652 



ANNUAL REGISTER, 1810. 



pen you draw with to be made with 

 a sharp point ; if you intend to 

 represent chalk drawing, a very 

 soft nib and broad-made pen will 

 be necessary, or a small reed. 



No. 2. — Composition, resem- 

 bling ink, to draw the de- 

 sign on the copper. 

 . Take about one ounce of treacle 

 or sugar-candy, add to tliis three 

 burnt corks reduced by the fire to 

 almostan impalpable powder, then 

 add a small quantity of lamp- 

 black to colour it ; to these put 

 some weak gum water (made of 

 gum-arabic, and grind the whole 

 together on a stone with a muller: 

 keep reducing this ink with gum- 

 water until it flows with ease from 

 the pen or reed. 



To maketheinkdischargefreely 

 from the pen, it must be scraped 

 rather thin towards the end of the 

 nib, on the back part of the quill ; 

 and if the liquid is thick, reduce 

 it with hot water. 



Having made the drawing on 

 the copper with this composition, 

 you will dry it at the fire until it 

 becomes hard ; then varnish the 

 plate all over with turpentine- 

 varnish (No. 3,) of the consist- 

 ency of the liquid varnish sent 

 with this as a sample. 



It will now be necessary to let 

 the varnish, that is past over 

 the plate, dry, which will take 

 three or four hours at least ; but 

 this will depend on the state of 

 the weather ; for if it should be 

 intensely hot, it ought to be left 

 all night to harden. 



Now the varnish is presumed to 

 be sufficiently hard, you may rub 

 off the touches made with the 

 foregoing described ink with spit- 

 tle, and use your finger to rub 



them up ; should it not come off 

 very freely, put your walling-wax 

 round the margin of your plate, 

 and then pour on the touches, 

 some warm water, but care must 

 be taken it is not too hot. 



The touches now being clean 

 taken off, wash the plate well and 

 clean from all impurities and sedi- 

 ment of the ink with cold soft 

 water, then dry the plate at a dis- 

 tance from the fire, or else in the 

 sun ; and when dry, pour on your 

 aquafortis, which should be in 

 cold weather as follows : 



To one pint of nitrous acid, or 

 strong aquafortis, add two parts, 

 or twice its quantity of soft water. 



In hot weather, to one part of 

 nitrous acid add three parts of 

 water. 



In every part of this process 

 avoid hard or pump water. 



The last process of biting in 

 with aquafortis must be closely at- 

 tended to, brushing of all the 

 bubbles that arise from the action 

 of the aquafortis on the copper. 



In summer time it will take 

 about twenty minutes to get a 

 sufficient colour ; in winter per- 

 haps half an hour, or more. All 

 this must depend on the state 

 of the atmosphere and tempera- 

 ture of your room. If any parts 

 require to be stopt out, do the 

 same with turpentine-varnish and 

 lamp-black, and with a camel- 

 hair brush pass over those parts 

 you consider of sufficient depth; 

 distances and objects recedingfrom^ 

 the sight, of course, ought not to 

 be so deep as your fore grounds : 

 accordingly you will obliterate 

 them with the foregoing varnish, 

 and then let it dry, when you will 

 apply the aquafortis a second time. 



