Breath Pictures.
■ ♦ Wh«n the Czar of all tbe Russias visited Paris, a large number of what were called " magical glasses " ware sold in the street. You bought a small plate of glass protected by a leather case. On taking it out of the case you could see nothing on it — the glaes appeared a plain sheet of glass with bevelled edges — but on breathing upon it a portrait of the Czar presented itself. Uow was it done ? There is a way 'of getting " breath figures " by pressing a coin, on a plate of washed glass, then removing it and breathing on the place ; but the Imperial portraits were produced in another way. A stamp or printing block of indiarubber was moistened, not with ink, but fluorbydrate of ammonia and fluorhydric acid, then applied to the glass for a certain time. The chemical engraves the glass so slightly that no trace of the etching can be men until it is breathed upon.
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Manawatu Herald, 24 February 1898, Page 3
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161Breath Pictures. Manawatu Herald, 24 February 1898, Page 3
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