No. 1. Krems, or Silver White. The finest preparation of the oxyd or subcarbonate of lead. It dries rapidly.,No. 2. The ordinary and cheaper Whitelead; which may be used (though there is no advantage in such economy) for grounds, &c. Its drying-quality is of course the same.,,Observe. We class the Krems and Silver White as one, because the latter name is merely significative of the brilliant and pure whiteness of the preparation; and the designation, at first confined to a French manufacture (Blanc d'argent), is now applied to all whiteleads of equal quality, without regard to their place of origin. (See note to No. 1 of the next chapter.) Flake white is a similar material, though tenerally reputed of greater body. It derives its name from its form in commerce, coming to the shops in flakes or scales, as the Krems White (which, being received directly from Vienna, has also been known as Vienna White) is imported in small cubical masses, and the Silver White proper appears in drops, that is, little cones. flake White, when levigated, has been sometimes called Body-white, from the quality above named. Though formerly the white by preference, it is now but little used in comparison with the Krems, Kremnitz (see note as above), and Silver whites.,In fact the whites of lead can only be truly classed according to their degrees of pureness; the first or finest comprising all the artist's best lead-whites, whether of England, France, Austria, or Hungary; the second, common, yet unmixed Whitelead; and the third, Ceruse, which is whitelead with different chalky earths in various proportions. ,,No. 1. Krems* White, or Silver White.,In all cases where purity of tint is desirable, this, the most perfect oxidation of the metal, is always to be used; for lead has a tendency to resume its native hue, even in oil. It is bought at the colorman's in tubes and halftubes of tin or zinc, already prepared. Those who purchase it dry, are to judge of its pureness by its perfect whiteness, and its great weight. It comes, for the use of artists, already washed, and in the form of little cones, in which it has been dried.,* Krems or Crems is a place near Vienna, in Austria (not to be confounded with Cremnitz, or Kremnitz, of lower Hungary). The White there made is prepared with vinegar, the smell of which is very perceptible in this pigment when new. A Silver White has of late years been manufactured at the establishment at Clichy, near Paris (of which, if we mistake not, Sue has given such a frightful account in his Mysteries). It is said to be fully equal, if not superior, to the Austrian. That which we have been accustomed to use here, came, we were told by the colorman, from Hungary. Within a short time this has given place to a Silver White from London, which is of equal, if not greater, beauty.,,No. 2. Whitelead.,In the painting of large pictures, in those parts where the corruption of the tint is not of importance, this cheaper form of the oxyd may be used, though, as we have said before, we can see no advantage in such economy, the cost of his pigments, even of the most precious, being but comparatively a trifle, however great the quantity used by the artist.,,In grinding whitelead, of whatever sort, especially with oil, and even in mixing it on the palette, there arises an odor that is unpleasant to many persons, and unwholesome to all. It is as well to avoid leaning too closely over the stone or palette, and to throw up the window during either operation.,,The oxyds of lead are known to blacken under certain influences; as of sulphuretted-hydrogen gas, which abounds in the noxious effluvia that at times are generated by certain manufactures, by filth or other causes, in the heart of great cities, and even in more open places. Hence chemistry has employed herself in the discovery of other whites which should not be liable to change. From antimony and from zinc, whites have been made which have been said to possess, with sufficient body, and great beauty, assured permanence. Of these we say nothing, having, like M. Bouvier, had no occasion to try them, but we add, that as it will be observed, in every painting that has stood the test of time, that it is not the white that is most discolored, otherwise that as it is the white that has stood best of all the colors, there is no reason for the young artist to have any doubt upon this score, using unhesitatingly the Silver White as it is prepared for him by any colorman in good repute. Further than this, whatever may be said of the white of antimony, later and good authorities tell us that that of zinc, as well as those which have been made from bismuth and from tin, want body and consistence.*,* Mr. Field assigns durability to Zinc White, but denies it to the preparations of bismuth and antimony, to which he adds quicksilver and arsenic, which are of no worth, either in water or oil. Tin White wants even less body than Zinc, though it is "superior to it in water," and It dries badly in oil. Thus lead still holds its ancient place of honor, and with little risk of being ousted.,