Jean-Felix Watin

For a paper about the scientific understanding of the 18th century
French varnisher and colorman Jean-Felix Watin, I am curious to know
if conservators regard any one of the more than 12 editions of

    L'art du peintre, doreur, vernisseur/Art de faire et d'employer
    le vernis

as definitive. Do most people rely on the 3rd (1775) edition because
it was republished in 1975/77 and so is easier to locate? Or does it
not matter much, as you have to redact the recipes anyway?

You will find my most recently-published writing on Watin in

    The Creation of Color in 18th-Century Europe
    <URL:http://www.gutenberg-e.org/lowengard/A_Chap04.html>

Sarah Lowengard
New York City


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                  Conservation DistList Instance 22:48
                Distributed: Thursday, February 26, 2009
                       Message Id: cdl-22-48-014
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