Any questions in regard to photograph matters will be willingly answered by the Editor of this column, and we should be glad to hear from any of our club who can make helpful suggestions.
PREPARING FOR CHRISTMAS.
The amateur photographer, if he has improved the shining hours of summer by gathering some good negatives, has on hand the material for very acceptable Christmas gifts, and now is the time to set about preparing them.
No amateur has probably been so fortunate as to secure a satisfactory picture with every plate used. The prodigal throws these spoiled plates in the ash-barrel, but the wise amateur uses them for many things. One way is to use them for mounting prints. Carefully mounted and finished, they are very pretty and make handsome ornaments, and for simple gifts are far more satisfactory than the usual Christmas-cards, which eventually find their way into the scrap-basket. Then, too, another thing which commends them to a young person who must make a little money go a long way is that they are very much cheaper.
Soak the spoiled plate in hot water till all the film has been removed, then wash it in hot suds, dry, and polish it with French chalk and a piece of soft chamois. Select the prints to be mounted, choosing those which will have some special attraction to the one for whom you intend the gift. Soak the prints for a few minutes in a weak solution of glycerine, using ¼ oz. of glycerine to 16 oz. of water. Lay them face up on a piece of glass, and let the water drain off, but do not blot them. Have your glass ready, place the print face down on it, and covering it with a piece of blotting-paper, squeegee it to the glass, using the rubber roller made for this purpose. The picture must adhere to the glass at every point; for if it does not, the air-blisters will show and disfigure the picture. By examining the face of the print from the glass side it can easily be seen whether the optical contact is perfect, and if not, rub it until it is.
Cut a piece of stout Manila-paper half an inch larger all round than the glass. Lay the glass in the centre of the paper, and cut a small square from each corner of the paper. Remove the picture, cover the paper with paste, and paste it on the back of the picture, turning over the edges on to the face of the glass, the squares cut from the corners allowing it to lie smoothly.
If you wish to finish the picture to stand on a desk or table, bind the edges of the glass with a piece of ribbon, or colored or gilt paper; or if you wish to have it more decorative, get a narrow open-work brass strip and bend it round the edges. To make the support, take heavy card-board and mark on it two lines about an inch apart and at equal distances from each edge. Cut through the card-board on these lines, and then cut half-way through the card-board across from one line to the other. Bend the strip back a little way, and paste a strip of stout cloth over the place where the board is cut part way through, fitting it into the cut. This makes a stout hinge, and will not easily break or bend out of shape. Paste this support, which should be the size of the glass, on the back of the picture, using a thick paste, or, what is still better, fish glue.
Pictures may be mounted by optical contact, and framed in silk or linen in the card-board screen frames, using one or two leaves. They may also be finished to hang on the wall by attaching a brass ring by a piece of tape to the back of the picture.
A number of pictures which make a series may be mounted on spoiled plates, then set in a frame, using narrow strips of beading to divide the pictures and cover the edges of the glasses.
The directions here given will suggest to our amateurs many ways of using spoiled plates for picture mounts.