Instead of drying the prints before mounting they can be taken from the water one at a time, and placed face down on a pane of glass, or the bottom of the toning tray. After all are placed, absorb as much of the water as possible with a piece of blotting-paper. Apply the paste to the top print, being particular to have the edges well covered. Lift the print and lay it on the card-mount, and rub down with squeegee as directed. When the pictures are dry they can be burnished if desired. Card-mounts come in all sizes, and the beginner usually selects a mount the size of the print to be mounted. Now a picture to look its best should be mounted on a card large enough to show at least an inch margin all round. A 6 x 8 card is a good size for a 4 x 5 print. Plain card-mounts of creamy white or soft gray are much less expensive than the small mounts with gilt or fancy edges, and are much more artistic.
Before mounting a print it is a good idea to lay it on the card and see what best accords with the color. After the prints are mounted write the name of the picture on each. If written on the back, which is usually to be preferred to the face of the print, any item of interest about the picture can be added. Do not mount a print unless it has some claim to merit. An amateur is always being asked to show his pictures, and it does not add to one's reputation as a photographer to exhibit dismal failures and dignify them with the name of pictures. There is no use in perpetuating a failure.
When visitors ask to see your pictures do not bring out every one which you happen to have mounted. A dozen well-taken and well-mounted pictures are more appreciated and more enjoyed than a large collection of which one tires before he gets to the end. Always have a few good pictures reserved for yourself. One so often hears the excuse, "Oh, I haven't any good prints," that it becomes tiresome. Make at least a dozen as fine prints as you can, and keep them for exhibition, adding fresh ones as the old ones become soiled.
Clara Andrews wants to know what is meant by halation. Halation is the term used to denote the spreading of light beyond its proper place on the negative. In photographing an interior where the camera is pointed toward a window the light from the window is reflected from the back of the negative, and makes a sort of halo or fog round the picture of the window. Plates called non-halation plates are now made for the purpose of photographing clouds, windows, lights, etc., without having this fog appear.
E. A. D. asks if there is a way to take a photograph from an engraving, and how it is done. Copying photographs and engravings is very easily done. Place the picture on a board, holding it in place with clamps or letter-clips, and set the board upright. Arrange the camera, and focus on the principal object in the picture. The picture must be at exactly the same angle as the camera. If the camera is exactly horizontal the picture must also be placed in the same position. It is best to take the pictures out-of-doors, as the light is more even than in the house. Expose a little longer than for ordinary landscapes or figures.
HARD TO UNDERSTAND.
He's got a pretty pinky cheek;
He's fat and fair as Cupid;
But if I said things baby says,
They'd think me very stupid.
And yet whene'er he says those things,
For twenty minutes after
The rooms and hallways loud resound
With pop's and mamma's laughter.