ENGRAVING. 
aqua fortis, of those made by the interven- 
tion of that liquid the principal is Etching, 
he that would excel in this branch of the 
arts must he thoroughly acquainted with 
drawing, otherwise his works will appear 
tasteless indeed. The ground used in etch- 
ing is a combination of asphaltmn, gum- 
mastick, and virgin wax, mixed in such pro- 
portions as will prevent the asphaltum from 
breaking the composition when under the 
aqua fortis, or the wax fi;om making it so 
soft as to close the lines when cut through 
it by the needle. As every thing depends 
upon the stability of the ground, it should 
be purchased of those persons who are most 
celebrated for making it ; or if the person 
wishing to use it prefers doing it himself, 
let him remember that he must keep every 
particle of grease or oil far from him and 
his materials, and that without the greatest 
care the inflammability of the asphaltum 
will ruin his operations in melting them. 
The proportions of the ingredients should be 
obtained by experiment. 
After being prepared in the above man- 
ner the ground is tied in a piece of lustring 
for use, and another piece of the same kind 
of silk must be made into a dabber by 
tying a quantity of cotton in it. The cop- 
per-plate, hammered to a considerable de- 
gree of hardness, polished as if intended for 
the graver, and perfectly cleansed with 
whiting, is then secured at one corner by 
a hand vice, heated over a cltarcoal fire, 
and the silk containing the ground rubbed 
over it till every part is covered by the 
melted composition ; but before it cools the 
silk dabber must be applied in all direc- 
tions, till the surface of the plate is thinly 
and equally varnished. After this part of 
the process is completed, several lengths of 
wax taper, twisted together, are to be 
lighted, the plate raised by the vice in the 
left hand, and the right holding the burning 
taper is to be moved gently backwards and 
forwards under the ground, carefully avoid- 
ing touching it with the wick, yet causing 
the flame to spread over the surface, which 
will render it perfectly black, smooth, and 
'shining, in a short time ; this is to be ascer- 
tained by turning the plate : if the copper 
appears through the ground, the taper must 
be applied again immediately ; but if it is 
held too long beneath the plate, the ground 
will become opaque, and break when the 
aqua fortis is used. 
The next object is to transfer the design 
to the ground, which may be done by 
drawing it on thin white paper with a black 
Jead pencil, and having it passed through 
the copper-plate printers’ rolling press, who 
will accomplish it by laying the plate care- 
fully on the board of his press, the pencilled 
paper slightly damped on it, and turning 
the press the lead will be conveyed firmly 
to the ground, which will appear in perfect 
outlines on removing the paper. Another 
method is to draw the design reversed from 
the original ; rub the back with powdered 
white chalk, and laying it on the ground 
trace the lines through with a blunt point ; 
this operation requires much precaution or 
the point will cut the ground ; besides, if 
the paper is not securely fastened with wax 
at the corners it may slip, and either inter- 
rupt the true continuation of lines, or 
scratch the ground. 
In working with the etching needle 
nothing more is required than to keep 
it upright, that the lines made by it 
through the ground may not slope, and thus 
make the aqua fortis corrode improperly ; 
but it should be pai ticularly observed, that 
the point, though taper, must be so rounded 
as to be free from a possibility of its tearing 
the surface of the copper, which would pre- 
vent the progress of the point, and ruin the 
plate when bitten ; the necessary polish of 
the point may be accomplished by rubbing 
it on the sole of a shoe. The young artist 
must now be left to his own exertions, as. 
directions for etching beyond those already 
given are useless, and he will acquire more 
knowledge and freedom from copying good 
prints in one week than a quarto volume 
of observations would afford. It seems 
almost needless to add, that every line must 
he kept distinct, at all events, throughout 
the plate, and that the most distant should 
be closer and more regular than those in 
the fore ground, as the greater the depth of 
shade the broader and deeper must the lines 
be made. 
When the etching of the plate is com- 
pletely finished, the edges of it must be sur- 
rounded by a high border of wax, so well 
secured that water will not penetrate be- 
tween the plate and it. The best spirits 
of nitre fortis must then be diluted with 
water, in the proportion of one part of 
the former to four of the latter, which wifi 
be found to answer the first operations, if 
the weather is fine and the atmosphere 
free from moisture ; but, if the contrary is 
the case, the spirits of nitre must he in- 
creased in proportion to the humidity of 
the air; this, when poured on the plate, 
cannot be too attentively observed in order 
to remove the bubbles of fixed air vvith 
a feather, and to ascertain the time for 
