LAYING & BURNISHING GOLD
Tools & Materials — Laying the Ground — Laying the Gold-Leaf —
Burnishing the Gold — Remedying Faults in Gilding — Gold Writing
— Other Methods & Recipes for Gilding — Appendix on Gilding (by
_Graily Hewitt_).
TOOLS & MATERIALS
These should be kept together in a convenient box, as it is important
that the process should not be interrupted by a search for a missing
tool.
_Tools and Materials._ _Summary of Process._
HARD LEAD PENCIL. For drawing forms if necessary.
POUNCE. For preparing surface: “pouncing.”
“SIZE” OR RAISING PREPARATION. For raising and backing leaf.
SMALL SAUCER. For mixing size in.
NEEDLE SET IN HANDLE. For bursting bubbles, &c.
QUILL PEN. For “laying” the size.
KNIFE. For trimming size, &c.
GOLD-LEAF. For gilding. [p146]
SCISSORS. For cutting gold-leaf.
BURNISHING-SLAB. For backing the parchment or paper
while under pressure.
BREATHING-TUBE. For damping size.
RUBBING-PAPER. For pressing leaf on to size.
CHALK OR SOFT LEAD PENCIL. For marking form on rubbing-paper.
BURNISHER, TOOTH SHAPE. For (1) pressing down, and (2)
burnishing gold-leaf.
FEATHER (Brush, &c.). For dusting off the pounce.
BRUSH. For brushing off waste leaf.
(HARD INDIARUBBER.) (For removing gold from parchment.)
(POWDER GOLD & FINE BRUSH.) (For “mending” in certain cases.)
LAYING THE GROUND
_Drawing the Form._—Elaborate letters or ornaments may be drawn
with a hard pencil, which will leave slight indentations in the
surface of the page when the marks of the lead have been removed with
indiarubber. In the case of free lettering or gold writing, however,
the forms should be made directly with the pen (see pp. 148, 164).
_Preparing the Surface: Pouncing._—The surface is thoroughly cleaned
and prepared with powdered pumice stone, or other suitable “pounce”
(see pp. 167, 174). This being rubbed well into the actual part
which is to take the size absorbs grease and slightly roughens[28]
the surface. The surrounding parts are also pounced to prevent the
gold-leaf from sticking to them later.
_Composition of the Ground or Size._ The chief [p147] substance in
a “size” or raising preparation is generally some kind of earthy
matter, to give it body. Other substances, having toughness and
stickiness, are used to bind the earthy matter and prevent its
breaking when the page is turned over or bent, and also to make the
size adhere to the page and the gold-leaf stick to the size. Yellow
or red colouring matter is often added. A preservative, such as oil
of cloves—in a minute quantity—may be present: this will permit of
the size being kept in a semi-liquid condition, in a closed jar.
The following recipe was given to me by Mr. G. Loumyer:—
“_Chalk (Whiting)._
_Oxide of Iron—1/2 grain._
_Glue (Carpenter’s)—4 grains._
_Gum Arabic—2 grains._
_Water—50 grains._
_Melt the gum and the glue together in the water, then add the oxide
of iron, and lastly put in enough chalk to make the whole a rather
liquid paste. Apply to the parchment, which you have previously
well rubbed with whiting, and, when dry, apply the gold-leaf with
alcohol._”
_Mixing the Size with Water._—A little of the size, taken from the
jar (see above), is put in the saucer with a few drops of water to
soak for an hour or two. It is then rubbed down with a finger-tip,
care being taken to mix it very thoroughly and to avoid making
bubbles. The right consistency is judged by experience—it should be
thick rather than thin.
It is essential that all the ingredients be present in their right
proportions, and the mixture should be stirred every now and then.
Otherwise the earthy [p148] matter settles down, and the sticky
parts, remaining in solution above, are liable to be used up. What
is left in the saucer after use is apt to be deficient in its sticky
parts, and it is best thrown away. Take out of the jar only what is
required at the time, and mix a fresh lot the next time.
_Bubbles_, formed in the mixture, may be burst by a needle, or by
adding a minute drop of oil of cloves.
_Methods of Laying the Size._—The parchment or paper is laid _flat_
on a table; if on a slope, the size would run down and lie unevenly.
A quill pen with a finely cut nib and an extra long slit (about 5/8
inch) is used for laying the size. It is filled pretty full by means
of a quill or a brush; if by the latter, special care must be taken
to avoid bubbles.
Experiments should be made in various methods.
I. Perhaps the best way of laying the size, so that it may set
properly and that the burnish may retain its brilliance, is to put
on a thin coat with a pen—in the direct manner in which coloured
Versals are made (_q.v._)—and afterwards add two or three thin coats,
allowing each coat to dry thoroughly. This requires considerable
patience and skill, as it takes a long time, and there is a danger,
in adding several coats, of spoiling the form by going over the edges.
II. The simplest method for ordinary gold letters is to make them
with _one extra thick coat_[29] of size, exactly like coloured
Versals—first a natural pen outline, and then the filling in (see
fig. 81). This requires some practice to do well, as the thicker size
is more difficult to manage than the [p149] colour.[30] Very narrow
parts—such as the thin strokes—are apt to be deficient in size, and
therefore, while they are still wet, the pen—held nearly vertical
with the nib in contact with the surface of the size—is moved slowly
along it until the stroke has received sufficient size and is
properly filled out.
[Illustration: ‹Fig. 97.›]
III. A method that may be found more convenient for heavy forms, is
to hold the pen across the form to be gilded (which has previously
been marked on the parchment) with its nib resting on the further
outline (_a_, fig. 97). The nib being moved along that line, by
contact with the parchment restrains the size from passing beyond it,
while allowing it to flow out freely behind and below (_a_, 2). The
opposite side is similarly treated, and, if the form be narrow, the
size as it flows out blends with that already laid (_b_). The ends of
the form are finished in like manner (_c_). [p150]
The angle of the pen with the parchment is less for a wider form
(_b_, fig. 98).
[Illustration: ‹Fig. 98.›]
As a general rule the size should stand pretty high when wet; it
shrinks in drying, and, if it forms too thin a coat, it will neither
hold the gold-leaf fast nor burnish well. While the size is still wet
it is easy to raise it to any height desired by running more size
into the form in the manner described above. It is well, however, not
to raise the size too high, as burnished gold too much raised looks
out of place on a page and has a heavy and vulgar appearance (p.
184). Very high raising also does not dry so well, and when dry it is
more liable to chip.
The work of laying the size should be carried out as quickly as
possible. If one part of the form is left any appreciable time before
the remaining parts are sized, the first part will begin to settle
and dry, and the different layings will not blend or lie evenly.
Though the size is thick and awkward to use at first, a little skill
will coax it quickly and evenly out of the pen, and it will all blend
and dry with an even surface.
When it is sized, put the work away to dry in a [p151] drawer or
safe place where it cannot be smudged or get dusty.
_Drying the Size._—The average time allowed is twenty-four hours, but
it varies with the weather and the temperature; damp weather may make
a longer time necessary, and dry weather or heat will shorten the
time. The thickness of the raising affects the time very much; a very
thin coat will dry in an hour or two, while an extra thick coat may
take several days. Size not dry enough is too sticky to burnish; if
too dry, it is so absorbent that it sucks up all the moisture which
is breathed on it. To ensure the gold-leaf’s sticking thoroughly, it
is safer on the whole to gild the size while it is still slightly
damp, and delay the burnishing till it is drier.
The time to allow and the right condition of the size for gilding can
only be accurately judged by experience.
LAYING THE GOLD-LEAF
‹Note.›—_In illuminated MSS., in order to avoid risk of injury to the
gold it may be laid last of all (see pp. 170–1). The inexperienced
illuminator, however, may find it better to follow the easier method
of finishing the gold before applying the colours._
The process of gold-laying must be carried out steadily and quickly;
all the necessary tools, &c., should be ready to hand (see p. 145).
_The Gold-Leaf._—This is sold in books of twenty-five leaves. The
ordinary leaf, about 3-1/4 inches square, consisting of gold and
alloy, is said to be beaten out to less than 1/200,000 inch in
thickness. As gold sticks readily to gold, especially when very thin
and liable to wrinkle and fold over, or to paper, red [p152] bole
or ochre is scattered between the leaves of the ordinary book. This
powder will come off on the work and give it an ugly colour, when
burnishing, unless it is dusted off very carefully.
It is better to get gold “double” (or “quadruple”) the ordinary
thickness, specially prepared for fine work such as illuminating,
quite pure, and put up in white books (without bole).
_Cutting the Leaf._—With the scissors, which must be quite clean and
sharp (or else the gold will stick to them and tear), cut a whole or
half leaf of gold, together with the paper leaf on which it lies, out
of the book.
[Illustration: ‹Fig. 99.›]
The gold is cut on one paper (fig. 99) (not between papers, for then
it would stick and tear), and the cut edges of the paper and the gold
stick together slightly. If the edge of the gold is anywhere loose
and apt to flap about, it and the corresponding paper edge can be
nicked together with the scissors (fig. 100). The gold-leaf being
lightly held to the paper in this way is easily handled.
A piece of gold, about 1/8 inch larger all round than the form to
be gilded, is cut from the leaf in the manner described above (_a_,
_b_, fig. 100). Except in the case of a very large form, it is not
worth trying [p153] to save gold by cutting it out in the same
shape. Square, oblong, and triangular shaped pieces are suitable for
ordinary use; these are laid in a convenient place—the edge of a book
cover will do very well (fig. 101)—ready to be picked up at the right
moment.
[Illustration: ‹Fig. 100.›]
The burnishing slab (a flat piece of vulcanite, celluloid, or metal)
is placed under the page to give it a hard, firm back, which will
make the pushing and rubbing of the burnisher effective.
[Illustration: ‹Fig. 101.›]
_Preparing the Size._—If the size has dried rough, it may be lightly
scraped with the pen-knife—removing as little as possible of the
surface, in which the essential _stickiness_ frequently seems to be
concentrated. [p154]
Ordinarily a form should not require trimming, though if its edges
have accidental roughnesses, these may be trimmed a _little_ with the
pen-knife.
_Damping the Size._—The breathing tube is about 1/2 inch (or less)
in diameter, and 6 inches or more in length; it may be made of paper
or cane. One end of the tube being lightly held between the lips,
the other is moved about over the size, which is gently breathed
upon (fig. 102). The breath condensing on the surface of the size,
moistens it and renders it sticky. The amount of moistening required
depends on the condition of the size.
[Illustration: ‹Fig. 102.›]
Care has to be taken that the breath does not condense in the tube
and drop on to the work.
[Illustration: ‹Fig. 103.›]
_Laying the Gold-Leaf._—Immediately that the size has been
sufficiently breathed upon, the piece of paper with gold-leaf
adhering (held ready in the right [p155] hand) is placed upon it,
gold-leaf downwards, care being taken to place it steadily down, and
not drag it across the size (fig. 103).
[Illustration: ‹Fig. 104.›]
The Rubbing Paper—a convenient piece of thin but tough paper (held
ready in the left hand)—is immediately laid above the gold-leaf
paper, and is then rubbed over firmly with the finger-tip, in order
at once to attach the leaf to the size (fig. 104). It is then quickly
rubbed with the soft pencil [p156] or chalk till the raised form
underneath is indicated on the surface of the paper (fig. 105).
These two operations may be combined by having a little blue chalk
either on the finger-tip or on the upper surface of the rubbing paper.
Round the outline of this form the point of the burnisher[31] is
worked, pressing the gold-leaf firmly—through both the papers—against
the size, in the angle formed by the size and the surface of the
parchment (fig. 106).
The fore part of the burnisher is then passed rapidly all over the
rubbing paper with a firm pressure (fig. 107).
The rubbing paper and the other paper are picked off, and an
experienced eye can usually tell if the gold is sticking properly by
a peculiar, smooth appearance which it then has.
[Illustration: ‹Fig. 105.›]
_Several Letters or Forms_ which are close together may be gilded
simultaneously—with one piece of gold-leaf—as if they were one
complex form. This saves time, but if too many forms are gilded
together, some of them are liable to be less thoroughly and
effectually treated.
[Illustration: ‹Fig. 106.›]
_Small Scattered Forms_ (dots, &c.).—For these the gold-leaf may be
cut into a sufficient number of little pieces, which are allowed
to fall (_gold side downwards_) on a sheet placed to receive them.
[p157] They are picked up separately by means of a needle stuck into
their backing-paper.
[Illustration: ‹Fig. 107.›]
_Additional Coats of Gold-Leaf._—A second leaf of gold may be laid
on immediately on the top of the first; this will ensure richness
and facilitate burnishing. Additional leaves may be laid after
burnishing, but, unless the first gilding is absolutely clean, there
is a risk of the second leaf peeling off when re-burnished. [p158]
BURNISHING THE GOLD
_The Burnisher._—A tooth-shaped agate burnisher (fig. 108) is
commonly used.
The _point_ is used for pushing the leaf into angles and for
burnishing angles (_a_).
The _fore-part_ for general burnishing (_b_).
The _bend_ for cross-burnishing and for angles (_c_).
The _side_ for very gentle and light burnishing (_d_).
The burnisher is kept scrupulously clean, and to ensure this it is
frequently rubbed on a cloth.
_Dusting off the Pounce._—The edge of the parchment may be tapped
smartly on the desk to shake off the pounce, and a feather or a soft
handkerchief may be used, care being taken not to brush the pounce
over the gold. [p159]
_Brushing off Waste Leaf._—The superfluous gold round the edge of the
gilded form may be lightly brushed off with the tip of the brush.
This may be done after or before the burnishing—preferably _after_
(see p. 170).
Any gold which may have stuck to the surrounding parchment, in spite
of the pouncing, may be removed with the knife or with the hard
indiarubber point, _great care being taken not to touch the gilded
size_.
_Burnishing the Gold._—The gold-leaf may be burnished immediately
after laying when the size is _very dry_, but it is safer to wait
for a quarter of an hour—or longer, if the size is at all damp (see
_Drying_, p. 151).
[Illustration: ‹Fig. 108.›]
The slab is again put under the work, and the burnishing is begun
very gently and cautiously: should the burnisher stick in the very
least, it is instantly stopped (or else the gold will be scratched
off), examined, and cleaned.
The first strokes of the burnisher are generally carried all over the
work, very lightly and with a [p160] circular movement (fig. 109),
till the gold begins to _feel smooth_, and the matt surface gives
place to a dull polish.
[Illustration: ‹Fig. 109.›]
[Illustration: ‹Fig. 110.›]
As the gold gets smoother a little more pressure is used, and the
burnisher is moved in straight lines in every direction across the
gold (fig. 110). At this point the gold should have a peculiar and
agreeable feeling of smoothness under the burnisher, an unmistakable
sign that all is going well.
A rapid light polish with the bend of the burnisher across a gold
stem will give a very good finish (_c_, fig. 108).
Properly burnished gold in a right light is at first as bright as a
mirror, and in some lights may look [p161] quite dark by reason of
its smoothness. A piece of white paper may be held at such an angle
that the white light from it is reflected by the gold; this will show
the quality of the burnish, and also show up any brown spots which
the leaf may have failed to cover. It is helpful, moreover, during
the actual process of burnishing to have a reflecting paper folded
and standing beside the work (fig. 111).
[Illustration: ‹Fig. 111.›]
At first the size under the burnished gold is not thoroughly
hardened, and great care should be taken of it (not to breathe on nor
finger the gold in any way, nor allow it to lie about and get dusty).
It is best to put it away safely in a drawer for a week or two.
After a week or fortnight, when the size has set a little more, it
may be very gently re-burnished, and this may be done again at the
end of another [p162] fortnight. This final burnishing, when the
size is nearly hard, will give it a very lasting polish. It is well,
however, to take every care of burnished gold, and to secure it from
risk of damage as soon as may be. Illuminated miniatures were often
protected by a piece of silk between the leaves—and this should be
done now, in the case of fine work. That a bound volume protects the
burnished gold within it is proved by the large number of MSS. in
which the gold, laid and burnished 500 years ago, is in perfect and
brilliant preservation.
REMEDYING FAULTS IN GILDING
To lay and burnish gold satisfactorily requires considerable
experience. Careful practice with a good “size” will overcome the
chief difficulties: these, and their probable causes, are here
summarised:—
_To make the Size stick to the_ _Probable Causes of Size_
_Surface._ _not sticking to Parchment_
_or Paper._
Clean and pounce thoroughly: Dirty Surface.
roughen if necessary (pp. Greasy Surface.
146, 167). Horny Surface or
Non-porous Surface.
Procure or make a proper Size not sticky enough
composition, mix thoroughly
always, and stir frequently Size not tough enough (and
when in use. If composition is crumbling off)
at fault, add—
_a._ Sticky matter. both causes due to faulty
_b._ Toughening matter composition, or mixing. [p163]
(pp. 147, 166, and Appendix).
_To make the Gold-leaf stick_ _Probable Causes of Gold-leaf_
_to the Size._ _not sticking to Size._
Breathe on thoroughly and Size not damped enough
avoid delay in laying the gold due to insufficient breathing
(p. 154). on, or too absorbent nature or
Do not allow size to dry too condition of, size.
long (p. 151).
More, and more careful, Not sufficient rubbing and
rubbing and pressure pressing on of gold.
(p. 156).
(See above.) Size not sticky enough.
Raise the size sufficiently Not enough size, particularly
(p. 150). If not enough when in thin lines and edges.
dry, roughen surface and add
another coat.
Try re-gilding (p. 157), or, The gold may refuse to stick
if spots persist, scrape them in _spots_ with no apparent
gently and try again: failing reason, but probably from one
that, gently scrape off all or other of the above causes.
the gold and try white of Or the size may have been
egg (dilute), or a slight touched accidentally and have
re-sizing (as above). become greasy or dirty.
If the spots are very small
and there is not time to spare
for re-gilding, they may be
touched with powder gold and
dilute white of egg, and
burnished when dry.
_To make the Gold-leaf smooth_ _Probable Causes of Gold-leaf’s_
_and bright._ _not burnishing properly._
_a._ Allow longer time (p. 151). Size too sticky.
_b._ Allow longer time (p. 151). Due to—
_c._ Remove size and re-size with _a._ Damp weather.
proper composition. _b._ Insufficient time
allowed for drying.
Sometimes this difficulty may be _c._ Too much sticky matter
overcome by using several coats in size.
of gold-leaf (p. 157).
Scrape smooth with sharp knife. Size rough surfaced.
(Sometimes the size itself is
burnished before the gold-leaf
is laid.)
Clean burnisher frequently. Burnisher becoming dirty.
[p164]
Both paper and parchment when much wet with size are apt to cockle.
Generally it is not possible, or desirable (see p. 174), to guard
against this by first stretching the material, but the size may be
used with less water, so that it will dry sooner. In cases where
there is a gold background it may often be divided into small parts
(to be sized at different times) by the pattern (see p. 191). For
large unbroken patches of gold several thin coats may be put on, one
after the other.
Some sizes have a tendency to crack: this is difficult to guard
against. But, if the cracks are very minute—such as may be seen
in many instances in the best early MSS.—they do not constitute a
serious blemish.
Burnished gold is often damaged by careless handling or insufficient
protection.
GOLD WRITING
The page (having been ruled as for ordinary writing) is thoroughly
pounced all over.
The pen has an extra long slit, and the size is made a little more
fluid than usual to allow of its flowing freely and making true
pen-strokes (p. 63).
The desk is lowered (fig. 46, _b_), or flat, so that the size may
flow freely.
The nib sometimes makes only a wet down-stroke on the parchment, but,
by lightly pushing the pen up again, the stroke will be filled by the
size which flows out from under the nib. Simple pen-strokes in small
writing hold but little, and so ought to be filled as full of size as
possible (pp. 150, 184). They will be found to dry much more [p165]
quickly than larger forms, and may be gilded within a few hours of
writing. Half-a-dozen or more letters are gilded together (see p.
156).
OTHER METHODS & RECIPES FOR GILDING
Gold-leaf may be cut with a “_gilder’s knife_” on a “_gilder’s
cushion_,” and picked up with a “_gilder’s tip_.”
Water, white of egg, or alcohol may be used to make the gold-leaf
adhere to the size.
“_Transfer gold-leaf_” is convenient, but the _greasiness_ of the
transfer paper is apt to dim the gilding.
_Gold-leaf_ is made in many shades, from “red” (gold + copper) to
“green” (gold + silver); though these may be used very effectively,
they are liable to tarnish, and it is best to begin with pure gold
(see pp. 152, 169).
_Silver-leaf_ oxidises and turns black; platinum (a good substitute)
costs about 2s. 6d., and _aluminium_ (not so good) about 6d. per book.
“_Gold Ink_” has been made with powdered gold: its effect is inferior
to _raised and burnished_ writing.
The following is from “The Book of the Art of Cennino Cennini”
(written about the beginning of the fifteenth Century): Translated by
Christiana J. Herringham, 1899:—
“Chap. 157.—_How you must do miniature-painting and put gold on
parchment._
“First, if you would paint miniatures you must draw with a leaden
style figures, foliage, letters, or whatever you please, on
parchment, that is to say, in books: then with a pen you must make
the delicate permanent [p166] outline of what you have designed.
Then you must have a paint that is a sort of gesso, called asiso,
and it is made in this manner; namely, a little gesso sottile [see
chap. 116, below], and a little biacca [whitelead], never more of
this than equals a third part of the gesso; then take a little
candy, less than the biacca; grind these ingredients very finely
with clear water, collect them together, and let them dry without
sun. When you wish to use some to put on gold, cut off a piece as
large as you have need of, and temper it with the white of an egg,
well beaten, as I have taught you. [_The froth is allowed to stand
for one night to clear itself._] Temper this mixture with it; let
it dry; then take your gold, and either breathing on it or not, as
you please, you can put it on; and the gold being laid on, take
the tooth or burnishing-stone and burnish it, but hold under the
parchment a firm tablet of good wood, very smooth. And you must
know that you may write letters with a pen and this asiso, or lay
a ground of it, or whatever you please—it is most excellent. But
before you lay the gold on it, see whether it is needful to scrape
or level it with the point of a knife, or clean it in any way, for
your brush sometimes puts more on in one place than in another.
Always beware of this.”
“Chap. 116.—_How to prepare gesso sottile (slaked plaster of Paris)
for grounding panels._
“You must now prepare a plaster for fine grounds, called gesso
sottile. This is made from the same plaster [plaster of Paris] as
the last, but it must be well purified (purgata), and kept moist in
a large tub for at least a month; renew the water every day until it
almost rots, and is completely slaked, and all fiery heat goes out
of it, and it becomes as soft as silk. Throw away the water, make it
into cakes, and let it dry; and this gesso is sold by the druggists
to our painters. It is used for grounding, for gilding, for working
in relief, and other fine works.” [p167]
APPENDIX: ON GILDING
(_By Graily Hewitt_)
Success with raised gilding can only be expected when practice has
rendered attention to the details of the process automatic and there
is no need to pause and think. Even then the results must be somewhat
uncertain and experimental. For our own preparations of size are
usually unsatisfactory, and the ingredients of the best we can buy
are unknown to us. And our vellum is certainly not of the quality we
find in the old books. Some one is badly wanted to investigate the
chemistry of the one and an appropriate preparation of the other. But
we can take as much care as our time allows, passing nothing as “good
enough” which we have not well examined, and bringing to the business
all the patience and deftness available.
Vellum is too stiff, or too dry, or too greasy. When stiff, it is
too thick for books; when dry, too apt to crack or cockle; when too
greasy, exasperating. And yet the soft and rather greasy sort can
be rendered more agreeable than the rest with labour. It should
be rubbed by the flat of the hand with powdered pumice (or even
fine sandpaper on the rough side) and French chalk, especially on
its split (or rougher) side, until it is serviceable. A few trials
will teach how long to give to this. Five minutes for one side of
a lamb’s skin would not be too much. It can then be beaten with a
silk handkerchief, but not rubbed with this until the size has been
laid. It may be rubbed cleaner between the laying of the size and the
gilding. Especially must those parts of pages be thoroughly rubbed
clean which in the book, when made up, will lie upon and be pressed
against gold letters on the page opposite; or the pumice left behind
will scratch them. On the other hand, if the vellum has not been
thoroughly pumiced on both pages, the greasiness in [p168] it will
dim the gold in time, both from above and below; or even make the
size flake off altogether. The size is often blamed for faults of the
vellum and its want of preparation.
Again size, or “raising preparation,” is too sticky or too dry. If
the former, the gold will not burnish well; if the latter, it will
burnish, but will not stick at the edges, and will crack sooner or
later. And though the essential quality of gilding is brightness, one
may be content to fail of this rather than have letters ragged in
outline or broken on the surface.
The size in use should be just liquid enough to flow evenly from the
pen. More water makes it dry too brittle, and tends to cockle the
vellum also; less tends to blobbiness and unevenness. Even when it is
put on fairly an uncomfortable groove is apt to form as it dries down
the centre of letters; but this can be either filled up as soon as
the first layer is dryish, or the sides of the groove can be scraped
(when the letter is quite dry) down to the level of the groove itself
with a sharp knife. The knife must be sharp. As this scraping does
not affect the extreme edges the power of the size there to hold the
leaf is not impaired by it; and certainly a well-scraped surface
is extremely even and pleasant to gild. If the surface, however,
be burnished and not scraped before laying the leaf, it will not
hold the size well, and remains lumpy also where lumps were there
originally; while scraping gets rid of these. During use the size
should be kept thoroughly mixed; and a small sable brush serves well
for this purpose, as soon as it can be used so carefully as not to
cause bubbles.
To know the exact time to allow between laying and gilding one had
need to be a meteorologist, so much “depends on the weather.” Very
dry and very wet weather are equally unkind. Generally an interval
of about twenty-four hours is right; but it is better to gild too
soon than too late, provided one can be content, on testing the naked
surface of the gilded letter with a [p169] burnisher, and noting
that the glitter is reluctant to come, to leave the burnishing for a
while, and only lay the leaf, pressing it well home to the outline
of the letters. The burnishing can then be done in a few more hours.
But if the size be too dry, the difficulty will be to make the leaf
stick to it at all. In this case the leaf adhering can be scraped
off, the size scraped down further, and another thin coat added and
gilded after a shorter interval. If the letter be so fouled that such
repairs are difficult, it should be entirely scraped away and the
size relaid altogether. In doing this care is needed that the vellum
be not injured round the letter.
The best gold-leaf for ordinary work costs about 3s. for twenty-five
pages. More expensive leaf, being thicker, does not stick so well
to the edges; cheaper is too thin to burnish well. Two kinds may be
used together with good results, the finer leaf being put on next
the size, and the thicker at once on to the top of that. The letter
is then pressed and outlined as usual through paper, and the thin
leaf will be found of considerable assistance towards the making of a
clean cut edge. Generally, however, the piling on of several leaves
is inadvisable, as bits are liable to flake away as the letter goes
on drying, leaving dim specks where they have been. Yet if, after
the outlining through the paper, the leaf is seen to be very dull or
speckled with the colour of the size, this means that the size has
been partly pressed through the leaf; and another laid immediately
will have enough to stick to, and will burnish well. The best result
comes of one moderately thick leaf laid and burnished at the right
time as quickly as possible. Thicker leaves need only be used for
large surfaces, where the edge can be scraped even and clean, or
where a black outline is to be added.
As soon as the leaf is laid, and from that point onward, the breath
must be kept from the letter with a shield (of cardboard or tin) held
in the left hand or otherwise. Inattention to this is responsible
for many failures. Not [p170] only should the actual letters under
operation be so protected, but where a quantity are sized ready for
gilding on the page these should be protected also, as well as any
parts already finished; for breath not only moistens but warms,
and on warm size moisture condenses less easily. If the work to be
done presently is so warmed, it will be found more difficult to
deal with when its time comes. The first work done in the day is
often the best, and for this reason, that the size for it is cool;
but in gilding this portion one almost necessarily warms that to be
done later. Two pages, where possible, should therefore be gilded
alternately, one cooling while a portion of the other is gilded.
Or thin plates of metal, or even cardboard, may be placed about as
shields to protect all surfaces not under actual operation.
Superfluous gold is best removed by dusting lightly with an old and
very clean and dry silk handkerchief. Indiarubber will certainly
remove gold from the vellum, but it will as certainly dim any part of
the gilding it touches. If the vellum was properly pounced to start
with the silk will easily remove all the leaf unstuck, except little
odds and ends, and these are safeliest taken away with the point of a
knife.
As the pressure of burnishing helps the leaf to stick, it is best to
wait till the letter has been burnished before this dusting. Such
spots as are visible ungilded may be afterwards treated with a slight
breath and transfer gold-leaf, or gold dust, may be painted on them.
In the latter case the spots must be most carefully burnished, if
burnished at all, or their surroundings will be scratched.
When a gold letter is to be set on a coloured background, or in
the neighbourhood of colour, it is best put on after the colour;
as may be observed was the method occasionally with the old books.
If the gold is put on first, it will certainly be dimmed by warmth
and breath during the colouring. On the other hand, if it is put on
last, great care must be taken that the gold-leaf shall not stick to
the coloured portions. Where possible, a stencil [p171] pattern of
the parts to be gilded should be cut out of paper. This is easily
made from a pencil rubbing taken after the size is laid, the raised
pattern being of course cut out carefully a trifle larger than the
outline so obtained. The paper is then laid over all the work, and
the sized portions showing through the cuttings can be gilded without
injury to the colour.
All gilded work should be retained, if possible, for a week or more,
and then re-burnished. And in burnishing generally the burnisher
should not be used, even when the size is hard, with any great force
or pressure at first. For the size in drying sets as if moulded,
and this mould cannot be squeezed about or actually crushed without
being loosened or cracked. Throughout the whole process a gentle and
vigilant alacrity is required. Success will come easily if it means
to come. It cannot be forced to come.
The binder of a book with gilding in it should be warned to press the
sheets as little as possible, and to use all his care in handling
it, so as to keep moisture, warmth, and fingering from the gold. The
folding of the sheets, when left to him, should also be done rather
differently from usual, for all gilded pages need to be kept as flat
as possible. None of the sizes in use seem capable of resisting
bending of their surfaces without crimping or cracking. Where there
is much gilding, the book will be the better for being sewn with a
zigzag[32] through the sections, as this helps to “guard” the gilded
work. [p172]