102 REPORT OP NATIONAL MUSEUM, 1925 



sions from the more important plates of the eminent American 

 mezzotint engraver, John Sartain (1808-1897), including a print 

 after Sir Thomas Lawrence's self-portrait, considered Sartain's 

 most important work in mezzotint; several lithographs by Albert 

 Newsam (1809-1864), one of America's finest portrait lithographers; 

 and other fine American lithographs published in Philadelphia in 

 1832 and 1833, or a little later. Both mezzotints and lithographs, 

 except as noted, were after paintings of Sully, and probably all 

 belonged to him. 



The contemporary American mezzotint engraver, Frederick Rey- 

 nolds, of New York City, contributed four examples of his work, 

 two in black and white and two in color. These are especially in- 

 teresting, not only for their skill in printing and engraving and 

 their artistic effect, but because a black and white and a print in 

 full color are shown from the same plate of " La Princesse de 

 Conde," after Nattier. This plate was made especially for color 

 printing, and by comparing these two impressions one sees how the 

 engraver left certain parts darker than necessary for the black-and- 

 white effect so that the color print would have the desired values. 

 George C. Wales contribued the " destroyed " plate of his very fine 

 soft-ground etching " Stand by to Let Go," a print of which he gave 

 the Museum two years ago. 



Sidney A. Kimber, of Cambridge, Mass., added to his previous 

 donation of water-marked papers, 19 specimens of Italian manu- 

 facture, most of which show colored water-marks. They are re- 

 markable examples of paper making and display great skill in the 

 beautiful effects obtained. 



Mention was made in last year's report of a new reproduction 

 process called "aquatone," a sort of combination of the collotype 

 with the use of a 400-line screen, printed on an offset press at a 

 rate of 3,500 an hour. This is now in commercis^ operation for 

 black and white prints. The only color prints produced were made 

 with a 133-line screen. Besides prints from the Aquatone Cor- 

 poration and the United States Printing & Lithograph Co., both 

 of New York City, the Museum has received this year a technical 

 series from William Edwin Rudge which shows the steps in making 

 printing plates. The time consumed in preparing the plate for 

 printing is very short and the finished results remarkable true. 



The technical side of the exhibit of printing for the blind was 

 enlarged and now gives an idea of the difficulties encountered in 

 providing such reading matter. The Museum previously had speci- 

 mens of finished raised printing, chiefly books printed by different 

 systems, maps, and portraits. The material added this year illus- 

 trates how the results are obtained and used. The many systems of 



