TREATING THE NEGATIVE WITH MATT VARNISH.
Assume that the negative is too thin from under-development. Increasing the density by intensification will not re move fogginess in the shadows. It is therefore decided to slightly intensify, to follow this by matt varnishing, and cutting away the shadows and increasing the lights. This will brighten the negative. Intensification, explained else where, being complete, and the negative dry, proceed to coat the back with cold matt varnish. Pour in the centre of the plate a pool of varnish about half its size and flow slowly first to the top right-hand corner, next to the top left ; thirdly, to the bottom left-hand corner, almost touching the tip of the thumb which holds the plate, and pour off from the bottom right corner into the bottle again. The plate should he neither warmed nor rocked during draining ; breathing on it will cause the sur face to " matt " quickly. A diagram illus trating this method of varnishing is shown by Fig. 159, p. 81. Directly the plate is coated, scrape away with the blade of a large penknife the parts which cover the shadows. If the scraping is clone at once
the varnish should come away very easily ; if not, it will be best to scrape away the edges and remove the centre part very cleanly with a rag moistened with spirit, afterwards breathing upon it and again rubbing. The varnish should be allowed to lap over about in. all round, and where the surroundings are very thin a ragged edge should be given to it. With the stump charged with a little of the lead dust left from sharpening the pencil, proceed to increase the density of the lighter parts by applying this very gently, carefully preserving their form. Here and there, where more decided lights may seem desirable, a No. 1 pencil may be used very lightly, hatching in the parts with lines running at an acute angle as shown in Fig. 232 or as in Fig. 237. Being the thickness of the glass away from the print ing surface, these lines may be a little coarse, as they blend together and form an even tint.