To transfer a drawing or writing to stone, it is made with ink on paper, both prepared in the way we have described. A crayon drawing may, on an emergency, be executed autographically; but this mode of procedure is too imperfect to admit of procuring, by its means, neat and perfect proofs; besides, it is as expeditious to draw immediately on the stone.

In order to write, or to draw on autographic paper, a little of the ink of which we have given the composition is diluted with water, taking care to use only rain-water, or such as will readily dissolve soap. The solution is facilitated by slightly warming the water in the cup; and the ink is dissolved by rubbing the end of a stick of it in the manner practised with Indian ink. There should be no more dissolved at a time than will be used in a day, for it does not re-dissolve so well, neither is the ink so good, particularly for delicate designs, after it has been left to dry for several days. This ink should have the consistence of rather thick cream, so that it may form very black lines upon the paper; if these lines are brown, good impressions will not be obtained. A sheet of white paper is placed under the hand while writing, in order that it may not grease the autographic paper.

The stone used for autography should he polished with pumice-stone, and the impressions will be neat in proportion as the stone is well polished. Autographic work may be executed either cold or warm; that is, taking the stone at its ordinary temperature, or making it warm by placing it near to the fire, or exposing it to the heat of the sun; if the first means of warming be used, care must be taken that the fire be not too hot, or it will crack the stone; the temperature given to it should be about that of an earthen vessel filled with lukewarm water. The work may be done, though less perfectly, without warming the stone. When the stone is thus prepared, it is fixed in the press, and the paper on which the writing is made is applied to it. The stone may be rubbed with a linen, slightly moistened with spirits of turpentine; and in every case it is necessary that it be made perfectly clean. The turpentine is left to evaporate; and from five to eight minutes before the paper is applied, it is wetted with a sponge and water on the reverse side to that on which the writing is done, so that the moisture may penetrate throughout every part.

The water, however, must not appear on the paper when it is about to be laid on the stone; but any superabundance which may remain on it must be removed by a pressed sponge. When the paper is brought to the proper state, it is taken by both hands at one of its extremities, and.placed lightly and gradually upon the stone, so that there may be no plaits formed in it, and that it may be equally applied over its whole surface. Care must be taken so to fix the scraper that it may bear steadily on the autographic paper; for if it removes it at all it will change the place of pressure, and the lines will be doubled. There should be at hand five or six sheets of very even mackle paper, so that they may be changed with each impression. The paper on which the writing or drawing is made being placed on the stone, it is covered with a sheet of mackle paper, and subjected to a slight action of the press; then to a second, a third, or even to more, until it is believed that the writing is perfectly transferred. At each stroke of the press the mackle paper, which has imbibed moisture, is withdrawn, and a dry sheet substituted in its place. All these operations require to be performed with expedition and dexterity, particularly when the stone is warm.

The next thing is to detach the autographic paper, which will be found adhering closely to the stone. To effect this, it is well wetted with a sponge, so that every part of it may be perfectly penetrated by the water; it may then be removed with facility, entirely detached from the writing, which will remain adhering strongly to the stone. If this operation, which requires much practice, be well performed, there will not be found the slightest trace of ink remaining on the paper. Should there be any hues not well marked on the stone, they may be retouched with a pen; or, which is better, with a hair pencil and ink; but when this is done, care must be taken that the stone is quite dry. A part of the sizing of the paper may be found dissolved and adhering to the stone; this may be removed by washing or slightly rubbing it with a wet sponge. The stone is then prepared with aqua-fortis, and the impression taken.

Autography is not confined to the transferring of writings or drawings done with autographic ink; by its means a transfer may be obtained from a sheet of ordinary printed paper, and with such exactness, that it would be impossible, excepting to well-practised eyes, to perceive the least difference between that printed in the usual way, and that which was the result of the autographic process. This mode is very useful when it is desired to unite oriental characters, winch might not be possessed with words, phrases, or lines composed in ordinary typography. In this way have been executed, in the office of the Count M.C. de Lasteyrie, at Paris, (from whose papers on this subject, contained in the Journal des Connaissances Usuelles, and translated by the learned editor of the Franklin Journal, our account of this art is largely indebted,) many pieces, in which the French or the Latin language was intermixed with words or phrases in Chinese or Arabic. In the same way have also been executed typographic maps, in which all the details were lithographic, while the names of places were at first produced by typography, and afterwards by autography. This operation is begun by composing and arranging, in a typographic form, the words, the phrases, or the lines, as they ought to stand.

The autographic paper is printed on by this form, and the words in the oriental languages are afterwards written in the spaces which had been left for them; the whole is transferred to a stone, which is prepared for the purpose, and from which the impression is taken in the usual manner. The same mode is pursued in making geographical maps. After having printed the names on autographic paper, the other parts of the map, but without the names, are drawn immediately on the stone; and after having printed the names on white paper, the map drawn upon the stone, is printed on this same paper.

Maps, or line engravings on copper, where the work is not very close, may be multiplied in a similar way. For this purpose the plate of copper is covered over with the autographic ink, diluted to a convenient consistence. Instead of the autographic ink, a composition is sometimes used, made of one ounce of wax, one ounce of suet, and three ounces of the ink with which the ordinary impressions in lithography are taken. The whole is warmed and mixed well together, and there is a little olive oil added to the composition, if it is not liquid enough to spread itself over the plate; the plate ought to be warmed as usual. After having taken the impression in the rolling press on a sheet of autographic paper, the transfer may be immediately made on the stone, after having rubbed it with a sponge, dipped in turpentine. It is necessary to give three, four, or even more strokes of the press, increasing the pressure at every successive stroke; the other processes, which we have already described, are likewise to be followed. It is. well to wait twenty-four hours before preparing the stone, in order that it may be better penetrated by the transferring ink; it is then gummed and washed, and is ready for use.

This process, which has not yet come much into use amongst lithographers, merits the attention of artists; for it affords the means of re-producing and multiplying geograpnical charts, and some kinds of engravings indefinitely, so that they might be furnished at a quarter of their present actual value; in fact, all those which are done in lines, or those in which the shadows are boldly executed, are capable of re-producing good impressions by means of autography. The operation becomes extremely difficult when it is necessary to transfer fine line engravings; the lines of these are so delicate, and so near to each other, that they either do not take well on the stone, or are apt to be crushed and confounded together by the effect of the pressure. Much practice and address are necessary to obtain tolerable impressions; and this part of the art requires improvement. In the office of M. de Lasteyrie, they had succeeded in transferring to stone a small highly-finished engraving, which had been printed on common half-sized paper. After having dry-polished a stone very perfectly, it was warmed, rubbed with spirits of turpentine, and then the engraving was applied to it.

This had, however, been previously dipped into water, then covered on the reverse side with turpentine, passed again through the water, so as to remove the superfluous turpentine, and then wiped with unsized paper. In this state the engraving, still damp with the turpentine, was applied to the stone and submitted to pressure, when it afforded very good impressions; the preparation not being applied until it had remained on the stone for twenty-four hours. The difficulties increase, of course, in proportion to the size of the engravings which it is desired to transfer to the stone. Attempts have been made to transfer old engravings; they have, however, succeeded but imperfectly. It would be rendering an essential service to the art to discover a mode of re-producing old engravings by means of autography; the undertaking presents difficulties, but from the attempts made, success does not seem improbable.

Printing From Two Or More Stones With Different Coloured Inks

This is managed by preparing a composition of two parts of wax, one of soap, and a little vermilion. Melt them in a saucepan, and cast them into sticks; this must be rubbed up with a little water to the thickness of cream, and applied to the surface of a polished stone. An impression is taken in the common way from a drawing, and applied to a stone prepared in this manner, and passed through the press, taking care to mark, by means of this impression, two points in the margin corresponding on each of the stones. The artist, having thus on the second stone an impression from the first drawing to guide him, scrapes away the parts which he wishes to remain white on the finished impression. The stone must now be etched with acid stronger than the common etching water, having one part of acid and twenty of water; the whole is then washed off with turpentine: this plan is generally used in printing a middle tint from the second stone; the black impression being given from the first stone, a flat transparent brownish tint is given from the second, and the white lights are where the paper is left untouched.

The dots are necessary to regulate the placing of the paper on the corresponding parts of the two stones.