444 ENGRAVING. 



those eminent foreigners who hare, or do at present reside in 

 England. Whatever deficiencies we may discover in the prosecu- 

 tion of the arts in this country, is fortunately not to be attributed 

 td want of genius, or relaxation from study in the artist ; the chill 

 of apathy in the rich, who view a wretched coloured aquatint with 

 the same or more pleasure than the most laboured production of the 

 graver, is the baleful cause of the languishing state of historical en. 

 graving. When persons capable of affording patronage .are taught 

 discrimination, future Woollets will fascinate the best judges of 

 engraving. We have, however, some very fine engravers, in dif. 

 ferent departments, among whom it would be unjust not to specify 

 the names of Milton, Scott, Lowry, and Mrs. Griffiths. 



[Wulpole. Phil. Trans. Pantoj. 



A very ingenious process has of late years been employed on 

 the continent to answer at the same time both the purposes of de- 

 signing and engraving ; or, in other words, to produce an engraving 

 by the art of design4ng. This art or process is called (ithograpfy 

 or stone-engraving: and among the German artists, who have 

 recourse to it, chemische druckcry^ or chemical printing. From 

 Germany it has spread into our own country, and still more lately 

 into France and Italy. It consists in being first provided with a 

 few small blocks of marble, about the size of Dutch tiles, or larger, 

 according to the intended dimensions of the print; the thickness 

 should be about two inches. The landscape, or other subject, 

 is then to be traced over with a pencil ; and the pencil lines to be 

 afterwards at leisure retraced with a particular ink which was at 

 first a great secret. It is now, however, known to consist of a so- 

 lution of lae in potash, coloured black by soot from burning wax. 

 When the design has been gone over with this ink, it is left to dry, 

 which commonly takes about two hours, though this will depend 

 upon the temperature and dryness of the atmosphere. The face of 

 the marble being, after this process, washed with nitric acid more 

 or less diluted according to the degree of relief desired, the whole 

 surface will be corroded except where defended by the resinous 

 ink. The operation is now completed, and to obtain printed co- 

 pies nothing more is necessary than to wash the marble clean ; to 

 distribute over it, by means of printers.' balls, an ink similar to 

 that commonly used by printers; and to press down upon the di. 



