Art of Printing from Stone . S07 
These are, the difficulty of giving that diversity of tone, 
which is admired in engravings. Thus for instance, the 
finest prints that this art has yet produced are unques- 
tionably those, that have been executed at Munich* from 
those celebrated drawings, which from a whim, in which 
painters are apt enough to indulge, Albert Durer made 
in a prayer book. These prints are executed with spi- 
rit, and the stroke is frequently clean; but it is uniform, 
so that the print is somewhat gray and monotonous. The 
difference is still better perceived, on comparing these 
prints with those etched by the different masters them- 
selves. . 
The same inconvenience is found in music, the uni- 
formity that prevails rendering the music less easy to 
read. 
We must not too hastily conclude however, that this 
new art is not important : we should endeavour to find 
means of remedying the inconveniences, that appear to 
arise from the mode employed. If such means be dis- 
covered, which we may hope from experience showing, 
that the manner of applying the acid and of drawing 
upon the stone are the points most important to improve, 
this mode of printing will combine a saving both of 
time and expense. The great number of copies too, 
that may be taken off, is not one of its least advan- 
tages. 
It remains now to notice the differences, that appear 
to exist in the chemical printing offices of different cities. 
At Milan a little nitric acid is poured over the stone, as 
at Yienna : but it is said, that they cannot take off above 
five hundred impressions. This must be owing to the 
* Albrecht Durers Christlich mythologische Handzeichnungen. Strixner* 
Munich, 1808, Different inks have been used for prints, as black, red, violet, 
and green, 
