It is a most difficult feat for one who has thoroughly mastered an accomplishment, and has practised it successfully for a lifetime, to lower himself to the level of those who are absolutely uninformed. A master is apt to forget that he himself had to learn certain things which, to him, seem to be self-evident, and he therefore takes it for granted that they are self-evident. A practised etcher thinks nothing of handling his acid, grounding and smoking his plate, and all the other little tricks of the craft which, to a beginner, are quite worrying and exciting. It seemed to me best, therefore, to acquaint the student with these purely technical difficulties, without complicating his first attempts by artistic considerations, and hence the origin of the “Introductory Chapter.” Very naturally I was compelled, in this chapter, to go over much of the ground covered by the Treatise itself. But the diligent student, who remembers that “Repetition is the mother of learning,” will not look upon the time thus occupied as wasted.
The notes are, perhaps, still more easily explained. M. Lalanne very rarely stops to inform his reader how the various requisites may be made. Writing, as he did, at and for Paris, there was, indeed, no reason for thus encumbering his book; for in Paris the Veuve Cadart is always ready to supply all the wants of the etcher. For a London reader, Mr. Charles Roberson, of 99 Long Acre, whom Mr. Hamerton has so well—and very properly—advertised, is ready to perform the same kind office. But for those who live away from the great centres of society, it may oftentimes be necessary either to forego the fascinations of etching, or else to provide the materials with their own hands. For the benefit of such persons, I have thought it advisable to describe, in the notes, the simplest and cheapest methods of making the tools and utensils which are needed in the execution of M. Lalanne's precepts.
By the arrangement of the paragraphs which I have ventured to introduce, M. Lalanne's pleasant little book has, perhaps, lost something of its vivacity and freshness, especially in the fifth chapter. But this dull, methodical order will be found, I hope, to add to the convenience of the work as a book of reference, which, according to M. Lalanne's own statement, is, after all, its main object.
It is due to the English public to say, that the additions were originally written for the American edition of this book, published by Messrs. Estes & Lauriat, of Boston, Mass. To free them from the American character which they very naturally bear, would have necessitated the resetting of a great part of the work, and a consequent increase in its cost. It has been deemed advisable, therefore, to leave the whole of the text in its original condition, more especially as the changes are such that they can easily be supplied by the reader, and do not in the least affect the value of the information conveyed.
S. R. KOEHLER.
Beech Glen Avenue, Roxbury, Boston,
July, 1880.
CONTENTS.
