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ETCHING AND ETCHINGS.

II.

A GOOD deal of noiiseiisi' has been written and talked about jnu'ity of method in engraving and etching; and the qualities to be obtained by sympathetic printing are frequently laid at the etcher's door as sins against the true art. Indeed, one often hears the remark that all the merit of modern etchings lies in the printing, and that the true masters of the art were satisfied with a 'good honest proof such as would be printed by a printer of visiting-card plates. It is simply ridiculous that the resources there are in different methods of printing from a plate should not be made use of. The end to which an etcher (»• engraver works is the finished |)roof, and the plate he makes to print this proof from is simply a means to the end. If the etcher desires that all his lines shall be printed clear and sharp upon a bright ground, then such printing as a card-plate printer would use is the correct thing for him ; there can be no mistake about such printing, and there would not be the slightest difficulty in getting his things done so. The idea of critics of what they sarcastically call artistic printing seems to be that it is a method of veilinff, in a tone of ink, lines which would be bad if they were left to stand by themselves. Just as though bad lines could ever be made to look good by any printing ! An etcher who understands his art, works his plate with a direct reference to the particular method in which lie intends having it printed ; and where he puts lines on the plate, means that these lines shall tell out with whatever quality he intends them to have. An etcher who is not also able to ))rint can hardly be considered quite a master of his craft, because good printing is such a delicate matter that no one can take such sympathetic ])roofs from his plate as the etcher himself, pro- viding of coiu'se he has given sufficient time to learn the techniijue of printing. This is not by any means an easy thing to do. Many and many a day will have to be spent in anxiously experimenting, and gaining experience of the host of little things that conspire to sjjoil a proof There will be days when he will stand over his plate for many an hour mixing up ink of all manner of materials, and swinging his hand over the plate till he is tired out and vexed with himself beyond endurance, without so much as getting a single proof — for it is not necessary to print a proof to see if the quality aimed at is produced on the plate. He has to get to know the pro))erties "of thin and of thick ink, and of the different materials of which they can be made ; and the very manner of mixing them before use will influence the result. Then he should know the effects of wiping the plate in different manners with various kinds of canvas and muslin ; and, more important still, he has to discipline his inked hand so that the palm can move slowly or swiftly over the surface of the plate, so near as to be next to touching it ; and the differences between all this worked u|ion a heated jjlate as opposed to a cold one, to say notiiing of the effects of differences of pressure in the printing-press, and the results given by different ])apers, or whatever material is used to receive the impression.