as been exercised in all the
other processes, yet if the prints are carelessly mounted they will not
look well.
The prints should be wet in clean water and laid in a pile upon each
other, with their faces down. It is necessary to have a very adhesive
paste to make the prints stick well to the mounts. There are some pastes
that are manufactured for this purpose, but it is very easy to make one
which will work equally well.
Boiled laundry starch, with the addition of a little white glue, is
perhaps the best; it can be easily made, and with the addition of a few
drops of carbolic acid will keep well. It is made in the proportion of
one and three-quarter ounces of starch, mixed with one ounce of water,
till it is a smooth paste, as thin as cream, and eighty grains of glue
added with fourteen ounces of water. The whole should be well boiled and
six drops of carbolic acid added. This can be put in a bottle and will
keep a long time.
After the water is pressed from the wet prints a bristle brush is dipped
in the paste and drawn back and forth over the print, till it is
thoroughly covered.
The position on the mount should have been previously marked with a
pencil or with pin-pricks, and when the print is well covered with paste
it should be carefully lifted and put in place. With a piece of paper
laid over it and a flat paper-cutter, all the unnecessary paste and any
bubbles of air may be pressed out from between the print and the mount.
With a soft cloth wipe away the paste that is pressed out around the
edges of the print and then put it under a weight to dry.
If it is desired to mount prints in an album, a piece of cardboard, an
eighth of an inch smaller than the print, should be placed upon the back
of the print and the exposed edge covered with paste. Put on just as
little as possible and lift it in place at once, before the paste has
time to dry. Pass a soft cloth over it to press it into place and then
close the album. In less than an hour it will be dry, and if properly
mounted will be firmly adhering to the page.
The one important factor for success in photography is care. Without it,
you can accomplish nothing, no matter how complete and costly your
outfit may be. With care and patience you may achieve results that will
be a pleasure to your friends as well as yourself, and will give
permanent existence to pleasant scenes and occasions that otherwise must
be only memory pictures.
[THE END.]
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