To engrave goblets, wine glasses, etc., add a little bitumen to nice,
clear beeswax, and melt it thoroughly in an open vessel. Cleanse the
glass thoroughly and dip into the mixture until well coated. Then with
a needle or sharp pointed instrument, sketch upon it the design, name,
initials, or monogram, taking care to remove the wax from the lines and
grooves, and to have the tracing on the wax of the exact thickness or
delicacy desired on the glass. Then put the glass in a bath of hydro-
fluoric acid, and expose it to the action of the sun's rays for five hours,
taking care not to melt the wax. At the end of that time the displaced
glass will be seen rising in the whitish powder to the surface. Examine
the work and if it seems satisfactory remove it, wash free from acid
and wax, and it will be found beautifully engraved. Window glass is
very attractive engraved in regular patterns or with monograms and a
tiny border.
The most elegant and artistic of this work is etching. The prettiest
effects are gained on the heaviest and best quality of glass, notably
French crystal.
With a soft camel's-hair brush cover the glass evenly with wax and
bitumen, equal parts. Then trace the design with a pattern pricked in
paper and lightly dusted with colored powder. Then with a sharp
pointed instrument mark the design by cutting uniformly and slightly
through the wax, and proceed to cut out the fine lines with the instru-
ment, and the heavier ones with a knife. If the surface is flat, dip up
some wax and inclose the entire center in a little wall, and in this pour
a quantity of pure hydro-fluoric acid. Expose it to the sun for two
hours, then stop out the acid from the finest lines by filling with Bruns-
wick hack. Let the work remain another hour and stop out those of
moderate depth, then another hour on the third class of marks, and
finally give the acid another hour to act on the deepest marks, after
GRASSES. 131
which wash the glass clean and the sun has accomplished your work
as perfectly as a mechanic.
Embossing on glass is the reverse of engraving and etching, for by it
the pattern is made bright and clear, while the surface is dull like ground
glass. Paint the entire surface with varnish, and draw upon it a design
of a uniform and decided character, without much fine tracing. To
trace the pattern, cut a paper diagram as before described, and do not
destroy it, for it will be useful again. Make a wall of wax around the
design and fill with the acid, allowing it to remain until the design is
etched enough to leave the ground slightly raised. Wash off the
acid and varnish, then commence grinding the groundwork by means
of a flat piece of glass and pulverized emery. Cover the designs with
the paper pattern to avoid its filling up, and use but a small portion of
emery at a time. The ground if carefully done, will have the dull,
white, opaque appearance peculiar to fine ground glass, while the design
will be bright and clear.
Page 114
Presented as published in 1886. Historical recipes may not meet modern food-safety standards. Cook from the modern interpretation, not the original instructions.
AI-modernized reading of the original text
To engrave goblets, wine glasses, etc., add a little bitumen to nice, clear beeswax, and melt it thoroughly in an open vessel. Cleanse the glass thoroughly and dip into the mixture until well coated. Then with a needle or sharp pointed instrument, sketch upon it the design, name, initials, or monogram, taking care to remove the wax from the lines and grooves, and to have the tracing on the wax of the exact thickness or delicacy desired on the glass. Then put the glass in a bath of hydrofluoric acid, and expose it to the action of the sun's rays for five hours, taking care not to melt the wax. At the end of that time the displaced glass will be seen rising in the whitish powder to the surface. Examine the work and if it seems satisfactory remove it, wash free from acid and wax, and it will be found beautifully engraved. Window glass is very attractive engraved in regular patterns or with monograms and a tiny border.
The most elegant and artistic of this work is etching. The prettiest effects are gained on the heaviest and best quality of glass, notably French crystal.
With a soft camel's-hair brush cover the glass evenly with wax and bitumen, equal parts. Then trace the design with a pattern pricked in paper and lightly dusted with colored powder. Then with a sharp pointed instrument mark the design by cutting uniformly and slightly through the wax, and proceed to cut out the fine lines with the instrument, and the heavier ones with a knife. If the surface is flat, dip up some wax and inclose the entire center in a little wall, and in this pour a quantity of pure hydro-fluoric acid. Expose it to the sun for two hours, then stop out the acid from the finest lines by filling with Brunswick black. Let the work remain another hour and stop out those of moderate depth, then another hour on the third class of marks, and finally give the acid another hour to act on the deepest marks, after
GRASSES. 131
which wash the glass clean and the sun has accomplished your work as perfectly as a mechanic.
Embossing on glass is the reverse of engraving and etching, for by it the pattern is made bright and clear, while the surface is dull like ground glass. Paint the entire surface with varnish, and draw upon it a design of a uniform and decided character, without much fine tracing. To trace the pattern, cut a paper diagram as before described, and do not destroy it, for it will be useful again. Make a wall of wax around the design and fill with the acid, allowing it to remain until the design is etched enough to leave the ground slightly raised. Wash off the acid and varnish, then commence grinding the groundwork by means of a flat piece of glass and pulverized emery. Cover the designs with the paper pattern to avoid its filling up, and use but a small portion of emery at a time. The ground if carefully done, will have the dull, white, opaque appearance peculiar to fine ground glass, while the design will be bright and clear.