THE SCiEJ^T TIST. 
1}^ jouriKil needs to be milianipLTed ; he 
knows best what feature he needs to 
make prominent, am! he would. I'ahi be 
his own engraver. This he can be, thanks 
to the rapid extension and wide intro- 
duction of plioto-ehemicaf migravrnii,- 
methods. Now, the man who makes the 
drawlngis tlie real engraver, .the plate- 
maker merely conferring on him the 
means for a rapid ni-.inifolding and cor- 
respondingly easy and wide distribution 
of liis drawing, and this at a price only 
a tithe of what he formerly paid for a pic. 
ture, perhaps artistically pretty, but 
usually more or less incorrect as a de- 
lineation of things observed. But as all 
reproductive methods have their limita- 
tions and as not all drawings are capable 
of perfect i-eproduction, it is necessary to 
inquire what methods of delineatioji will 
produce pictures capable of facile repro- 
duction in fac-simil-^. This query it is 
my purpose to answer. . Of the i-eproduc- 
tive processes themselves, it is only neces- 
sary to say that the one in most general 
use now, all over the world, is the method 
of producing an ink photograph on zinc, 
or co])per, afterwards by etching with 
acids transformed to a relief plate in 
lines or dots, and which is properly to 
be termed photo-cher^iigraphy, but is 
practiced under many different mmes. 
Pen Draaying. 
The method of making drawings, which 
is best suited to the processes of the pho- 
to engraver is also one off the oldest, and 
by reason of the simplicity of its manip- 
ulation, the easiest of all drawing 
methods — pen and ink. ISTow the photo 
engraver requires that drawings for his 
use shall be so made that it will be easy 
for him to make therefrom a negative 
of the greatest density, the lines or dots 
ot the drawing represented by perfectly 
clear glass, the white paper by an in- 
tensely opaque and black lilm. To assist 
him in this, the draftsman must give him 
a drawing, all the lines of which must be 
intensely black, without being glossy. 
and the surface drawn upon should be 
pure white, or bluish white. In cases of 
absolute necessity a process negative can 
be made from a,, drawing on grayish, 
brownish or yellowish surfaces, but the 
qualify of the eiigraved work m aysufier, 
and such work is onl}" ^^taken at cus- 
tomer's risk. The best surface to , draw 
upon is pure white wadding bristol card, 
S-pl}^ or thicker. A jgreat deal of the 
work of the professional draughtsmen is 
done upon a heavily enameled white card, 
called "scratch board,'' "Ben Day en- 
ameled card,'' or "double-enameled por- 
celain." I'he coating of white enamel 
is so thick that it is easy to cut white 
lines similar to the white cross lining of 
wood cuts, using a knife point or spe- 
cial scraping needle for that purpose. 
This paper can only be had of good 
quality from photo-er.graving houses, — 
it require ; some practice for the draughts- 
man to become used to its peculiarities, 
but yields tine results when these are 
overcome. Very dark parts of the work 
are painted in, in solid black, with a 
brush, so as not to disturb the enamel, 
and then stippled or lined up with the 
needle, as with a graver on woodcuts. 
The same object is attained when draw- 
ing on the bristol board, by laying in the 
dark parts solid black, (always with a 
brush,) and after the ink is thoroughly 
dry, mixing up some pure tlake' white 
water, so it will run freely from the pen, 
then producing tlie graduation by; draw- 
ing on white lines. Never go over the 
lines a second time nor cross them until 
the first lining is perfectly -dry. If the 
white line on the black looks bluish, the 
white is not mixed thick enough, and 
more should be ground up so that the re- 
sulting line may dr}" a solid white. The 
black pigment used should be real Chinese 
or Japanese ink of the best quality. It 
is not necessary to use inks of English 
or any other indirect importations at 
fancj'' prices. A lai'ge stick of real Jap- 
anese only costs 11.00. A large stick of 
