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PRINTING.
for landscapes alone, which produces an effect like a pencilwater-colour drawing. This kind is called aquatinta.
In all which species of engraving upon copper, theartists find the sulphuric acid, or aquafortis, a most power-ful agent. Sometimes, indeed, it is suffered to executethe whole of the process of the graver,—when it is calledan etching; in which Cabot and Woorlidge are deservedlyeminent.
We shall abstain from naming the many very eminentBritish engravers now living, for obvious reasons. How-ever, the scarcity of good engravers on wood afforded theopportunity to use, perhaps, a stimulus to create others inthis very useful art.
We have innumerable artists eminent in every branch ofthese arts, in which this kingdom particularly excels theneighbouring nations. Except, indeed, one engraver, whoexecutes tire designs of the famous statuary and draughts-man, Canova, we know of none, from what we haveseen, which can be classed witli artists of the British school.The works of this artist possess the most happy imita-tion of marble, in statuary, we have ever beheld.
We have already observed the mode of obtaining similareffects from wood and copper, are opposite to each other.The mode by which impressions from wood are obtained,has been noticed; and it now remains that we observeupon that by which impressions are procured from copper.The plate is covered with appropriate ink; the surfaceis then carefully cleaned, leaving ink only in the excavationsor lines in the copper. The plate and paper, with a.blanket,are passed through a roller press of great power: thepaper being impressed into the remotest crevices of theplate, brings away the ink there deposited.
PRINTING.
Should we except the claims made by the Chinese , whoare alleged to have invented printing, in their mode of exe-cution, with numerous other European arts, for an immensenumber of years before such arts were thought of inEurope : and they claim printing in particular; but theirmode of printing is upon the principle which calico printersprint their furniture, and not analagous to that used by cardmanufacturers, as some have asserted, but if we exceptthese Asiatics, it will then appear that the ancient Romans