UNIVERSITY of GLASGOW

The Temple is a straightforward etching, but Whistler did bite the copper plate in two stages. In order to make the houses to the right of centre appear to recede, he removed the plate from the acid bath, 'stopped out' (protected from further biting) the lines on that section of the plate by covering them with varnish, and then returned the plate to the acid to deepen and increase the strength of the other lines.

The Temple was published with A Set of Twenty-six Etchings (the 'Second Venice Set') in 1886. A selection of Whistler's copper plates, including this etching, was printed by Émile Frédéric Salmon (1840-1913) in preparation for publication (). However, Whistler then decided to print the set himself.

There are numerous dockets, receipts and lists recording the printing and delivery of the edition. Two impressions of The Temple were delivered on 2 April, single impressions on 31 July and 25 August, four on 6 October 1886, and twenty-three on 15 January 1887, making a total of 31. 7

Impressions of The Temple were printed in brown ink on ivory laid paper, one with the Strasbourg Lily and 'LVG' watermark (); another with 'IV' countermark (); two slightly pinkish in tone (, ); and one on a light-weight, possibly Asian paper (). Several are in brown ink on cream laid papers (, , , ) and a few in black ink on ivory Asian laid () and ivory laid paper ().

One cancelled impression is in dark brown ink on an ivory laid light-weight western paper, possibly faux-Asian (); and two in black ink on ivory laid paper (, ) the latter with the 'Marlowe' watermark.