over the surface of the plate until 
 opposite the hollow desired to be remedied ; the sharp 
 
50 
 
 ETCHING : 
 
 point is then, while the callipers are kept in position, 
 made to scratch a mark upon the back of the plate, thus 
 indicating the position of the hollow place. Where 
 small specks have been scraped out, the plate is marked 
 as above, and the hammering up effected with a small 
 punch which is struck and punches up the copper to the 
 level surface. The beginner need not invest in a 
 hammer and anvil at first, as the anvil easily rusts and 
 spoils if neglected, and the cost of having the plate 
 hammered up at an ordinary copper-plate printers is 
 very small indeed. 
 
 16. — Soft Gtround Etching. 
 
 This was at one time a method often practised, but 
 it has been superseded by lithography. "What it ac- 
 complishes is to produce a resemblance to a drawing 
 produced by hatched lines drawn by a lead pencil, and 
 in practised hands it has certainly been the means of 
 obtaining this result very closely. A description of it 
 is inserted here, because it affords an effective and 
 legitimate auxiliary process to ordinary line etching, 
 yielding a tone that agreeably softens and combines 
 with the line work, and, unlike " dodged " printing, it 
 is part of the artist's autographic work, as well as part 
 of his intention. An ordinary etching-ball is melted 
 up and mixed with an equal quantity of tallow ; with 
 this the plate is grounded and smoked as usual. The 
 design' is drawn and shaded with pencil upon a piece 
 of not too thick and decidedly grained paper ; this is 
 
ITS PRINCIPLES AND PRACTICE. 
 
 51 
 
 carefully wetted and strained upon the plate, its edges 
 being turned down upon the back of the plate and 
 pasted securely. Take care nothing now touches the 
 paper, and when it is dry, with the hand on the rest, 
 draw over your subject with a hard point, pressing (as 
 if with a pencil) hard where you want the shade dark 
 and lightly where you wish it to be delicate. The 
 result is that the soft ground adheres to the back of the 
 paper, and when the work is finished, and the paper 
 removed, the copper will be found to be most exposed 
 where the darks are to come, and the other tints in like 
 proportion. The plate is then bitten in the ordinary 
 manner, stopping-out being employed for the lighter 
 tones, by which the most characteristic and beautiful 
 effects may be obtained. The drawing may be done 
 at once, after the paper has been strained on the plate, 
 using harder and softer pencils as occasion requires. 
 
 17. — Dry-Point and the Use of the Burin or 
 Graver. 
 
 The use of the dry-point, a needle sharpened with a 
 flat, oval-shaped point, with a cutting edge, is allowed 
 on all hands to be a perfectly safe and legitimate ad- 
 junct to etching ; with it can be put delicate sky tones 
 and distances (with the bur removed by the scraper), 
 and when it is employed with the bur left on, to enrich 
 and deepen foreground tones, the mezzotint-like velvety 
 qualities it possesses are very desirable ; the drawback 
 to the latter is that the work will only too often not 
 
 D 2 
 
ITS PRINCIPLES AND PRACTICE. 
 
 53 
 
 stand the wear of printing for any large number of 
 impressions — sometimes for very few indeed. Another 
 very useful auxiliary is the burin or graver; this is 
 shaped as shown in Fig. 1 in the accompanying plate, 
 and for broad lines is square in section, and varies from 
 that to the extreme lozenge employed for the finest 
 cuts. It will be noticed that ^the lower part of the 
 handle of the instrument is cut away ; this is to allow 
 the peculiar carriage necessary to the implement when 
 in use. The belly or lower edge of the graver should 
 preserve a very acute angle with the surface of the plate, if 
 the graver were inclined more steeply the result would be 
 that as it advanced in the course of the cut it would 
 bury itself more and more deeply in the copper, until 
 further progress became stopped, or (very likely) if 
 force were employed, the point would break off. For 
 ordinary use a graver somewhat lozenge-shaped is best, 
 as it allows freedom and a clean incision in the deeper 
 cuts as well as in the fine ones. To sharpen the graver 
 a hone or oil-stone is necessary, and the method as 
 follows : lay the end of the graver flat upon the oil- 
 stone on one of its sides next the belly or lower cutting 
 edge, then with the forefinger of the left hand press 
 firmly on the side uppermost, and keep the end of the 
 graver perfectly flat while the right hand pushes the 
 graver to and fro upon the oil-stone ; this side being 
 sharpened, turn the graver on the other lower side ad- 
 jacent to the one just sharpened, and proceed to whet 
 it in the same manner. A sharp edge being thus ob- 
 tained on the belly of the graver for a length of about 
 
54 
 
 ETCHING : 
 
 half an incli from its point, the next thing is to bring 
 the inclined face up on the stone until the point 
 becomes quite sharp, and the face of the graver quite 
 flat ; if the face be at all rounded or angular, perfect 
 command of the instrument is out of the question. The 
 face is whetted by pressing it hard and flat upon the 
 stone while it is moved to and fro by the right hand, 
 the greatest care being taken to keep the inclination 
 of the graver upon the stone always the same. 
 
 Before describing the method of holding the graver a 
 few remarks upon the proper way of combining the en- 
 graved with the etched lines will not be out of place. 
 There is always a great danger, when the burin is used 
 upon an etched plate, that the artist may be tempted to 
 carry the work too far on by its aid, and thereby lose the 
 character of the etching or endanger its harmony of 
 work by the mixture of the lines of different quality ; 
 to avoid this the etcher should resolutely determine to 
 bring his plate up to its completion without reckoning 
 upon the aid of the graver; let him work as if the 
 graver did not exist, then if at the finish he thinks he 
 can improve his plate by a few dark touches here and 
 there, or by a set or two of lines on some of the tones, 
 let him by all means employ his graver ; and there is a 
 most excellent reason for using it at this stage, viz., 
 that the process is a positive one ; as fast as he cuts his 
 lines the artist can rub a little tallow and lampblack 
 into them, and judge at once of the effect of his work. 
 Now, as etchers know to their sorrow, it is not at all an 
 uncommon thing for a plate to be spoilt, or necessitate 
 
ITS PRINCIPLES AND PRACTICE. 
 
 55 
 
 much labour to rescue it from ruin, by the relation of 
 the tones being upset, by a final biting-in of lines being 
 too dark, owing to a slight error in the time of biting ; 
 a plate which has its tones well-balanced is as sensitive 
 as a picture, and all artists are aware how very easy it is 
 to destroy the balance of tone at the finishing of the 
 work, and the more delicately true the tones are, the 
 more this danger exists. So there is a real and 
 artistic reason for the use of the graver in finishing 
 a plate, and if its use is not abused it is just as 
 legitimate as dry-point. With a small lozenge- 
 shaped graver a delicate sky tint may be put in or 
 an existing one strengthened ; delicate pieces of tone 
 may be laid here and there to bring the plate together, 
 or to enhance the mystery or richness in places. In 
 doing this I do not say " try and disguise the fact that 
 you used a graver," but try and make the work har- 
 monious with the etched lines. To do this the fol- 
 lowing hints may be of service : do 7iot be tempted 
 to shade round things (such as clouds) with curved 
 lines following their surfaces ; use sJiort lines of 
 equal strength throughout, and in hatching tints 
 " knock the work about," that is, cross it in all 
 imaginable ways and keep it loose and free-looking ; 
 look at a ^' splendid old copper-plate engraving," 
 and carefully avoid every method you see employed 
 in it ; when you find you are gaining some com- 
 mand over the instrument be sure you do not take 
 to showing off your ability to cross-hatch with wonder- 
 ful neatness, or cut tints of curved or wriggling parallel 
 
66 
 
 ETCHING : 
 
 lines ; knock the work about, and don't do a stroke 
 more than is absolutely necessary. Yery often what is 
 termed a creve occurs in an etching ; that is, a space of 
 the surface wherein the lines have been so closely 
 hatched and laid together that before the biting of the 
 plate is concluded the little pieces of ground between 
 the lines have been removed by the acid, and the result 
 is a certain amount of roughening of the plate by foul- 
 biting — this comes out dark and foul in the print, but 
 soon wears smooth, and the middle of it prints white, and 
 looks about as bad as is possible ; the graver here is useful 
 to run a few lines on the surface, which will enable the 
 creve to hold the ink. Heavy masses of shade may be 
 cleared up and made to look transparent by a powerful 
 touch of dark put here and there with a square graver. 
 
 When the plate is being touched upon with the 
 graver it should be rested upon a circular cushion of 
 leather (see Fig. 2) ; this should be about six inches 
 across and three inches thick, and had better be made 
 by a shoemaker ; it should be filled with sand and 
 whitening in about equal proportions, and it affords a 
 firm support to the plate in every position. The plate 
 is held by the left hand firmly in position, and turned 
 about so that the cuts can be readily made in any direc- 
 tion, the graver being pushed by the hand generally in 
 the same direction, the turning of the plate varying the 
 direction of the lines cut. In cutting curved lines the 
 plate is turned by the left hand against the graver — not 
 the direction of the graver changed. Figs. 2 and 3 
 show the correct way to grasp the instrument : the fore- 
 
ITS PRINCIPLES AND PRACTICE. 
 
 67 
 
 finger is extended at its full length towards tlie point, 
 the thumb holds it on one side, and the other three 
 fingers on the^ opposite side ; observe the way these 
 fingers are bent back towards the handle of the graver. 
 The greatest care must be taken to keep the fingers and 
 thumb from interposing between the graver and plate, 
 or all freedom and command of the graver becomes im- 
 possible. Sometimes a graver will become blunt (with- 
 out breaking) easily ; in this case it is worthless, but if 
 the point breaks off frequently it is because the graver 
 is too hard ; this may be remedied by heating it in the 
 flame of a spirit-lamp until it commences to turn yellow; 
 it should then be thrust into tallow or oil until cold. 
 If the face of the graver be sharpened at too acute an 
 angle the point will of course be more likely to break 
 oflf ; the squarer the face the better the point stands. 
 
 18. — Auxiliary Processes. 
 
 The Roulette. Sulphur Tints, Sand Paper^ <^c. 
 
 There are several methods used for the purpose of 
 gaining various effects, or to save labour with the 
 needle. The object of most of them is to add to the 
 plate the power of printing a tint of different strength 
 where required to soften and enrich the tone, and to 
 obtain delicate gradations which could not be obtained 
 with the needle, or only at the cost of an enormous 
 amount of labour and stopping-out. An extreme example 
 of this style is the method employed by Turner in his 
 
68 
 
 ETCHING : 
 
 " Liber Studiorum " plates ; here the etched work is 
 confined entirely to outlines and markings of the most 
 clear and decided kind, little or no ^hading being 
 used, and the whole of the tone being gained by an 
 after-process upon the plate of mezzotinto. Between 
 this and the slight roughening of the plate in places 
 by the charcoal, there are many devices for aiding 
 the effect of the bitten lines. One of the nicest and 
 most under command is the use of the roulette ; this 
 is a little wheel, the circumference of which is toothed, 
 and being pushed with some pressure along the plate, 
 it raises a kind of bur or roughness ; this may be 
 crossed again and again in a kind of hatched work, 
 and it has the effect in the print of a soft tint of lovely 
 quality, and quite in harmony, when properly em- 
 ployed, with the line work on the plate. The soft- 
 ground etching previously described may also be used 
 for a similar purpose ; the work should be put upon 
 the plate before the needle-drawing is executed. Por- 
 tions of the plate may be " foul-bitten " intentionally ; 
 that is, a weak solution of the acid may be laid on 
 the surface of the plate, where required, with a brush, 
 its effect being carefully watched ; parts of the plate 
 so treated will hold the ink, and print with a tint 
 more or less dark according to the time the acid has 
 been allowed to remain on ; this is a very risky plan, 
 and the effect required is better gained by " sulphur 
 tints." Mix flour of sulphur up with olive oil into a 
 thin creamy paste, and lay it on with a brush where 
 it is required to produce the tints ; this will act as a 
 
ITS PRINCIPLES AND PRACTICE. 
 
 59 
 
 gentle mordant, and roughen the plate, causing it to 
 print dark, A few minutes causes a very perceptible 
 effect on the plate. Sometimes the surface of the 
 plate is roughened by rubbing it with sand-paper ; 
 this may be polished where the high lights are to 
 come, and the work with the needle proceeded with. 
 Sand-paper may be laid upon the grounded plate and 
 passed with it under the roller of the printing-press ; 
 the high lights being painted over with stopping-out 
 varnish, the plate is put into the bath and bitten for a 
 few minutes ; the result is a grained tint over the whole 
 of the portions of the plate not stopped out. A reticu- 
 lated sort of grain of different qualities may be obtained 
 by substituting silk or muslin of different degrees of 
 fineness for the sand-paper, the result being that when 
 the grounded plate is put through the press with the 
 muslin or silk upon its surface, the ground is brought 
 away upon the underside of each thread of the material ; 
 the plate may be stopped-out and bitten as before. A 
 few words as to the legitimacy of these " dodges" may not 
 be out of place here. If Turner's " Liber Studiorum " 
 were legitimately produced, the effects gained by the 
 above methods are equally so ; and as they are the work 
 of the artist himseK they possess the advantage of 
 being autographic ; this, proofs artificially printed by 
 another person, it may be argued, have not. It must 
 be very much better for the artist to obtain his effects on 
 the plate for himself, instead of the printer having to 
 produce them artificially, to say nothing of the saving of 
 time when the printer has simply to ink and wipe the 
 
60 
 
 ETCHING : 
 
 plate and pull the proofs in the usual straightforward 
 manner. 
 
 19. — Printing. 
 
 Cleaning the Plate. 
 
 During the various stages of the work and before 
 printing, the plate will have to be cleaned, and the best 
 way is to rub the plate with turpentine — or preferably 
 paraffin, which is much cheaper, and old rag — this will 
 dissolve the ground and stopping-out varnish quickly, 
 and the finishing of the cleaning may be performed 
 with the oil rubber and olive oil, which must be wiped 
 carefully off with a soft rag. It is of importance that 
 the rags, &c.,*used in cleaning the plates be kept free 
 from dust and dirt, or at any time the plate is liable to 
 be disfigured by scratches, giving great labour in their 
 removal, and perhaps causing the permanent destruc- 
 tion of good quality in the plate. 
 
 The student is advised strongly to obtain a printing- 
 press at an early stage of the efforts he makes in 
 etching. Half the interest rests in being able to obtain 
 a proof showing the state of the plate at any time, and 
 it is most tantalizing to have to send the plate to a 
 printer and await his performance ; besides, if you 
 " pull " your proofs yourself you will be able to do so 
 just in the way you desire: you can try the effect of the 
 plate when wiped quite clean and printed in the sim- 
 plest way, you can see what is suitable for it in the 
 way of artificial printing of different kinds. Small 
 
ITS PRINCIPLES AND PKACTICE. 
 
 61 
 
 presses can be had suitable for the amateur, and in 
 every way capable of giving good impressions of plates 
 not too large for them. For printing it is requisite to 
 procure 
 
 Iron box, with gas jets under. 
 
 When it is desired to take prints from a plate the 
 paper used must be damped, and most papers benefit 
 by this being done overnight, ready for printing the 
 following day. Many kinds of papers are used ; 
 that known as plate-paper is very easy to use, and 
 answers capitally to show the state a plate is in ; 
 toned drawing papers, both hand and machine-made, 
 are good to print on ; they should have a decided 
 texture, which makes an agreeable foil to the smooth 
 surface caused by the plate's impression. The damped 
 paper being at hand, the ink is spread on the plate 
 with the dabber, and worked well into the lines, 
 the plates being warmed on the iron box or stove with 
 the gas jets under. The next thing is to wipe the 
 plate ; this is done with the coarse canvas used for the 
 purpose by printers, and is a very important pro* 
 ceeding ; the plate should be wiped in such a way as to 
 remove the superfluous ink, without wiping the ink 
 from the lines ; upon the amount and kind of wiping 
 the plate receives depends the success of the print in a 
 great measure. To see the exact state of the plate it 
 
 A printing press. 
 
 Printing ink. 
 
 A printer's ball or dabber. 
 
 Blanket pieces. 
 
 A palette knife. 
 
 A supply of old rag. 
 
 Printer's canvas. 
 
 A supply of soft old muslin. 
 
 Whitening. 
 
 Paper of suitable texture. 
 
62 
 
 ETCHING : 
 
 should be wiped as clean as possible, first with the 
 canvas, and then with the hand, which must be cleaned 
 from time to time ; finally the hand is used with a 
 little whitening on it. To wipe a plate clean in this 
 way, without wiping the ink out of the lines, requires 
 some skill, and an easier plan and one that is better for 
 the appearance of the print is to leave a slight tint on 
 the plate, leaving the margin (if any) clean ; this tint 
 will soften and enrich the lines in the proof in a 
 pleasant way. Now printing in either of the above- 
 stated ways is known as " natural printing," because in 
 wiping the plate no particular care is taken to help the 
 effect of one part of it more than another. " Artificial 
 printing " is called such when the printer, by the way 
 he wipes the plate, assists it in the proof by leaving 
 more ink in some places as a tint, and wiping the 
 plate clean more or less in others ; for example, 
 in a dark mass coming against light sky, a con- 
 siderable strength of tint may be left on the plate, 
 the light portions may be wiped quite clean, and 
 finished with whitening and the finger tip or rag. 
 Another method is, when the plate has been wiped as 
 much as is thought necessary, to take a piece of fine, 
 old, soft muslin, and, wrapping it up in a soft ball, to 
 dab the plate with it where it is desired to soften the 
 lines ; the plate to be kept warm during this process, or 
 the tint produced will be dry looking and patchy ; if 
 successfully done, this will spread a soft tint from the ink 
 left in the lines about their edges, and on the surface of 
 the plate ; the process is called retroussage, and is the 
 
ITS PRINCIPLES AND PRACTICE. 
 
 63 
 
 most e£Eective device the printer has at his command to 
 aid the plate. 
 
 When the plate is inked and wiped, ready to print 
 from, it must be laid, face upwards, on a sheet of paper 
 gummed to the surface of the table of the press which 
 travels under the roller ; this paper is to be the same 
 size (or have the same size marked on it) as the paper 
 on which the prints are to be taken, and must have the 
 position of the plate marked on it, so that the impres- 
 sions may come into true position on the paper used ; 
 under this paper, before it is fixed to the table and 
 marked, are placed several " blanket pieces " of soft 
 woollen cloth or blanket ; these by their elastic and uni- 
 form resistance force the soft damp paper into the lines 
 of the plate. The plate being in position, a sheet of 
 the damped paper is carefully laid upon it and adjusted 
 to the right place, more blanket pieces are laid on the 
 paper, and then, by turning the roller v^th an even 
 motion by the means afforded, the table is made to 
 travel under the revolving roller of the press, the pressure 
 of which causes the inked lines in the plate to be trans- 
 ferred to the paper, and thus we have a " proof " of 
 the plate. A " counter-proof " or " off-track " is a 
 print produced from a freshly printed proof, by laying a 
 sheet of damped paper on its surface and passing both 
 under the roller of the press ; it is evident the print so 
 obtained will be like the plate, in reverse, and thus be of 
 service to the etcher in comparison with his plate. 
 Usually the movement of the table and roller is re- 
 versedj and the print made to pass beneath the roller a 
 
64 
 
 ETCHING : 
 
 second time, in order to ensure a sharp and clean im- 
 pression. After a time the continued wiping, &c., of 
 the plate wears away the quality and clearness of the 
 etched lines, and early impressions of proofs are there- 
 fore justly esteemed on account of their superior 
 quality; fortunately this is not so much the case at 
 present, for when any large number of prints have to 
 be taken from a plate, it can be covered with an ex- 
 tremely thin film of steel by a process of electro- 
 deposit ; this thin film takes the wear, and as soon as it 
 shows the signs of over-use it can be easily removed and 
 another film laid ; thus the copper itself actually never 
 need come into v^ear : one result of this process is that 
 we have editions running into thousands of books and 
 magazines printed with etched plates, the impressions 
 being practically identical in quality. The plate before 
 being put away after printing should have all ink most 
 carefully removed from the lines with turpentine, other- 
 wise the after impression will not be good, owing to 
 the ink remaining in the lines spoiling their quality. 
 
 A few words concerning the legitimacy of artificial 
 printing : so long as the effect gained is part of the 
 artist's intention, and not the result of superior taste or 
 feeling on the part of the printer, it is difficult to see 
 any objection to artificial printing ; but it is well to 
 remember that there is a peculiar brilliancy and trans- 
 parency in a proof from a line-etching produced 
 naturally, without the assistance of tints, that may 
 well be esteemed preferable in effect to the result of the 
 artificial method ; certainly it is quite possible to push 
 
ITS PRINCIPLES AND PRACTICE. G5 
 
 artificial printing to such an extent that it offends good 
 taste ; a -plate after Walker lately produced has 
 touched bottom " in this form of transgression ; the 
 uj)per part of this plate has been printed with a warm- 
 toned ink, and the lower with a much cooler in order 
 to convey the impression of sunset light ! This is re- 
 ducing etching to a level with that form of art we 
 may some of us remember in the productions of our 
 childhood, when on tinted gradated cards we pro- 
 duced sunsets or snow scenes with facility and lead 
 pencils ! 
 
 20. — The Frontispiece, and the Interpretation of 
 Landscape in Etching. 
 
 It will be seen that the frontispiece is etched on the 
 plan recommended to the student, but with the slight 
 modification of the use of two points of different 
 degrees of sharpness during the execution of the second 
 tint ; a variety in the middle tones was thus easily 
 obtained. When the plate was cleaned, it was found 
 that the sky was very incompletely bitten, hardly at all 
 in fact, so it was taken up and finished with the dry- 
 point, not with the entire loss of freedom in the work, 
 as may be seen. 
 
 The treatment of the landscape in this little etching 
 is purely conventional, as far as the relation of tone 
 goes ; the same blank paper stands in the print for the 
 light on the clouds, the distance, and the near road and 
 objects. The extreme distance is indicated by a mere 
 
66 
 
 ETCHING : 
 
 outline instead of a delicate flat tint as it was in nature, 
 and throughout an apparently capricious disregard of 
 accurate tonality will be noticed. Can this be justified 
 on artistic grounds, or should etching be regarded as 
 simply black-and-white drawing, and as such, truth of 
 tonality looked for as a sine qua non ? In reply to this, 
 it may be advanced that art may be good and contain 
 exquisite qualities, and yet be conventional; in etching, 
 the freedom and sensitiveness of the line is so charming, 
 that one is quite satisfied with those qualities, and over- 
 looks the want of accurate tonality on that account. 
 Again, it is obvious that the light and dark of an etching 
 may be most pleasingly composed, abstractly considered 
 as an arrangement of siicJi^ and without its having any 
 pretence to represent the relations of light and dark in 
 nature. This seems to be the principle on which 
 Rembrandt frequently worked ; he gave a fine arrange- 
 ment of light and dark, and to carry out his scheme of 
 composition coolly either ignored or observed the local 
 colour, just as suited his purpose; he led up to exquisite 
 finish and tonality where his scheme of chiaroscuro 
 would admit of it, and then quietly passed off with a 
 few rapidly modulated touches into white paper ; these 
 white blank spaces are frequently most effective parts of 
 his etchings — but nothing could be more conventional 
 or more boldly artistic. A landscape etching, too, may 
 be executed as a sketch, and as such its incomplete 
 tonality and conventional use of outlines be justified in 
 yet another way. There is not much doubt but that in 
 sketching is found the true strength of etching; of course, 
 
ITS PRINCIPLES AND PRACTICE. 
 
 67 
 
 with the expenditure of great pains, and after long 
 practice, the power of gaining the complete expression 
 of tonality in etching is within reach, but with its use 
 seems to depart much that renders etching charming 
 and unique in the field of art. In etching, the faculties 
 of abstraction and intention find complete play, and 
 the student is earnestly advised to work with his head 
 rather than his fingers on every possible occasion ; he 
 should look upon his work as a highly concentrated 
 and suggestive species of expression in Une^ and for 
 some time at any rate, avoid every attempt to produce 
 delicate tones or gradations, translating them into 
 white paper boldly, the free and dehcate conven- 
 tional line, to indicate character, being used with 
 carefully chosen and clearly distinguishable aim where 
 necessary. 
 
 21. — Conclusion. 
 
 In conclusion it is a pleasant and a proper thing 
 for the author to acknowledge his indebtedness to 
 those who have written before him on the art and 
 practice of etching. A man may make the know- 
 ledge he has gained from books his own by practising 
 the methods explained, and thus establish a sort of 
 claim to retail his acquired information ; this at any 
 rate is the author's position, as every process described 
 by him in this little manual has been tested by his 
 own experience of the results to be obtained. Much 
 information has been the result of exploring old 
 
 E 2 
 
68 ETCHING : ITS PRINCIPLES AND PRACTICE. 
 
 works on the subject, and one particularly interesting 
 fact so discovered is that biting the plates in a bath, 
 instead of employing bordering wax, was known and 
 practised in England more than a hundred years ago : I 
 am under the impression that it is generally believed the 
 use of the bath for biting-in is quite a recent innova- 
 tion and improvement ; this, too, is Mr. Hamerton's 
 impression. This writer and artist's name reminds 
 me that a special acknowledgment is due to him for 
 the information I have gained from his writings on 
 etching. I suspect that very many of our flourishing 
 etchers owe almost their entire knowledge of the art 
 to their perusal of Hamerton's works ; and it is quite 
 certain that, in connection with the somewhat pheno- 
 menal revival of etching that has taken place in 
 this nineteenth century, Mr. Hamerton's name will be 
 historical. 
 
 Hkndekson & Spalding, Printers, 3 and 5, Marylebone Lane, London, W. 
 
GEORGE EOWNEY & CO.'S 
 ARTISTS' WATER COLOURS 
 
 Whole Cakes Half Cakes 
 
 List of Water Colours. 
 
 Ultramarine (Genuine) 
 
 Ultra Ash Smalt 
 
 Aureolin 
 Burnt Carmine 
 Carmine 
 
 Extract Madder Car- 
 mine 
 
 Azure Cobalt 
 Cadmium, Pale 
 Cadmium, Yellow 
 Cadmium, Orange 
 Cadmium, Orange Deep 
 Cobalt Blue 
 Cobalt Green, Light 
 Cobalt Violet 
 
 Black Lead 
 Brown Madder 
 Chinese Orange 
 Coeruleum 
 Crimson Alizarin 
 Crimson Lake 
 Cyanine Blue 
 Indian Lake 
 Indian Yellow 
 Mars Yellow 
 
 Antwerp Blue 
 Bistre 
 Blue Black 
 Brown Ochre 
 Brown Pink 
 Burnt Sienna 
 Burnt Umber 
 Charcoal Grey- 
 Chinese White 
 Chrome 1, Lemon 
 Chrome 2, Yellow 
 Chrome 3, Orange 
 Chrome 4, ,, Deep 
 Cologne Earth 
 Dragon's Blood 
 Emerald Green 
 Flake White 
 French Ultramarine 
 Gamboge 
 
 Hooker's Green, 1 
 Hooker's Green, 2 
 Indian Red 
 Indigo 
 
 Italian Ochre 
 Italian Pink 
 Ivory Black 
 
 of 
 
 Gallstone 
 Madder Lake 
 Purple Madder 
 Rose Dore 
 Rose Madder 
 
 Lemon Yellow 
 Mars Orange 
 Malachite 
 Opaque Oxide 
 
 Chromium 
 Tran. Oxide Chrom. 
 Violet Carmine 
 Viridian or Veronese 
 
 Green 
 
 Neutral Orange 
 Orange Vermilion 
 Purple Lake 
 Scarlet Alizarin 
 Scarlet Lake 
 Scarlet Vermilion 
 Sepia 
 
 Roman Sepia 
 Violet Alizarin 
 Warm Sepia 
 
 Lamp Black 
 Light Red 
 Magenta 
 Mauve 
 
 Naples Yellow 
 Neutral Tint 
 Olive Green 
 Payne's Grey 
 Permanent Blue 
 Prussian Blue 
 Prussian Green 
 Purple 
 Raw Sienna 
 Raw Umber 
 Roman Ochre 
 Sap Green 
 Terra Vert 
 Trans. Gold Ochre 
 Vandyke Brown 
 Venetian Red 
 Vermilion 
 Y^ellow Lake 
 Yellow Ochre 
 Zinc Yellow 
 
 Moist Pans 
 or Tubes. 
 
 Each 
 
 Each 
 
 s. d. 
 
 s. d. 
 
 21 O 
 
 10 6 
 
 5 
 
 2 6 
 
 3 
 
 I 6 
 
 2 
 
 I 
 
 Half Pans or 
 Half Tubes 
 
G-EORGE ROWNEY & CO.'S 
 -JAPANNED TIN SKETCH BOXES. 
 
 Filled with Pans of Moist Colours 
 
 £ s. d. 
 
 6-Pan Box 085 
 
 Gamboge, Yellow Ochre, Light Red, Crimson Alizarin 
 Burnt Umber, and Prussian Blue. 
 
 8-Pan Box 11 8 
 
 Gamboge, Raw Sienna, Light Red, Crimson Alizarin, 
 Burnt Umber, Cobalt, Ivory Black, ^ Antwerp Blue, 
 and J Vermilion. 
 
 10-Pan Box 13 6 
 
 Gamboge, Roman Ochre, J Raw Sienna, J Burnt 
 Sienna, ^ Indian Red, J Vermilion, Crimson Alizarin, 
 Raw Umber, Cobalt, French Ultramarine, Prussian 
 Blue, and Burnt Umber. 
 
 12-Pan Box 18 
 
 Yellow Ochre, J Gamboge, ^ Burnt Sienna, Italian 
 Ochre, Light Red, J Scarlet Vermilion, J Rose 
 Madder, J Crimson Alizarin, J Chinese Orange, Burnt 
 Umber, Madder Brown, Cobalt, French Ultramarine, 
 J Indigo, J Emerald Green, and Ivory Black 
 
 14-Pan Box 110 
 
 Gamboge, Yellow Ochre, J Aureolin, J Chrome 
 No. 2, Burnt Sienna, Light Red, J Vermilion, ^ 
 Orange Vermilion, Crimson Alizarin, ^ Rose Madder, 
 J Chinese Orange, Sepia, Burnt Umber, Cobalt, 
 J Prussian Blue, J- French Ultramarine, Ivory 
 Black, and Emerald Green. 
 
 *Any colour may be replaced by any other, and the difference in Price 
 charged or allowed for. 
 
GEOKGE ROWNEY & CO.'S 
 =^JAPANNED TIN SKETCH BOXES. 
 
 Landscape and Figure. 
 
 i6-Pan Box 
 
 £ s. d. 
 
 I 3 <3 
 
 Gamboge. Yellow Ochre, J Aureolin, J Chrome 
 No. 2, J Chrome No. 4, J Burnt Sienna, Light 
 Red, J Vermilion, J Orange Vermilion, Crimson 
 Alizarin, J Rose Madder, Sepia, Burnt Umber, 
 Cobalt, Prussian Blue, J Indigo, J Viridian, 
 J Emerald Green, Payne's Grey, Olive Green, and 
 Ivory Black. 
 
 Landscape and Figure. 
 
 iS-Pan Box 163 
 
 Gamboge, Yellow Ochre, Italian Ochre, J Aureolin, 
 J Burnt Umber, Indian Yellow, J Chrome No. 2, 
 ^ Chrome No. 4, Brown Ochre, Light Red, 
 J Indian Red, ^ Scarlet Vermilion, Rose Madder, 
 J Crimson Alizarin, J Lamp Black, Raw Umber, 
 Sepia, Cobalt, French Ultramarine, Prussian Blue, 
 J Emerald Green, J Olive Green, and Sap Green. 
 
 Landscape and Figure, &c. 
 
 20-Pan Box .. . .. .. .. .. i 10 o 
 
 Gamboge, Yellow Ochre, Roman Ochre, J Lemon 
 Yellow. J Aureolin, Indian Yellow, J Chrome 
 No. 2, J Chrome No. 4, Light Red, J Indian Red, 
 J Vermilion, ^ Scarlet Vermilion, J Crimson 
 Alizarin, Rose Madder, Madder Brown, Brown 
 Ochre, Burnt Umber, Warm Sepia, Cobalt, French 
 Ultramarine, Indigo, J Emerald Green, J Olive 
 Green, J Coeruleum, J Charcoal Grey, and Sap 
 Green. 
 
 Landscape and Figure, &c. 
 
 24-PAN Box .. .. .. .. 1136 
 
 Gamboge, Yellow Ochre, Raw Sienna, J Lemon 
 Yellow, ^ Aureolin, Indian Yellow, \ Chrome 
 No. 2, J Chrome No. 4, Burnt Sienna, ^ Indian 
 Red, J Vermilion, 1 Orange Vermilion, J Rose 
 Madder, Light Red, ^ Lamp Black, Burnt Umber 
 Crimson Alizarin, ^ Scarlet Alizarin, Madder 
 Brown, Brown Ochre, Raw Umber, Cobalt, French 
 Ultramarine, Prussian Blue, ^ Emerald Green^ 
 h Coeruleum, J Permanent Blue, J Terra Vert, 
 Payne's Grey, Olive Green, Viridian. 
 
 * For prices of these boxes empty see page 8 
 
 3 
 
GEORGE ROWNEY & CO.'S 
 -JAPANNED TIN SKETCH BOXES 
 
 Filled with Half-Pans of Moist Colours. 
 
 6-Half-Pan-Box .. 
 
 Each. 
 £ s. d. 
 6 
 
 Gamboge, Yellow Ochre, Crimson Alizarin, Light 
 Red, Burnt Umber, and French Ultra. 
 
 8-Half-Pan-Box 7 6 
 
 Gamboge, Yellow Ochre, Light Red, Crimson 
 Alizarin, Burnt Umber, Cobalt, Indigo, and Burnt 
 Sienna. 
 
 10-Half-Pan Box 9 
 
 Gamboge, Yellow Ochre, Light Red, Crimson 
 Alizarin, Burnt Sienna, Burnt Umber, Raw Sienna, 
 Ivory Black, Cobalt and Prussian Blue. 
 
 12-Half-Pan Box 10 6 
 
 Gamboge, Yellow Ochre, Raw Sienna, Burnt 
 Sienna, Light Red, Vermilion, Burnt Umber, 
 Crimson Alizarin, Madder Brown, Cobalt, Indigo, 
 and Emerald Green. 
 
 14-Half-Pan Box .. .. 11 6 
 
 Gamboge, Yellow Ochre, Raw Sienna, Light Red, 
 Indian Red, Crimson Alizarin, Burnt Sienna, 
 Vermilion, Burnt Umber, Raw Umber, Cobalt, 
 Indigo, Ivory Black, and Emerald Green. 
 
 *Any Colour may be replaced by any other, and the difference in 
 price charged or allowed for. 
 
 4 
 
GEORGE ROWNEY & GO'S 
 •JAPANNED TIN SKETCH BOXES. 
 
 16-Half-Pan Box 13 O 
 
 Gamboge, Chrome No. i, Yellow Ochre, Raw 
 Sienna, Burnt Sienna, Vermilion, Light Red, 
 Indian Red, Crimson Alizarin, Burnt Umber, 
 Vandyke Brown, Madder Brown, Cobalt, Prussian 
 Blue, Emerald Green, and Ivory Black. 
 
 18-HaIf-Pan Box 15 O 
 
 Gamboge, Chrome No. i. Yellow Ochre, Raw 
 Sienna, Burnt Sienna, Indian Red, Light Red, 
 Vermilion, Madder Brown, Crimson Alzarin, 
 Rose Madder, Vandyke Brown, Burnt Umber, 
 Ivory Black, Cobalt, Indigo, Emerald Green, 
 and French Ultra. 
 
 20-Half-Pan Box 17 O 
 
 Gamboge, Chrome No. i. Yellow Ochre, Raw 
 Sienna, Burnt Sienna, Chrome No. 3, Light Red, 
 Vermilion, Madder Brown, Crimson Alizarin, 
 Rose Madder, Ivory Black, Vandyke Brown, 
 Burnt Umber, Cobalt, Indigo, Permanent Blue, 
 Antwerp Blue, Emerald Green, and Viridian. 
 
 24-Half-Pan Box 10 
 
 Gamboge, Yellow Ochre, Lemon Yellow, Chrome 
 No. 2, Raw Sienna, Burnt Sienna, Light Red, 
 Indian Red, Vermilion, Chrome No. 4, Crimson 
 Alizarin, Rose Madder, Madder Brown, Burnt 
 Umber, Vandyke Brown, Sepia, Cobalt, 
 Permanent Blue, Indigo, Prussian Blue, Emerald 
 Green, Viridian, Neutral Tint, and Ivory Black. 
 
 *FoY Prices of these boxes empty see page 8 
 
 5 
 
GEOBGE EOWNEY & CO.'S 
 
 ^JAPANNED TIN SKETCH BOXES. 
 Moist Tube Boxes, with Folding Palette. 
 
 Whole tube 
 boxes 
 fitted. 
 £ s. d. 
 
 12-Moist Tube Box fitted with 16 3 
 
 Gamboge, Yellow Ochre, Chrome No. i, Chinese 
 White, Light Red, Vermilion, Crimson Alzarin, Burnt 
 Sienna, Permanent Blue, Prussian Blue, Burnt Umber, 
 and Ivory Black 
 
 15-Moist Tube Box 12 
 
 Gamboge, Raw Sienna, Yellow Ochre, Chrome No. 2, 
 Light Red, Burnt Sienna, Vermilion, Crimson 
 Alizarin, Madder Brown, Sepia, Lamp Black, Cobalt, 
 Prussian Blue, Burnt Umber, and Chinese White. 
 
 20-iVIoist Tube Box 
 
 Gamboge, Yellow Ochre, Chrome No. i, Chrome No: 3, 
 Raw Sienna, Burnt Sienna, Chinese White, Light 
 Red, Vermilion, Orange Vermilion, Crimson Alizarin, 
 Rose Madder, Ivory Black, Sepia, Burnt Umber, 
 Cobalt, Prussian Blue, French Ultramarine, Emerald 
 Green, and Viridian. 
 
 24-Moist Tube Box 117 6 
 
 Gamboge, Yellow Ochre, Brown Ochre, Aureolin, 
 Indian Yellow, Chrome No. 4, Light Red, Indian 
 Red, Vermilion, Scarlet Vermilion, Crimson Alizarin, 
 Rose Madder, Madder Brown, Burnt Umber, Vandyke 
 Brown, Warm Sepia, Cobalt, French Ultramarine, 
 Prussian Blue, Emerald Green, Ivory Black, Terra 
 Vert, Viridian, and Chinese White. 
 
 30-Molst Tube Box 2 13 
 
 Gamboge, Yellow Ochre, Naples Yellow, Roman 
 Ochre, Lemon Yellow, Indian Yellow, Orange 
 Cadmium, Aureolin, Light Red, Indian Red, Vermilion, 
 Scarlet Alizarin, Crimson Alizarin, Rose Madder, 
 Madder Brown, Brown Ochre, Vandyke Brown, Warm 
 Sepia, Burnt Umber, Cobalt, French Ultramarine, 
 Prussian Blue, Neutral Tint, Ivory Black, Emerald 
 Green, Viridian, Olive Green, Chinese White, 
 Coeruleum, and Ultramarine Ash. 
 
 *For Prices of these boxes empty see page 8. 
 
 Halftube 
 boxes 
 fitted. 
 £ s. d. 
 10 
 
 13 
 
 1 10 19 
 
 2 6 
 
 1 10 
 
 6 
 
GEORG-E ROWNEY & CO.'S 
 REGISTERED SKETCHING CASE- 
 
 Rd. No. 270111 
 
 Including Colours, Brushes, and Pencil, 
 without increase of ordinary thickness. 
 
 THIS Case, fioiii its great convenience and portability, is particularly 
 adapted to the use of Artist and Amateurs desirous of having the 
 materials at hand for a hasty Sketch without being encmabered with the 
 weight of an ordinary box. 
 
 Made in the Two following Sizes. 
 
 "8vo Impl." containing a 12-leaf Whatman Block, 10 in. by 7 in., and a 
 Pocket for loose Sketches, Pencil, 2 Sable Hair Brushes, and Twelve Colours 
 viz. : Gamboge, Yellow Ochre, Raw Sienna, Vermilion, Light Red, Crimson 
 Alizarin, Burnt Sienna, Burnt Umber, Madder Brown Prussian Blue, French 
 Ultramarine, and Hooker's Green No. 2. 
 
 Price 15s. fitted complete. 
 
 **i6mo Impl." containing a 12-leaf Whatman Block, 7 in. ^by 5 in., and a 
 Pocket for loose Sketches, Pencil, Two Fitch Hair Brushes, and Nine Colours, 
 viz. : Gamboge, Yellow Ochre, Raw Sienna, Vermilion, Light Red, Crimson 
 Alizarin, Burnt Umber, Prussian Blue, and Permanent Blue. 
 
 Price ICS. 6d. fitted complete. 
 
 A Japanned Tin Palette, opens out when the case is in use, as shewn in above 
 
 illustration. 
 
 To be refilled from tubes of Moist Colour. 
 
 These cases are supplied fitted to any arrangement desired. 
 
 7 
 
GEORGE ROWNEY & GO'S 
 EMPTY JAPANNED TIN 
 WATER COLOUR BOXES. 
 
 
 
 Each. 
 
 
 
 s. d. 
 
 To contain 4 Whole Pans 
 
 2 g 
 
 )> 
 
 6 „ .. . 
 
 8 „ 
 
 
 It 
 
 10 „ 
 
 311 
 
 M 
 
 12 
 
 
 >» 
 
 14 
 
 48 
 
 »> 
 
 16 n 
 
 50 
 
 ^ »> 
 
 18 „ 
 
 c 6 
 
 
 20 
 
 58 
 
 
 24 n 
 
 60 
 
 To contain 6 Half Pans 
 
 29 
 
 
 8 
 
 3 3 
 
 
 10 ,, 
 
 36 
 
 if 
 
 12 
 
 40 
 
 it 
 
 14 r 
 
 4 3 
 
 
 16 „ . .. . 
 
 46 
 
 >♦ 
 
 18 
 
 4 9 
 
 
 20 ,, 
 
 50 
 
 »> 
 
 24 
 
 56 
 
 For prices of these boxes fitted with colours see pages 2 to 5. 
 
 Empty Boxes for 
 Moist Colours in Tube. 
 
 Boxes for Boxes for 
 WITH FOLDING PALETTE. Whole Tubes. Half Tubes. 
 
 Each. Each. 
 s. d. s. d. 
 
 To contain 12 Tubes 
 20 
 
 24 „ 
 30 
 
 For prices of these boxes fitted with colours see page 6. 
 
 70 50 
 
 80 70 
 
 8 8 76 
 
 12 Q 8 6 
 
GEOBGE BOWNEY & CO.'S 
 BRISTOL BOABDS. 
 
 Size. 
 
 Foolscap .. i5j-in. by 12^ . 
 
 Demy .. i8J-in. ,, 14^ . 
 
 Medium . . 2oJ-in. 16} . 
 
 Royal .. 22j-in. 17J . 
 
 
 Per Board. 
 
 
 2 Ply. 
 
 3 Ply. 
 
 4 PIV. 
 
 6 Ply. 
 
 s. d. 
 
 s. d. 
 
 s. d. 
 
 s. d. 
 
 2 . 
 
 .03. 
 
 .04. 
 
 . 6 
 
 3 • 
 
 .05. 
 
 .06. 
 
 . 9 
 
 4 . 
 
 .06. 
 
 .08. 
 
 . I 
 
 5 • 
 
 .08. 
 
 . 10 . 
 
 . I 4 
 
 Whatman Boards, for Water-colour Painting. 
 
 Thick Mounting Boards covered with Whatman's Paper on one Side. 
 Hot Pressed, Not or Rough Surfaces. 
 
 Half Royal i8-in. by iij o 6 
 
 Half lmperial2i-in. ,,14 09 
 
 Royal 23-in. ,, 18 I o 
 
 Imperial 29-in. ,,21 16 
 
 Packets of White or Tinted Card Boards. 
 
 
 
 
 s. 
 
 d. 
 
 i6mo Imperial 7 
 
 in. 
 
 by 5 
 
 
 
 I 
 
 8vo Royal 9 
 
 in. 
 
 5i 
 
 
 
 
 8vo Imperial loj 
 
 -in. 
 
 7 
 
 
 
 2 
 
 4to Royal 11^ 
 
 -in. 
 
 9 
 
 
 
 3 
 
 4to Imperial 14 
 
 -in. 
 
 
 
 
 5 
 
 Penny packet 
 Twopenny , , 
 Threepenny 
 
 EACH PACKET CONTAINS SIX CARDS. 
 Size. 
 
 Size. 
 
 6-in. 
 
 7|-in. 
 
 9|in. 
 
 by 3i 
 n 6 
 
 Sixpenny packet 12-in. by 9J 
 Shilling 144-in. 10^ 
 
 Per Box 
 
 Boxes containing twelve cards various shapes for painting on is.od. 
 Ditto six cards ditto os. 6d. 
 
 SUPEBPINE WHITE OB 'TINTED 
 
 MOUNTING 
 
 BOABDS. 
 
 
 
 Per Board 
 
 
 Size. 
 
 4 Ply. 6 Ply. 
 
 8 Ply. 
 
 
 s. d. s. d. 
 
 s. d. 
 
 Royal .. .. 22^-in. by 18 .. 
 
 .. 4 .. 5 . 
 
 • 7 
 
 Imperial .. 2SJ-in. ,,21 
 
 .. 5 .. 7 . 
 
 . 9 
 
 Atlas .. .. 33-in. ,,26 .. 
 
 — . . I . 
 
 • I 3 
 
 Double Elephant 38-in. ,,26 .. 
 
 . . I 2 . 
 
 . I 6 
 
 Double Imperial 42-in. ,, 28J .. 
 
 — .. I 5 • 
 
 . I 9 
 
 Antiquarian ., 52j-in. .,35 
 
 .. - .. 6 9 • 
 
 . 8 3 
 
 There are 7 different tints kept in stock of 4 and 6 sheet Royal and hnperial only 
 
 Nos. I and 16 tints only can be made in all sizes up to Double Imperial. 
 
 9 
 
SOLID SKETCH BLOCKS 
 WITH AND WITHOUT CASES- 
 
 The Blocks consist of a number of sheets of paper, compressed 
 so as to form a soUd mass, each sheet of which is to be separated 
 by inserting a knife underneath the uppermost one, and passing it 
 round the edge. The cases contain a pocket for carrying the 
 sketches and place for pencil. 
 
 Whatman Blocks. ''Thick Paper," 
 
 (Royal 60 lbs. and Imperial 90 lbs.) 
 These are kept in three surfaces — "Not," H.P." and "Rough." 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 Blocks with 
 
 
 
 
 
 Blocks. Cases. 
 
 Each containing 24 Sheets. 
 
 
 Size 
 
 
 Each. 
 
 Each. 
 
 
 
 
 
 s. 
 
 d. 
 
 s. d. 
 
 Imperial 32mo . . 
 
 5-in. 
 
 X 
 
 3i . 
 
 
 
 10 
 
 .. I 5 
 
 Royal i6mo 
 
 Sj-in. 
 
 X 
 
 4i . 
 
 I 
 
 
 
 .. I . 9 
 
 Imperial i6mo . . 
 
 7" in. 
 
 X 
 
 5 . 
 
 I 
 
 5 
 
 ..23 
 
 Royal 8vo 
 
 9-in. 
 
 X 
 
 5i . 
 
 I 
 
 9 
 
 ..30 
 
 Imperial 8vo . . 
 
 lo-in. 
 
 X 
 
 7 . 
 
 2 
 
 6 
 
 ..40 
 
 Imperial 6mo . . 
 
 14-in. 
 
 X 
 
 7 . 
 
 . 3 
 
 3 
 
 ..53 
 
 Royal 4to 
 
 . iij-in. 
 
 X 
 
 9 . 
 
 • 3 
 
 3 
 
 ..53 
 
 Imperial 4to . . 
 
 14-in, 
 
 X 
 
 10 
 
 . 4 
 
 9 
 
 ..69 
 
 Imperial 3mo . . 
 
 . 2o-in. 
 
 X 
 
 9^ . 
 
 . 6 
 
 9 
 
 . . II 
 
 Half Royal 
 
 i8-in. 
 
 X 
 
 114 . 
 
 . 7 
 
 6 
 
 . . 12 
 
 Half Imperial . . 
 
 , 20-in. 
 
 X 
 
 14 . 
 
 . iO 
 
 
 
 ... 16 
 
 
 10 
 
 
 
 
 
 
WHATMAN BLOCKS. 
 "EXTRA THICK PAPER. 
 
 (Imperial 140 lbs.), 
 These are kept in "Not" Surface only. 
 
 Each containing 20 Sheets. 
 
 Imperial i6mo 
 Imperial 8vo . . 
 Imperial 6mo 
 Imperial 4to ... 
 Half Imperial 
 
 
 
 
 
 Blocks with 
 
 
 
 Blocks. 
 
 Cases. 
 
 Size. 
 
 
 Each. 
 
 Each. 
 
 
 
 s. 
 
 d. 
 
 s. d. 
 
 7-in. X 
 
 5 • 
 
 2 
 
 
 
 .. 30 
 
 lo-in. X 
 
 7 • 
 
 3 
 
 3 
 
 ..49 
 
 14-in. X 
 
 7 • 
 
 4 
 
 9 
 
 .. 70 
 
 14-in. X 
 
 10 
 
 6 
 
 5 
 
 .. 90 
 
 20-in. X 
 
 14 . 
 
 12 
 
 6 
 
 . . 18 
 
 WHATMAN BLOCKS. 
 " ORDINARY PA PER .' 
 
 (Imperial 72 lbs. Paper.) 
 These are kept in " Not " Surface only 
 
 Blocks with 
 Blocks. Canvas Cases. 
 
 Each containing 32 Sheets Size. Each. Each. 
 
 s. d. s. d. 
 
 Imperial 32mo .. .. 5-in. x 3i . . o 8 ..15 
 
 Royal i6mo . . .. s^-in. x 4 J . . i o ..19 
 
 Imperial i6mo . . . . 7-in. x 5 ..13 ..20 
 
 Royal 8vo . . . . . . 9-in. x 5^ . . i 10 ..29 
 
 Imperial 8vo .. .. lo-in. x 7 ..23 ..36 
 
 Royal 4to .. .. .. iij-in. x 9 ..36 ..52 
 
 Imperial 4to. . .. .. 14-in. x 10 ..46 ..6 6 
 
 Fine Cartridge 
 Sketching Blocks 
 
 Each containing 32 Sheets. 
 
 Imperial 32mo . . 
 Imperial i6mo . . 
 Royal 8vo (30 sheets) 
 Imperial 8vo 
 Royal 4to (30 sheets) 
 Imperial 8vo (block in cover) 
 Imperial 4to 
 
 Size. 
 
 
 Each. 
 5. d. 
 
 5-in. X 
 
 3i 
 
 3 
 
 7-in. X 
 
 5 
 
 6 
 
 9-in. X 
 
 5i 
 
 9 
 
 lo-in. X 
 
 7 
 
 I 
 
 iij-in. X 
 
 9 
 
 I 6 
 
 lo-in. X 
 
 7 
 
 I 6 
 
 14-in. X 
 
 10 
 
 2 
 
GEOKGE BOWNEY Si CO.'S 
 Patent Eing-Bound SKETCH BOOKS. 
 
 (Patent No. 7268.) 
 
 Whatman Paper Ring-bound Sketch Books, price. 
 
 Imperial 321110, 
 Royal i6mo, 
 Pocket Size, 
 Imperial i6mo, 
 Royal 8vo, 
 Imperial 8vo, 
 
 Cartridge Paper Ring-Bound Sketch Books. 
 
 Containing 30 Leaves. 
 
 5-in. bysJ 
 51-in. „ 4I 
 7-in. 4 
 7-in. 5 
 
 9- in. 5i 
 
 10- in. 7 
 
 The convenience of this method will be readily appreciated by all when 
 Sketching. The leaves can be turned right back without injuring the binding, 
 and will thus take only half the space of an ordinary book. 
 
 Price. 
 
 Containing 36 Leaves. s. d. 
 
 Imperial 32mo, 5-in. by o 6 
 
 Imperial i6mo, 7-in. ,, 5 i 
 
 Royal 8vo, 9-in. ,, 5^ i 3 
 
 Imperial 8vo, lo-in. ,, 7 2 o 
 
 Imperial 4to, 14-in. ,, 10 3 o 
 
 There will be no loose sheets flying about when windy. Any of the leaves 
 may be detached without loosening the remaining ones. There is no increase 
 of price. 
 
 Whatman Board'' Ring Bound 
 
 Sketch Books. Price. 
 
 Containing 8 Leaves. s. d. 
 
 Imperial i6mo, y^-in. by 13 
 
 Imperial 8vo, loj-in. ,, 7I 20 
 
 Imperial 4to, i4|-in. ,, lo^ 3 6 
 
 12 
 
BLACK LEAD PENCILS 
 
 Prize Medal Awarded, 
 International Exhibiton, 1862. 
 
 No. 800. 
 
 H 
 
 HH 
 HHH 
 HHHH 
 HHHHHH 
 HB 
 B 
 
 BB 
 BBB 
 BBBB 
 BBBBBBB 
 F 
 
 FF 
 EHB 
 DKHB 
 
 No. 805, 
 
 Improved Drawing Pencils, round, price 2d. each, 
 red, black, or natural polished, stamped in gold or 
 silver — "George Rowney & Co.,'' made in the following 
 15 degrees : — 
 
 Hard for Sketching. 
 Harder for Outlines. 
 Very Hard for Architects 
 Extra Hard for Engineers 
 Hardest. 
 Hard and Black. 
 Black for Shading. 
 Softer and very Black. 
 Extra Soft and Black. 
 
 Softer and very Black. Double Thick Lead. 
 Very Broad and Black Lead. 
 Firm for Ordinary Drawing. 
 Very Firm and Double Thick Lead. 
 Extra Hard and Black. 
 Ditto, ditto, extra Thick Lead. 
 
 IS. lod. per dozen, 
 Victoria Drawing Pencil, round, with round lead, 
 natural polished, stamped in silver, made in 6 degrees: — 
 H, HH, HB, F, B and BB. 
 
 IS. 6d. per dozen. 
 
 PENNY 
 
 No. 820. Penny Drawing Pencils, made in six degrees, 
 HB, B, BB, F, H, and HH. 
 
 lod. per dozen. 
 
 Pencil Manufacturers to His Majesty's Stationery 
 and Schools of Art. 
 
 13 
 
G-EORGE ROWNEY & CO.'S 
 BRUSHES FOR 
 WATER-COLOUR PAINTING 
 
 Finest Sable Hair in Quill. 
 
 Minia- 
 ture. 
 
 DOME-POINTED. 
 
 
 
 *Red. 
 
 *Brown. 
 
 
 
 s. d. 
 
 s. d. 
 
 Extra Large Swan 
 
 Blue and Gold Tie 
 
 .. each 6 g 
 
 
 Large Swan 
 
 Magenta ,, ,, 
 
 .. 6 o 
 
 \\ 8 3 
 
 Middle Swan 
 
 Green 
 
 „ 46 
 
 ..60 
 
 Small Swan 
 
 Red 
 
 36 
 
 .. 4 6 
 
 Extra Small Swan 
 
 Blue 
 
 .. „ 28 
 
 3 6 
 
 Extra Large Goose 
 
 Green , , , , 
 
 16 
 
 .. 18 
 
 Large Goose 
 
 Red „ 
 
 „ 13 
 
 12 
 
 Goose 
 
 
 • • M 10 
 
 . . 10 
 
 Small Goose 
 
 J> »> »J 
 
 10 
 
 
 Large Duck 
 
 M »» M 
 
 •■ 07 
 
 
 Duck 
 
 >» >» M 
 
 .. „ 06 
 
 *. *. 8 
 
 Crow 
 
 
 03 
 
 ..04 
 
 Miniature 
 
 Phin " 
 
 .. „ 05 
 
 ..04 
 
 *The prices of Red and Brown Sables are lluctuating 
 
 14 
 
GEOBGE ROWNEY & CO.'S 
 RED SABLE BRUSHES 
 
 In'^Seamless Plated Ferrules, Polished Handles 
 
 FINEST QUALITY 
 
 
 *Red Sable 
 
 "Red Sable 
 
 
 ^-Red Sable 
 
 *Red Sable 
 
 
 Round. 
 
 Flat. 
 
 
 Round. 
 
 Flat. 
 
 
 Each. 
 
 Each. 
 
 
 Each. 
 
 Each. 
 
 
 s. d. 
 
 s. d. 
 
 
 s. 
 
 d. 
 
 s. rf. 
 
 I. 
 
 o 4 
 
 4 
 
 7- 
 
 I 
 
 6 
 
 I 4 
 
 2. 
 
 05.. 
 
 5 
 
 8. 
 
 2 
 
 
 
 16 
 
 3- 
 
 06.. 
 
 6 
 
 .1: 
 
 2 
 
 8 
 
 2 
 
 4- 
 
 08., 
 
 8 
 
 
 3 
 
 3 
 
 28 
 
 c. 
 
 10 
 
 10 
 
 II. 
 
 4 
 
 
 
 3 3 
 
 
 10 
 
 I 
 
 12. 
 
 4 
 
 9 
 
 4 
 
 
 Photographic 
 
 Red Sables 
 
 in tin 
 
 ferrule?, 4d. each. 
 
 
 *The price of Red Sables is fluctuating. 
 
 15 
 
GEORG-E EOWNEY & GO'S 
 TBEATISES ON THE PINE ARTS. 
 
 No. of In orderingy it is sufficient to mention the number which Price. 
 
 Guide. is attached to each book. $ d 
 
 1. *Hints on Sketching from Nature. Parti, By N. E. Green. Illustrated 
 
 by the Author. 25th Edition 10 
 
 2. ^'Hints on Sketching from Nature. Part II. By N. E. Green. Illustrated 
 
 by the Author. 22nd Edition 10 
 
 3. ^Hints on Sketching from Nature. Part III. By iV. E Green.' Illustrated 
 
 by the Author. 28th Edition 1 
 
 4. Guide to Landscape Animal Drawing. By N.E.Green. With numerous 
 
 illustrations by the Author. 4th Edition. 10 
 
 5. Guide to Portrait Painting from Life in Oil Colours. By F. Haynes. 
 
 4th Edition 10 
 
 6. Guide to Figure Painting in Water Coiours."*By SydneyT. w'hiteford. 
 
 8th Edition 10 
 
 7. Guide to Sketching from Nature in Water Colours. By L. C. Miles. 
 
 With numerous illustrations by the Author. 8th Edition 10 
 
 8. Principles of Perspective. By Henry Lewis, B. A. 19th Edition 1 
 
 9. Guide to Water Colour Painting. By R. P. Noble. With an illustration 
 
 in colours. 29th Edition 1 
 
 10. Hints for Sketching Trees from Nature, in Water-Colours. By 
 
 Thomas Hatton. 13th Edition. Illustrated 10 
 
 11. Guide to Oil Painting, Parti. By J. S. Templeton. 54th Edition ... 1 
 
 12. Guide to Oil Painting. Part II. (Landscape from Nature). By A.Clint. 
 
 30th Edition ... ... 1 q 
 
 18. Guide to Light and Shade Drawing. By Mrs. M. Merrijield. With 
 
 Illustrations. 14th Edition 1 
 
 14. Guide to Pencil and Chalk Drawing. By G. Harley. With illustrations. 
 
 i6th Edition 1 
 
 16. Guide to Pictorial Perspective By B. R. Green. With illustrations. 
 
 13th Edition 1 
 
 17. Guide to Figure Drawing. By G. E. Hicks. With illustrations, 12th 
 
 Edition 1 
 
 18. Guide to Flower Painting in Water Colours. By G. Rosenbetg. With 
 
 Illustrations. i8th Edition 1 
 
 19. Guide to Painting on Glass. By H. Bielf eld. 7th Edition 1 
 
 20. Guide to Miniature Painting & Colourmg Photographs. By /. S. 
 
 Templeton. i6th Edition .. 1 
 
 21. Guide to Animal Drawing. By C. H. Weigall. With numerous 
 
 Illustrations. 13th Edition 1 
 
 28. Theory of Colouring. By /. Bacon. With illustrations in Colours. 13th 
 
 Edition 10 
 
 24. Guide to Porcelain Painting. By S. T. Whiteford. With illustrations 
 
 by the Author. 6th Edition 1 
 
 25. Guide to Modelling & the Principles & Practice of Sculpture. By 
 
 George Halse. With Illustrations. 6th Edition 10 
 
 26. On the Materials used in Painting, with remarks on Varnishing and 
 
 Cleaning Pictures. By Charles Martel. 6th Edition 1 
 
 27. Manual of Colours, showing the Composition and Properties of 
 
 Artists' Colours, with Experiments on their Permanence. By 
 
 H. Seward, F.C.S. 4th Edition 1 
 
 28. Guide to Etching : Its Principles and Practice. By W. G. Shrubsole 
 
 With illustrations. 2nd Edition 1 
 
 29. Guide to Pastel Painting. By /. L. Sprinck. With illustrations in 
 
 Colours. 3rd Edition ^. 10 
 
 30 Guide to Landscape Figure Drawing. By N. E. Green. With 
 
 Illustrations by the Author. 3rd Edition 10 
 
 31. tPractical Manual of Painting in Oil Colours. By Ernest Hareux. 
 
 Part I. Still Life., Flowers, Fruit and Interiors. Illustrated. 4th Edition. 1 
 
 32. tPractical Manual of Painting in Oil Colours. By Ernest Hareux. 
 
 Part II. Landscape and Marine. Illustrated. 4th Edition .. .. 10 
 
 33. tPractical Manual of Painting in Oil Colours, By Ernest Hareux.^ 
 
 Part III. Figures and Animals. Illustrated. 3rd Edition " 1 
 
 34. fPractical Manual of Painting in Oil Colours. By Ernest Hareux. 
 
 Part IV. The Art of Making a Picture. Illustrated. 2nd Edition ... 1 
 
 *The three Parts bound in one, cloth and gilt, 5s. 
 fThe four Parts bound in one, cloth, 5s. 
 
r 
 
 i 
 
GETTY RESEARCH INSTITUTE 
 
 ^ 3 3125 01143 1992 ^