EEPORT OP NATIONAL MUSEUM, 1925 101 



to the suggestion that celluloid might be used as a substitute for 

 the expensive boxwood, also contributed a fine engraving on cellu- 

 loid, which was mounted by the Museum printer, and satisfactory 

 prints were made without difficulty. 



The Christian Science Publishing Co., George Washington Life 

 Insurance Co., and James E. Patton each contributed an artist proof 

 wood engraving by Timothy Cole, all recent work. R. C. Smith, 

 aid in the division of graphic arts, added proofs of the blocks used 

 in his recently published book entitled " The Wood Engraved Work 

 of Timothy Cole." Wood engravings were also received from John 

 G. Bjorkman and James Bann, the work of the donors. 



Alfred McEwen, of New York City, contributed two micro- 

 engravings. One of these, a letter of 46 words from the donor to 

 the curator of Graphic Arts, is the smallest letter ever received by 

 the Museum. The second, especially prepared by Mr. McEwen for 

 the exhibition series, consists of the Lord's Prayer, about 1/13500 of 

 an inch square, engraved on glass and seen through the eye of a 

 needle, mounted under a high-power microscope. The engraving 

 is cut in glass with a diamond point by means of a micropantograph. 

 Fifty or sixty years ago microengravings were quite common, but 

 at present they are very rare. 



The exhibit of letter-press printing was enhanced by gifts from 

 William Edwin Rudge, of New York City, Woodward & Lothrop, 

 of Washington, D. C, Dietz Printing Co., of Richmond, Va., and the 

 Laboratory Press of the Carnegie Institute of Technology, Pitts- 

 burgh, Pa. The American examples present a fine appearance, but 

 work of historical nature and of foreign printers is desired to round 

 out this series. 



George A. Simonds & Co. deserve mention for a contribution 

 illustrating the making of a book, which shows the folding and 

 assembling of the printed sheets and steps in binding. Miss Marian 

 Lane gave an original design for a bookbinding, which was placed 

 with the bookbinding specimens. The bookbinding series was fur- 

 ther enlarged by four examples of fore-edge painting lent by B. 

 M. Comerford, of Washington, D. C. Fore-edge painting consists 

 of painting pictures and decorations on the fore edge of a book 

 while the leaves are pulled back to expose a very minute part of the 

 upper surface of each leaf. This exposed part receives the water- 

 color paint. The pictures disappear when the book comes back to 

 its normal shape. 



Mrs. Harriet W. Nutting, of Washington, D. C, the great- 

 granddaughter of the famous American painter, Thomas Sully, 

 donated a valuable collection of 60 old prints, chiefly American, 

 dating around 1830 to 1840. Among these are fine early impres- 



