On no account allow the ink to dry in the pen. Squirt any ink out
of it when it is done with, and place it point downwards in a vessel of
water, which should have a soft rubber pad at the bottom, and be kept
covered to exclude dust. Or the pen may be cleaned out with water and
slipped into a holder made by rolling up a piece of corrugated
packing-paper. If the point gets stopped up, stand the pen in nitric or
sulphuric acid, which will probably dissolve the obstruction; and
afterwards wash it out.
Inks.--I have found Stephens's coloured inks very satisfactory, and can
recommend them.
Paper and Cards.--The paper or cards used to draw the figures on should
not have a coated surface, as the coating tends to clog the pen. The
cheapest suitable material is hot pressed paper, a few penny-worths of
which will suffice for many designs. Plain white cards with a good surface
can be bought for from 8s. to 10s. per thousand.
Lantern Slides.--Moisten one side of a clean lantern slide plate with
paraffin and hold it over a candle flame till it is a dead black all over.
Very fine tracings can be obtained on the smoked surface if a fine steel
point is substituted for the glass pen.
Pages:
286
287
288
289
290
291
292
293
294
295
296
297
298
299
300
301
302
303
304
305
306
307
308
309
310