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is, I believe, a Thing hardly any Gentleman will trouble himfelf about, feeing that 
feveral People, in and about London, make it their Bufinefs to fquare and fmooth 
Plates of all Sizes, for Perfons who want them : And for the prefent Information of 
thofe who may want Plates , I fhall put down the Name of a Perfon who has ferved 
me with mod of my Plates; his Name, &c. is Francis Forondy Copper-Plate 
Maker for Engraving, &c. at the Acorn in Wejl-Streety near Little St. Martin's - 
Laney by the Seven Dials . Examine your Plates when you buy them, to fee if 
they are perfectly free from Scratches, Dents or Holes ; and if they are bad, fee 
that the Maker mend them before you take them of him. When you are provided 
with a Plate , the next Thing to be confidered is, a Ground to cover it withal. 
General Inflrucliom in Relation to Grounds or Varnilhes, 
proper to lay on the Plates before they are Etched. 
T H E Ingredients generally made Ufe of for the Ground or Varnijhy are, fird, 
Afphaltum y called alfo Pitch of Judea , or Jew's Pitch : It is a pretty hard, 
black, pitchy, or refinous Subdance, commonly brought to us in large Gourd Shells, 
containing, more or lefs, about forty Pounds, and to be had of the mod eminent 
Druggids in London . The fecond is Bees-WaXy either White or Yellow. The 
third is Common Rofin . The fourth is Mafticky a Sort of fine hard Rofin in fmall 
Grains. I have fometimes added a little Common Pitch tofoften it. 
Though it will be proper to vary your Ground a little, according to the different 
Times of the Year you work in, for that which does very well in frody Weather, 
may be fo foft as to dick to your Fingers in Summer ; therefore what is ufed in Win- 
ter mud have a greater Proportion of the fofter Materials, (fuch as the Wax and 
Common Pitch) and that which is for Summer Ufe may have more of the harder 
Materials of the Receipt, which I diall here give at a Medium, as near as I can 
between the two Extreams. 
A RECEIPT for a Ground or VarniiK 
Afphaltum 
Bees-Wax 
Rofin — 
Madick — 
Common Pitch 
1 l Ounce 
2 Ounces 
i Ounce 
i Ounce 
i Ounce 
Put all thefe into a new Pipkin well glazed, and place it on a moderate Fire, and as 
the Ingredients melt, dir and incorporate them very well together with a little Stick : 
Be careful that it doth not take Fire, or boil over. When all is well melted and 
mixed, let it dand a little While in the Pipkin, till the Bubbles have done rifing, 
and fome of the groffer Parts are a little fettled to the Bottom ; then pour it off into 
a Bafon of Water, leaving the Dregs in the Pipkin. When it is a little cooled in the 
Water, 
