ves not only another
operation, but also makes an already shallow printing plate that much
shallower and increases the probability of it printing "dirty," which
is one of the chief objections to the stereotype in itself. This
practice is not recommended.

ELECTROTYPING

In 1799, Allesandro Volta, of Pavia, in Italy, constructed the first
electric battery, which came to be called the Voltaic pile.
Improvements in the form of Volta's battery were made almost
immediately by William Cruickshank, in England, who discovered in
experimenting with it that he could by its power electrolyze or
chemically decompose the salts of certain metals in solution. Both
copper and silver, he found, could be precipitated from their salt
solutions and deposited upon a plate immersed in the solution.

This observation was the first step in the process of electroplating,
which is electrotyping when applied to the art of typography.

In 1837, thirty-eight years after Volta's discovery, Mr. Thomas
Spencer of Liverpool, England, accidentally stumbled upon the first
realization of the electrotyping process.

While experimenting with a modification of a Daniell battery, he used
an English copper penny as one of the poles instead of a plain piece
of copper. A deposition of copper from the solution in the battery
took place upon the penny, and upon removing the wire which attached
the penny to the zinc plate a portion of the copper deposit was pulled
off the penny also.

This first copper electrotype shell Spencer found to be an exact
duplicate or mold of part of the head and lettering on the coin. _It
was as smooth and as sharp as the original._

It was some time later, however, before this suggested to him any
useful application of the process. Another accident made him
appreciate the full value of his discovery. This time he carelessly
dropped some varnish on a strip of copper which he was going to use in
the same way he did the penny. Upon removing the copper from the
battery he observed that there was no deposition of copper on those
parts of the strip where the varnish had dropped.

Spencer then conceived the idea of applying this principle to the arts
by coating a piece of copper with varnish or wax and engraving a
design in the coating, thus exposing the copper strip in the engraved
lines. He did this, and then deposited copper in the design so
engraved. Upon removing the coating the design was exposed in relief
on the piece