Much more practical than this frame is the laying-on apparatus. It can be more easily and securely handled, and the laying on strings can be more easily set.
By means of this simple instrument the sheets of gold-leaf which are laying ready on the cushion and which must be so wide that they not only cover the edge entirely but also protrude about 1/8 inch beyond the gilding boards are transferred on to the sized edge. The sizing must be done with a soft camels hair brush, not too thin and it is essential that the gilding boards also become moistened.
The strings of this laying on apparatus or of the frame must be so far distant from each other that they reach from gilding board to gilding board.
The sheets of gold leaf that have been cut before must then be carefully transferred, one by one, on the sized edge.
To make the gold-leaf adhere to the strings of the frame, the strings are rubbed slightly upon the hair of the head by which means they absorb sufficient fatty substance to hold the light sheets of gold.
If after the gold is laid on it should contain any imperfections or breaks, other portions must be applied to these abrasions. The press is then placed aside until the edge is entirely dry. In treating the upper and lower edges i. e. after the book has been rounded, care must always be taken that in sizing, not too much moisture impregnates the back part of the edges as there is no pressure to prevent the size from running in.
If the gilt-edge is to have lustre and glow by burnishing, great care must be taken to dry the edge well.
An edge, which is not sufficiently dried, will exhibit breaks in the gold on burnishing, and an edge which is too dry will never have the desired lustre.
It is impossible to name the time within which gilt-edges become dry. This depends upon the temperature of the room, the quality of the paper in the book and on the quantity of albumen solution which has been put on the edge.
The safest way to find out whether the edge is dry or not is to blow upon it. If the lustre of the gold is dimmed for several seconds, the edge is still too moist, but if the cloud vanishes immediately the edge is sufficiently dry.
We can also determine by a careful easy burnishing whether the edge is dry enough to be worked further.
The burnishing should always be executed with a flat agate burnisher, and afterwards followed by a flat blood stone. The burnishing should be commenced by covering the edge with a piece of thin smooth paper that has been rubbed with wax.
First burnish the gold laid on slightly, afterwards continue with greater force.
By this the edge acquires a uniformly dull aspect but a strong union of gold and paper is thereby established.
Before beginning the real burnishing rub the edge with a soft rag upon which a small quantity of pure white wax has been rubbed. This thin film of wax renders the burnishing much easier because the burnisher is made to glide more readily and securely over the edge.
The burnishing must first be executed lightly and then with greater force.
The repairing of gilt-edges should be avoided as much as possible. Should it become, nevertheless, unavoidable, then moisten the spots to be repaired with the solution of albumen described above, lay on gold leaf, allow the spots which you wish to repair to become dry, rub off and burnish as usual.
In place of albumen solution, sulphuric ether can be used for repairing. The latter has the advantage of causing the spots so repaired to become dry immediately, but it causes a lighter spot to appear in the gilt-edge. Alcohol, lightly applied, can also be used for this purpose and with more security. The gilding of the hollow edge is produced in the same way as that of the level edge. In scraping, curved scrapers are used. To lay on the gold use the frame. Transfer the gold leaf from the gold cushion to the strings of the frame, then carefully bring these strings closer to each other, so that the gold leaf is no longer straight, but somewhat hanging down. Then transfer it to the sized edge.
To burnish give the hand press an oblique position, making the front of the press lay lower than the rear so that one half of the hollow edge has a more horizontal position, and burnish it with a flat burnisher in the same manner as the level edge. This being done, the remainder of the hollow edge is likewise treated at the same time, giving the press a different position. Only after the edge has been burnished on both sides with a flat burnisher, is the round burnisher (tooth) used to finish the hollow edge on its length.
Gilding on a colored, especially a red edge is very effective. These gilt-edges with an underlying red-edge are of English origin and are used generally for Bibles and prayer books. The fore edge of such books is colored in an oblique position of the edge, and they therefore have not a golden, but a red effect, when opened.
The production of such edges demands a certain experience, if the coloring of the fore-edge shall have a correct effect, and the leaves of the book are to be as little as possible impregnated by the color.
This color must be mixed like any other edge colors with gum-arabic, starch paste or the white of an egg.
All etching substances, such as spirits of ammonia, must be avoided as they often cause the color to soak too deeply into the paper.
In manipulating the fore edge, open the book slightly, fasten the edge in this oblique position and then lightly apply the color.
When this has thoroughly dried, open the edge towards the other side and continue with the same procedure.
The different leaves are thus not only colored at the edges proper, but the color has also been slightly imparted to the upper and lower sides of the leaves at the same time, and for this reason the edge of the book, after it is gilded, appears reddish when the book is opened out.
The upper and lower edges must be treated as all other colored edges.
In producing the gilt-edge in the way above mentioned, rubbing off with paste and grounding with bole must of course not be employed.
The production of edges with metal leaf or aluminium, is under the same rules as for gilt edges.
To produce silver edges, a sizing material of a solution of gelatine (one half of a gelatine cake to one cup of water) is used as a surrogate to the albumen. This can also be employed in the laying on of aluminium.
For base metal leaf care should be taken that a soft, thin article is used, the one of a light hue is more pliable on account of the larger quantity of tin contained in it than is in the darker copper one.
The more pliable French aluminium is preferable to the brittle German article.
If gilt-edges are to be produced upon unsized paper, the edges must be sized with a solution of gelatine.
The effect of edges gilt front and back with marbling between is beautiful. This edge is especially applicable to books of large size.
The plain red-edge (carmine) and every marbled edge can be used in this connection.
Antique marbles are greatly adapted to this kind of book-edge decoration.
The production of these edges does not offer any especial technical difficulties. The book block must be treated as a hollow edge and must be scraped and then decorated with antique marbling or red color.
This having been done, insert the book into the hand-press and mark correctly how far the gilding is to be done.
To put on the gold, a solution of albumen is applied to the spots to be gilded and then a good and substantial gold leaf is laid on. As soon as the edge is dry, burnish as any other gilt-edge.
A fine chased pearl line at the meeting of the two edges, will greatly enhance the effect of this beautiful edge.
The procedure by which the effect of the gilt-edge is enhanced and enlivened by chasing is very old, in fact nearly as old as the gilt-edge itself. It has been driven out of the market as many another thing by over production and has finally become obsolete. In recent times it has been taken up again on account of the progress in the industrial arts and is now very highly esteemed. The design for such a decoration of gilt-edges should always be prepared by an artist and should always conform strictly to the decorations of the cover.
Technically, the production of such edges is not difficult. Some talent for drawing and a sure hand are necessary, but the artist is repaid for his labor by the interest he derives from the execution of such kind of work.
There are two ways of producing them.
The first makes the ornament appear bright, while the ground remains dull, in the other the dull ornament appears on the shining ground surface.
The first is the more effective and the more easily produced.
The gilt-edge is here to be treated like every other plain gilt-edge, to produce dull ground, burnish with a piece of paper between the book edge and the burnisher.
Fd. Tondorf Clichè,—Property of Otto Spamer.
Transfer the design on thin tissue paper, lay the paper carefully upon the edge of the book placed in the press so that design and edge tally perfectly, and fasten the paper by pasting it on the gilding boards.
If you now by the aid of a dull awl or a pin trace the design of the tissue paper on the edge, it will appear and will be the gilder's guide. When this has been done with all necessary care, remove the paper and burnish the parts of the edge between the tracings by means of a small, pointed burnisher.
This alone relieves the ornament from the dull gilt ground.
The full effect of such edges will be imparted when the outlines of the ornaments are pressed in. To do this, fine steel stencils or stamps are best used, the same as are used for fine leather work. These stamps and the above mentioned agate burnishers can be obtained from Wm. Leo, Stuttgart.
Take the point stamp in one hand and a light hammer in the other and with an easy, equal, hammering make dot after dot of the marked pattern. If the dull ground is then profusely marked with the small pearl stamp as shown in the illustration, the effect of such edges leaves nothing to be desired.
The effect is still more surprising when the ornaments are produced in gold of a different hue or of silver or color. In the former case the ornaments are carefully penciled in with albumen solution, gold of a lighter hue, silver or aluminium is put on, and, when completely dried, is burnished.
Colored ornaments are likewise scraped out and then produced by painting.
It is a question though, whether the total effect of this last named is a refined one.
Produced by printing over colored edges. It is certainly proper to endeavor to brighten colored edges by spreading on bronzed color.
That this process has fallen more or less into disuse is probably due to the tiresome labor necessary for the making of such edges. It gives us the possibility of producing manifold changes in edges because silver or gold ornaments can be put on any color as well as on the white edge.
We have here the possibility of adapting the design of the edge to that of the cover, which under other conditions can only be done with chased edges.
It is an erroneous idea to disfigure genuine gilt-edge by putting on bronze ornaments. The base and perishable bronze can never be the correct material to brighten the effect of genuine gold.
The bronzing of edges can only be applied to colored or white edges but not to genuine gilt-edges.
For the production of bronzed edges, the following articles are necessary.
First, Engraved plate or Cliche representing the ornament with which the edge is to be decorated.
Second, Thin leaves of roller composition for the transfer of the ornament from the plate on to the edge.
Third, Roller for rolling in the gravure.
Fourth, Thick, fluid, strong amber-lacquer, as binding medium between the bronze and the color of the edge.
The following rules should be observed.
The treatment of the book block is similar to that of the hollow edge, therefore the book, after the fore edge has been cut and rounded must be scraped hollow.
As colors for the edge, the above mentioned colors, carmine, cinnabar, cobalt-blue and others are recommendable.
As binding medium a strong albumen or gum-arabic should be used. Aniline colors can be used for this purpose, but they must be dissolved in alcohol.
Such edges have a bewitching appearance if they are made in the same shade of color as the cover, but they render a certain practice in the mixture of colors necessary.
The coloring and burnishing of the edges is executed in the same manner as described in the article upon the production of colored edges. After the burnishing of the edge is executed, the time has arrived to imprint the ornament upon it.
Cut off of the thin leaf of roller composition, a strip slightly larger than the surface of the edge. Put a little of the thick, fluid amber-lacquer upon the roller, and move the roller forward and back on a smooth stone (marble slab) until the lacquer is equally spread out over the surface of the roller. When this is done, the gravure can be rolled over by aid of this roller.
The thin strip of roller composition is then carefully placed on the gravure, pressed on lightly and evenly with cotton wadding or a soft rag. By this means the ornament of the gravure is transferred to the roller composition.
To transfer this ornament on to the surface of the edge, it is necessary to lay the strip of roller composition carefully on the edge and carefully and evenly press it on.
The bronze is not to be put on to the edge on which the design is printed before the lacquer is quite dry, only then can the blurring of the ornament be avoided and the bronze be made to retain its specific metallic lustre.
After the lapse of several hours, the bronze will be dry, and then the cleaning of the edge is done with soft cotton wadding.
The strips of roller composition so used must be cleaned immediately after use with clean turpentine and, after they are dried, they can be again used.
In order to produce the necessary transfer strips use only the best English roller composition. Cut this mass into small pieces, place them in an earthen vessel, subject them to a moderate heat until they become entirely fluid and pour the fluid mass on a piece of glass or a smooth sheet of tin. After this has cooled it should be carefully removed. To render this easier, the plate of glass or the piece of tin should be lubricated with some fine oil.
If gilt, silver or aluminium edges are to be marbled, they must be thoroughly dried, burnished slightly and rubbed off with a small piece of linen, silk or leather, and any blemishes or spots from which the gold or other metal has blistered must be repaired.
The dull gilt-edge is now to be moistened by means of a soft brush with a solution of powdered alum in hot water after this has formed a thin paste.
The marbling of the gilt-edge is executed in the usual way, before the layer of alum is entirely dried. After the completion of the marbling the edge must be washed with water until it is entirely clean.
After the edge has become dry, it is rubbed with a waxed rag and burnished over.
For marbling, the common marbling colors can be used.
It remains only to add that too dry edges do not take marbling colors readily.
| Page. | |
|---|---|
| Preface to the first edition, | 3 |
| Preface to the second edition, | 10 |
| Historical, | 13 |
| The size, | 21 |
| Carrageen moss, | 31 |
| Gum tragacanth, | 45 |
| Salep, Flea-bane and other glutinous bodies, | 53 |
| The Ox-gall,—Its chemical analysis, | 59 |
| Effect of the gall on colors, | 60 |
| Preparation of ox-gall and its uses, | 63 |
| Substances acting similarly to gall, | 71 |
| Sprinkling water, | 75 |
| The alum water, | 79 |
| The preparation of colors for marbling, | 85 |
| The marbling of book-edges and paper, | 97 |
| The comb or nonpareil marble, | 103 |
| The peacock marble, | 111 |
| The bouquet marble, | 115 |
| The entwined comb marble, | 119 |
| The snail marble, | 123 |
| General remarks relative to drawn edges, | 129 |
| Marbled edges, | 137 |
| Hair-vein edges, | 147 |
| Rules in regard to the marbling table, | 153 |
| Precautions, | 153 |
| A new expanding medium, | 154 |
| Marbling of gilt-edges, | 159 |
| Marbling on a large scale, | 159 |
| The Utensils,—The marbling trough, | 163 |
| The size-skimmer, | 163 |
| The drawing needle or stylus, | 164 |
| The comb, | 164 |
| The peacock-comb, | 165 |
| The brush for comb-edges, | 165 |
| The broom-corn whisk, | 165 |
| The brush for marbled-edges, | 166 |
| Book-clamps, | 166 |
| Apparatus for throwing-on colors, | 167 |
| Sample plates, I-X, | 169-187 |
| The starched edge, | 193 |
| The colored edge, | 197 |
| The gilt-edge, | 205 |
| Colored edges with front and end gilding, | 219 |
| The chased gilt-edge, | 223 |
| The bronzed-edge, | 231 |
| The marbled gilt-edge, | 237 |
[A] The publisher of this book, having accepted the sole agency for the United States and Canada of these colors, pledges the closest and most prompt attention to all orders, despatch in delivery and most reasonable prices.
See price list at the end of this book.
|
5 Qt. Cans, per Qt. |
One Qt. Jars. |
In Pint Jars |
|
|---|---|---|---|
| Scarlet Red | $1.00 | $1.25 | $ .70 |
| Carmine Lake | 1.00 | 1.25 | .70 |
| Oriental Blue, [light] | 1.00 | 1.25 | .70 |
| Indigo, [dark] | 1.00 | 1.25 | .70 |
| Yellow, [lemon] | 1.00 | 1.25 | .70 |
| Green | 1.00 | 1.25 | .70 |
| Black | 1.00 | 1.25 | .70 |
| Brown | 1.00 | 1.25 | .70 |
| White | 1.00 | 1.25 | .70 |
SHADES PREPARED TO ORDER.
|
In 10 Lb. Lots. |
Less than 10 Lbs. |
|
|---|---|---|
| Gum Hogg | $ .60 | $ .65 |
| Gum Tragacanth | .90 | 1.00 |
| Irish Moss, [carrageen] | .12 | .20 |
|
In Quarts. |
In Pints. |
|
|---|---|---|
| Prepared Ox Gall | $ .50 | $ .35 |
| Sprinkling Water | .50 | .35 |
| Shellac Ammonia | .50 | .35 |
REFINED BEESWAX, ETC., AT LOWEST PRICES.
| 2 inches between jaws, per dozen | $ 5.00 |
| 4 " " " " | 7.00 |
| 6 " " " " | 10.00 |
| 8 " " " " | 11.00 |
The American Bookbinder,
BUFFALO, N.Y.
CONSISTING OF
PUT UP IN NEAT SUBSTANTIAL BOX.
PRICE, $25.00, NET.
CONSISTING OF
PUT UP IN NEAT SUBSTANTIAL BOX.
PRICE, $50.00, NET.
Utensils of above Outfits may be Bought Separate at the following Prices:
| Marbling Trough, 14-1/2 x 23, galv. iron, japan'd, | $3.00 |
| Basin for waste color, " " | .75 |
| Basin for sprinkling water, " " | .75 |
| Sprinkling Brush | .75 |
| Sprinkling Sieve, brass wire | 1.75 |
| Broom Corn Whisks, each | .20 |
| Bristol Brushes, No. 1, set in hard rubber, each | .30 |
| Bristol Brushes, No. 2, common, each | .15 |
| Stylus | .10 |
| Size Skimmer | .25 |
| 1/8 in. Comb, best quality press board | 3.00 |
| 1/4 in. Comb | 1.30 |
| 1/2 in. Comb | 1.25 |
| Peacock Comb | 2.75 |
| Snail Apparatus, iron and brass wire | 3.50 |
| Straining Cloth, one yard square | .60 |
| Extra large Dover egg beater, for beating gum size | 3.50 |