37 



U. S. NAVAL OBBEBVATORT ok Washington, D. C. Astronomical and Meteor- 

 ological Observations for 1971. l vol. 4to. Washington, 1873. 



U. S. PA i in i < »kfice of Washington. D. C. Official Gazette for Feb. 17, 1874. 



WH3TIHG, U.S., Boston. Memoir of Rev. Samuel Whiting, D.D. ByW.G. 

 Whiting. lvol.Svo. Boston, 1873. 



By Exchange. 



American Philosophical Society of Philadelphia. Proceedings of, June- 

 Dec 1>7:;. No. m. 8vopamph. 



l'i BLI8HERS. American Naturalist. Forest and Stream. Gardener's Montlily. 

 Gloucester Telegraph. Haverhill Gazette. Ipswich Chronicle. Lawrence Amer- 

 ican. Lynn Reporter. Lynn Transcript. Medical and Surgical Reporter. 

 Nation. Nature. Feabody Press. Salem Observer. Salem City Post. Silli- 

 man's Journal. 



William W. Kellett of Peabody was duly elected a res- 

 ident member. 



Agreeably to the suggestion offered at the meeting on 

 Feb. 27th, the evening was devoted to the discussion of 

 subjects relating to art. 



Mr. George M. White gave a description of the 

 trious 

 follows 



various modes of engraving — an abstract of his remarks 



COPPER-PLATE ENGRAVING. 



The art of engraving on copper and taking impressions 

 from the engraved plates, is ascribed to a native of Flor- 

 ence, named Finiguerra, who flourished in the fifteenth 

 century. He was a successful workman in an art then 

 largely practised, namely, the engraving of church orna- 

 ments, vases, sword-blades, and other articles, and tilling 

 the engraved lines with a black composition of silver and 

 lead. This was called working in niello, and had a very 

 fine effect. One day Finiguerra wished to try the effect 

 of an engraving he had been working upon, and for that 

 purpose cast some melted sulphur into the hollows of the 

 lines ; on removing the sulphur he noticed that some dust 

 and charcoal which had gathered in the engraved portion 



