ENGRAVING. 



43 



runner than by the point or graver. This is called 

 a roulette, a kind of toothed wheel, resembling a 

 spur, moving on a pivot, but with from three to six 

 or eight rows of points ; so that by running this along 

 the race of the plate, a large surface or shadow can 

 be produced in a very short time. This is, however, 

 quite inapplicable to the finer kinds of work, as the 

 mechanical regularity of the dots cannot be con- 

 cealed without much labour. We have given a repre- 

 sentation of stippling, plate xxxv, fig. 8. 



Aqua Tinto. We gave an account of this species 

 of engraving, as practised on the continent where 

 it was originally invented. See article Aqua Tinto, 

 page, 217, vol. I. The British artists have greatly 

 improved upon it. The first thing is to etch or dry- 

 point, an outline of the subject in the manner which 

 we have already described. The plate is then pro- 

 perly cleaned with whitening, so as effectually to 

 remove any grease. A solution of resin is used as a 

 ground. The resin is reduced into a powder, more 

 or less fine, according to the kind of subject to be 

 represented, and put into a bottle with spirit of wine. 

 The plate is placed in any vessel, sloping in an 

 inclined plane of about fifteen degrees; and the com- 

 position of the spirit of wine and resin poured over 

 its surface in a slow and uniform manner, taking care 

 to cover the face of the plate without having to repeat 

 the operation; the spirit of wine will run off, and be 

 caught in the vessel, and what remains will soon dis- 

 sipate, leaving a beautiful and uniform surface of 

 the particles of the resin, which will adhere firmly to 

 the copper. The outline can be distinctly seen through 

 this transparent ground, and the biting or corrosion, 

 is proceeded with as before directed. When this is 

 completed, the parts which require rounding must be 

 done with the scraper and burnisher. 



Mr Robert Scott, engraver, Edinburgh, has most 

 successfully applied this art on steel, and has pro- 

 duced many plates, so well executed that it is with 

 difficulty they can be distinguished from India ink 

 drawings. We have given a specimen of these by 

 his own hand, plate xxxv, fig. 5. 



It may be easily conceived that there is some diffi- 

 culty in producing spirited touches in landscapes, or 

 in giving freedom to the foliage, by the method of 

 simply stopping up with varnish ; to obviate which a 

 very ingenious plan has been devised, by which the 

 touches are laid on the plate with the same ease as 

 India-ink on a drawing. The finest quality of whiting 

 must be mixed with a little treacle, and diluted with 

 water. The touches are then made with a camel 

 hair pencil. The whole plate is then covered with 

 a varnish of turpentine and asphaltum, and per- 

 mitted to dry. When the acid is applied, it will 

 be found that those places which have been touched 

 with the whiting and treacle will immediately break 

 up, and expose those touches to the action of the 

 acid, while the other parts of the plate will completely 

 resist it. 



Engraving in Meszotinto differs entirely from the 

 manner above described. This method of producing 

 prints, wiu'ch resemble drawings in India-ink, is said 

 by Evelyn, in his history of chalcography, to have 

 been discovered by prince Rupert. Some accounts 

 say that he learned the art from an officer named 

 Siegen, or Sichem, in the service of Hesse-Cassel. 

 It has been, for many years past, a very favourite 

 way of engraving portraits and historical subjects ; 

 of the former, the large heads of Fry are of superior 

 excellence. The tools required for this easy and 

 rapid mode of proceeding are, the grounding tool, 

 the scraper, and the burnisher. The copper-plate 

 should be prepared as if intended for the graver, and 

 laid flat upon a table, with a piece of flannel spread 

 under it, to prevent the plate from slipping ; the 



grounding-tool is then held perpendicularly on it, 

 and rocked with moderate pressure backwards and 

 forwards, till the teeth of the tool have equally and 

 regularly marked the copper from side to side ; the 

 operation is afterwards repeated from end to end. 

 and from each corner to the opposite ; but it is neces- 

 sary to observe, that the tool must never be permit- 

 ted to cut twice in the same place ; by this means the 

 surface is converted into a rough chaos of intersec- 

 tions, which, if covered with ink and printed, would 

 present a perfectly black impression upon the paper. 

 Some modern artists have found that it is much more 

 easy and expeditious to grain the plate by only bring- 

 ing the grounding tool twice over it. This practice 

 produces a much more dotty and richer effect, and 

 saves half the time besides. No outline is made on 

 the copper, but the picture is divided into squares, 

 and a similar number of smaller lots drawn on the 

 copper with a black-lead pencil. This is the most 

 tedious part of the process. The rest, to a skilful 

 artist, is much more easy than line-engraving or stip- 

 pling. It consists in pressing down or rubbing out 

 the roughness of the plate, by means of the burnisher 

 and scraper, to the extent of the intended figure, 

 obliterating the ground for lights, and leaving it for 

 shades. Where a strong light is required, the whole 

 ground is erased. For a medium light it is mode- 

 rately burnished, or partially erased. For the deep- 

 est shades the ground is left entire. Care is taken to 

 preserve the insensible gradations of light and shade, 

 upon which the effect and harmony of the piece essen- 

 tially depend. Engraving in mezzotinto approaches 

 more nearly to the effect of oil paintings than any 

 other species, from the strong and broad effects of 

 light and shadow which it is capable of producing. 

 It is well calculated for the representation of obscure 

 pieces, such as night scenes, &c. The principal 

 objection to the method is, that the plates wear out 

 speedily under the press, and, of course, yield 

 a comparatively small number of impressions. But, 

 since the use of steel plates has been discovered, a 

 much greater number of impressions can be taken off, 

 although much fewer than in line and other engrav- 

 ings. We have given a representation of this style, 

 pi. xxxv, fig. 6. 



Etching with soft ground. Common etching ground 

 is taken and rendered soft by the admixture of an 

 equal quantity of oil or tallow. A ground is then put 

 on the plate with a dauber, in the same manner as in 

 common etching. When cold, a piece of silk is 

 drawn tightly over the surface of the plate, and above 

 it is placed a piece of white paper. The subject to 

 be represented is drawn on the paper by means of a 

 hard black-lead pencil, while strong pressure is Used. 

 By this means the ground adheres to the silk, and 

 leaves the copper exposed ; so that, by being sub- 

 jected to the process of biting, a picture is produced, 

 wherein the lines are very soft, having all the appear- 

 ance of a drawing in black chalk. This process may 

 be applied to either landscapes, figures, or, in short, 

 anything else ; and, from the rapid manner in which 

 it can be executed, is useful in giving representations 

 of subjects where a large surface requires to be 

 covered. See plate xxxv, fig. 4. 



Engraving in fVood has been practised for several 

 centuries, and originally with tolerable success ; it 

 languished for a great part of the eighteenth century, 

 but revived towards the close, and is still practised 

 in a manner which reflects credit on the ingenuity of 

 the age. The person to whom we are most indebted 

 for its restoration was the late Thomas Bewick, of 

 Newcastle-upon-Tyne. The fidelity of expression 

 and drawing, in his History of Quadrupeds and 

 British Birds, attracted universal admiration ; and, 

 although these have been excelled, in point of execu- 



