Nature printing

This beautiful art was first introduced and practised in Vienna, whither the late Mr. Henry Bradbury went, on purpose to acquire the knowledge he subsequently carried out with so much skill and ability. The flowers, leaves, or plant itself (as the case maybe) are first dried, by placing the subject between thick blotting papers, and pressing in a screw press, frequently changing the papers, and repeating the process until all moisture is extracted; in some instances the services of the sun, or even artificial heat, are additionally called into requisition; when the subject is sufficiently dried, which may be known by its brittleness, it is ready for manipulation. The plant maybe said to engrave its own plate thus:—a thick piece of pure, soft, sheet lead, rather larger than the paper on which the subject is ultimately to be printed, must be planed as bright and even as a looking-glass. On to this plate the subject is laid in the required position, upon which again is placed a highly-polished steel plate, face downwards. The whole is then placed between powerful rollers, until the plant is imbedded in the lead, the residt being a fac-simile matrix. An electrotype of this matrix is then taken, from which, again, another electrotype is requisite, in order to give the original effect when printed from. The great object of Nature Printing is to reproduce very rare botanical specimens so truthfully as to enable the student of any country to examine the print, and obtain the same result to his investigation as though he actually had the plant itself. The advantage attained may be easily estimated from the fact that there are numerous instances where only one specimen is known to be in the possession of individuals, and even if it were to be sold, its price would deter many from attempting to obtain it.