110 REPORT OF NATIONAL MUSEUM, 1924 



ciety, London; the Liverpool Amateur Photographic Association, Liverpool; 

 the Manchester Amateur Photographic Society, Manchester; the Pictorial 

 Group of the Royal Photographic Society of Great Britian. Assembled by 

 Colin J. Unsworth. 



May and June. Pictorial photographs. Multigum prints by John H. Garo, 

 of Boston. 



These exhibitions Avere of educational as well as high artistic 

 quality and attracted many visitors, and favorable notices appeared 

 in the press, both locally and abroad. As a direct material result, 

 the collections have received numerous prints of artistic and his- 

 torical value. Twelve loan exhibitions have been planned for the 

 next fiscal year. The Museum wishes to extend its appreciation to 

 the individuals and organizations through whose interest it has been 

 possible to have these displays. 



Of the changes in the existing exhibitions, the most important and 

 thorough, related to etching. All the material was rematted in the 

 new cream mats and bound with dark gray passe-partouts. Much 

 of the new material received recently has been incorporated in the 

 present arrangement; several entirely new additions have been 

 made to the technical series. 



The process of intaglio etching consists of covering a suitable 

 metal plate with a very thin coating of an acid-resisting material 

 and next scratching through it to the metal plate the lines that are 

 to be printed; then corroding with acid or other mordant the part 

 of the metal that has been exposed, each scratch is etched into the 

 metal plate and when properly inked, can be printed. 



In Germany, about 1500, etching began. From internal evidence 

 Daniel Hopfer is given the credit for being the first to use this 

 medium for printing. None of his prints is dated. The earliest 

 elate found on an etching is 1513; it is on Urs Graf's Girl Washing 

 Her Feet. This was etched upon iron, as were five by Albrecht 

 Diirer, dated 1515 to 1519. His follower, Hans Sebald Beham, 

 made about 20, 2 in 1519 and 8 in 1520, others undated, except 1 in 

 1540. About 1520, in Italy, Francesco Mazzuola, called II Parmigi- 

 ano, was the first Italian etcher. The first in the Netherlands was 

 Lucas van Leyden, who in 1520 etched five plates on copper. Before 

 this, all etching had been upon iron. From the beginnings to about 

 1530 is called the " Incunabula of etching." From 1530 to the time 

 of Rembrandt (his first etching is dated 1628), little if any ad- 

 vance was made. The most important discovery was a wax ground, 

 invented by Dietrich Meyer about 1600, which was easily scratched ; 

 the earlier ground had been tough and hard to cut through. Wax 

 grounds have been used ever since. 



