different shades of red and yellow. A bottle is filled to one half its
height with carmine-lake, then black is added until a very deep purple
is obtained; another color is a powerful orange, which, if not on hand,
can be produced by mixing red and yellow. To produce a beautiful
combination use the following colors, black, light blue, orange, light
yellow, purple and finally scarlet red, (a color which I have recently
introduced under the name of safflower carmine) this combination of
colors gives a surprisingly beautiful result. To produce the nonpareil
(or comb) marble with eight colors, two more mixed colors are used, one
of which serves as a shade to light blue, while the other enhances the
lustre of the lighter colors. To this end, pour a little dark-blue into
a glass bottle and mix it with the same quantity of green, obtaining a
dark bluish-green. As a second color mix green and white until the color
is pale green. To produce a desirable effect with these eight colors we
must observe the following order, black, light blue, dark bluish-green,
orange, light yellow, purple, pale green and scarlet-red.
In this wise numberless variations and combinations can be obtained, but
it should always be taken care, that the primary colors only receive
shading tones of secondary or tertiary colors. The mode of throwing the
colors on the size is always the same as I described it for nonpareil
marbles namely; form a ribbon of black from 4 to 5 inches in width in
the prescribed way and throw the other colors into the black and at both
rims of it but so that they are situated within the black. The same
colors which are on one rim must also be thrown upon the other rim in
the most uniform way possible. The marble therefore, before it is drawn
is similar to a ribbon which has in its centre the black stripe about 2
inches wide, and on each side, a border of different colors 1 to 1-1/4
inches wide.
The more colors are used for the drawn marble, the less of each color
except black should be thrown on the size. Although the colors have been
adapted to each other in regard to their power of expansion before using
them, it is indispensable in producing these marbles with such a large
number of colors to assist the expansion of one color or the other by a
few drops of ox-gall.
It is necessary to see, that the second color should not too greatly be
displaced by the third, the third by the fourth, etc., because the
color, which is mostly displaced would not appear in the marble at all.
In producing peacock marbles, I obtained most excellent results even
without primary colors. They were not so bright and lustrous in their
general color effect, but their most subdued tones were most pleasing to
the eye.
To one of these marbles I used the colors in the following order; black,
medium olive green, dark bluish-green, bronze or ochre yellow, dark blue
and bright chrome yellow, (to obtain the olive, use the following
mixture; 3 parts light orange, 1/2 part dark blue; bluish-green as
described above; ochre yellow, 2 parts light chrome yellow, 1 part
brown; blackish-blue, 2 parts dark-blue, 1 part black; light chrome
yellow, 2 parts light orange, 2 parts white.)
Beautiful bouquet marbles are obtained from the following colors;
blackish-green, 2 parts black, 1 part green; yellowish-green, 2 parts
yellow, 1 part green; light-brown, dark bluish-green as above,
scarlet-red and light ochre yellow. In this way many combinations of
color can be obtained, and it is left to the judgment of the marbler to
select colors and make the mixtures. Having succeeded in producing
beautiful marbles with few colors, it will be easy for anyone to produce
others with more colors.
MARBLED EDGES.
MARBLED EDGES.
(SEE SPECIMEN PLATES.)
Many of my colleagues are of the opinion, that marbled edges are
inferior to drawn edges, but this is a great mistake, and here we are
able to show in what directions the marbling art is able to develop to
its full glory.
The field for marbled edges is so large and prolific in the variations
of shade, that there are really no limits to its capabilities.
While making experiments in this field, by accident I came across some
edges without having an idea of the effect of the combination which so
astonished me by its beauty.
It would be endeavoring too greatly to describe the method of producing
all effective marbled-edges which came to my knowledge in my many years'
experience, I therefore name but a few which will certainly invite
imitation and study.
Marble is the design of an edge of a book, which has a ground or back
color and over which a net of veins of different colors is stretched.
For the production of marbled edges, the following preparation of size
is advisable and in general use: boil 7 quarts of water and 3-1/5 ounces
of carrageen moss, after boiling add 1 quart of cold water, in which
one ounce of common soda has been dissolved, allow it to stand for 12
hours, and filter it through a linen cloth when it will be ready for
use.
The preparation of colors is effected as with drawn marbles on a small
surface of size, but it is necessary, that the colors for marbled edges
expand more than the others. As first color, black is generally used,
which is thrown on by a brush in the same way as in making nonpareil
marble, but the other colors must be thrown on by a broom-corn whisk and
the more colors are used, the smaller must be the drops of the colors
which are thrown on the size, and it is further essential that they
should be evenly divided around. Then use gall-water which consists of
10 parts water and 1 part gall and serves to arrange the different
colors so that one color can be concentrated in one point, secondly, it
has the effect of forming a white network of veins, which enhances the
effect of the other colors, and finally, the ground color comes into
play, putting the whole carpet of colors into motion. This color is
nothing but a common nonpareil color and is used either by itself or in
a mixture with other colors.
In preparing the ground or body color, enough of gall is added so as to
slightly force the other colors into veins. An equal part of
sprinkling-water is added to it, to give it the energetical power of
spreading out essential to the formation of a beautifully veined net.
The body-color is thrown on by a medium sized bristle brush, which must
be tied near the end for this purpose. This brush is to be equally
moistened with the body color, the best would be to moisten it by the
aid of a common brush. When this is done throw the color by beating the
bristle brush on a small board upon the carpet of colors. By this
process larger or smaller specks of the body-color are formed.
THE DARK-RED MARBLE.
The marbled edges are always named from the body-color, as the latter
always occupies the largest space on the edge. For dark-red marble the
following colors are used: black, light pink (10 parts white, 1 part
safflower-carmine), light-grey (10 parts white, 1 part black),
gall-water and, finally, the ground color.
The latter is composed of 2 parts carmine-lake, 1 part black and 3 parts
sprinkling-water.
THE PLAIN-GRAY MARBLE.
This kind of marbling is the most profitable of the veined marbles
because it can be produced very rapidly.
For this purpose prepare the black color with gall in such a way, that a
drop will spread out on the size to a spot of about 5-1/2 inches in
diameter, then add an equal quantity of sprinkling water, dip a large
broom-corn whisk or a bristle-brush into the color and throw it by
beating on a board upon the size which has been cleaned off by a strip
of paper. The color appears on the size a gray color with white veins,
from which the edge can be taken.
THE BLUE MARBLE.
To produce this use the following colors; black, orange or citron
yellow, Indian red with a little black and Oriental blue, finally adding
gall water and the body color. This ground color consists of 1 part
Indigo and 1 part sprinkling water.
THE BROWN MARBLE.
This marble is one of the most common, but if the colors are well
selected as given in the following paragraph it will give a fine effect.
Black first, Havana brown second, chamois third, gall water, and, as
ground color, humin-brown with a little carmine lake and one part
sprinkling water.
THE GRAY MARBLE.
To produce this the following colors are necessary, black, dark purple,
light bluish green, gall-water and a mixture of black with sprinkling
water, by which the ground shade, gray, is obtained. A lighter or darker
gray is obtained by adding more or less sprinkling water to the ground
color.
THE OLIVE-GRAY MARBLE.
This marble has a very beautiful effect although in producing it but
three colors are used. It belongs to the so called large-veined marbles
and forms an olive grayish ground with a fine net of veins of black,
dark-brown and white. It is produced in the following way; first black
is put on with the brush, then brown is squirted on by the aid of a
broom-corn whisk and then gall water and finally the body color is
added. The body color consists of 2 parts black, 1 part green and the
necessary sprinkling-water. If the shade of the body color is too deep,
some pure water is added. For producing large veined marbles, the brush
must be well filled with color, so that in throwing on of the color
quite large drops will fall.
THE BLACK MARBLE.
It was formerly an unknown thing to produce a black marble over which a
net of light-colored veins was stretched. My investigations have
resulted in my becoming able to produce this brilliant and effective
marble.
The colors used are scarlet-red, bluish-green and gall water, the latter
representing the white, this network of veins comes out excellently from
the dark ground-tone. The scarlet-red color is first taken and must
spread out in a like way, as the black in the other two marbles. Then
follows bluish-green and gall-water and finally the body color is added.
The latter makes a special preparation necessary. Take 3/5 of an ounce
of ivory-black add 1/6 of an ounce of a thick solution of gum, grind the
whole mixture with a mixture of shellac-ammonia which has been diluted
with a little water. If the color is ground perfectly fine it is diluted
with the solution of shellac-ammonia and is ready for use. Should it
not be powerful enough to force the colors into veins, a few more drops
of gall must be added. This body color is likewise thrown on by the aid
of the large bristle brush as all other body colors.
As beautiful as this kind of marbling may be, there is a disadvantage in
its use as the body color must always be newly prepared, because on the
second day after standing it curdles, and cannot be used any more.
THE BLUISH-GRAY MARBLE.
By mixing the colors very beautiful effects may be obtained. One of
these fine marbles is the bluish-gray. To prepare it the following mode
is used; claret red (2 parts carmine-lake and 1 part black) and as body
color, Oriental blue mixed with black and sprinkling-water.
GRAY MARBLE WITH A NET OF COLORED VEINS.
To produce this the following colors are used; black, yellow,
cinnabar-red or Indian-red, Oriental blue and gall water and finally the
gray body color.
The colors are put on in the following way; first black with the brush
into a ribbon-like form, then yellow is squirted on in small drops by
means of a broom-corn whisk, then follow red, blue and gall water which
are treated like yellow, and finally, the body color is squirted on by
the aid of a whisk or the large brush. The latter forces the colors by
its great spreading power into beautiful veins, after which the edge
can be taken off. The body color consists of 1 part black and 2 parts
sprinkling water.
THE GRAYISH GREEN MARBLE.
This is one of the most beautiful specimens of marble and according to
the shading of the body color most beautiful effects can be produced by
it. The following colors are used to produce it; black, carmine-red (1
part carmine lake and 1/2 part black), gray (1 part black and 10 parts
white), finally gall-water and the body color.
The mode of producing it is the same as described before. The body color
consists of 1 part black, 2 parts of sprinkling water and as much green
as is necessary to produce the desired shade.
Before adding sprinkling water to the body color, black, only so much
gall is added that it will but slightly push the different colors thrown
on.
HAIR MARBLE.
THE HAIR MARBLE.
(SEE SPECIMEN PLATES.)
These marbles are in great use and are much liked on account of their
rapid and easy production, especially when many books are to be marbled;
they appear very elegant on account of their fineness.
For hair marbles but one or two colors are employed which are diluted
with water to 1/3 their volume. Add enough of gall to the first color so
that in throwing the same on the size it will spread sufficiently to
form a ribbon from 5 to 6 inches wide. Take a whisk and throw on the
second color in drops that are not too large and as nearly as possible,
equally distributed, then, with the bristle-brush, or sieve and brush
throw sprinkling water on the colors. In this way hair veins are formed,
showing more or less ground according to the quantity of sprinkling
water thrown on.
The size is produced for all hair-marbles alike. In the morning boil
3-1/5 ounces of carrageen moss in 7 quarts of water and after the
boiling add 1 quart of cold water, stir the whole mixture several times
and allow it to stand during the day until it is fully cooled off. In
the evening the size must be again diluted by another quart of water and
it is then filtered through a piece of linen and left to stand over
night. The next day it is ready for use. This holds good during the
summer months as the temperature of the air will just make the size
useful for this purpose. During the winter months the size must be
allowed to stand for 36 hours before use.
BLACK HAIR MARBLE.
To produce this variety of marble there is a screen or sieve necessary
as well as a wide brush having stiff bristles. By adding gall from time
to time, the black is made so expansive that a single drop will be
spread out to a spot of about 8 inches in diameter. Dip the brush into
sprinkling water, shake the brush well so that the superfluous water is
thrown out, hold the sieve above the size and move the brush quickly and
lightly over it. In this way the hair marble is finished and may be
taken off.
RED HAIR MARBLE.
For this to be produced the best color is Indian or mineral red since
all other chemical coloring substances which are bound to bodies will
usually run, on strong compression, into hair veins. Only the excellent
lakes of Munich will withstand this treatment, but the fineness of the
veins leaves much to be desired, whereas Indian red answers every
purpose.
BLUE HAIR MARBLE.
The mode of producing it is the same as applied in producing black
hair-marble, but, instead of black, Indigo is used. Indigo is the only
one among blue coloring matters that admits of the necessary expansion
for the production of hair veins without running off or gathering into
small lumps.
RED AND BLACK HAIR MARBLE.
For the production of this marble, black and Indian red are taken. The
black is first thrown upon the size as in black hair-vein marble, the
red is then treated by adding gall until a drop thrown upon the black
will spread to about 2 inches in diameter. The trial is made with a
brush, but for the purpose of producing the marble a whisk is taken, by
means of which the red is thrown upon the black in very small drops and
close to each other.
BLUISH-BROWN HAIR MARBLE.
To produce this marble Indigo and Vandyke brown are taken. The Indigo is
put on first then the Vandyke brown is thrown on by a whisk, and
finally, the carpet of colors is forced into forming veins by sprinkling
water, which is applied by aid of the brush and sieve.
Rules in regard to the Marbling Table.
RULES IN REGARD TO THE MARBLING TABLE.
The table upon which marbling is to be executed must be firm and
immovable. On it the utensils necessary to marbling are placed. The
trough, colors, gall in a closed bottle with stopper pierced by a tube,
a vessel with water, the comb, the size skimmer are all to be within
easy reach. They should be placed about in the following order; in
front, nearest to the workman and to the right, the trough, the
receptacle for the waste color and board for skimming off the size to
the left, beyond the trough the vessels in which the colors and gall are
kept, behind the first vessels containing the colors the dish containing
water, and alongside this the bottle containing gall and next to it the
comb and stylus. On the left side of the trough there must be a
sufficiently large space for the books to be marbled.
PRECAUTIONS.
Before closing the article on marbling, I will add a few words to the
precautions to be observed while marbling. Before all else, see that
the air in the room, where the marbling is to be done, is free of dust,
as the falling dust, especially in drawn marbles will form many white
spots, which spoil the effect of the marbling.
Cleanliness should always be observed, as the beauty of the marbles and
their rapid production depend on it. Protect the size from dust by a
lid, which you place on the vessel, and have a large soft sponge ready
to remove the superfluous size after each immersion of the book, by
which a rapid drying is obtained and the moisture is prohibited from
impregnating the book.
SUPPLEMENTARY REMARKS.
A NEW EXPANDING MEDIUM.
I must mention here a newly discovered medium which has been found
essential in the formation of beautiful veins in plain marble; take 1/10
quart of shellac orange, add 1/8 quart spirits of ammonia, allow the
whole to boil for 5 minutes stirring repeatedly (by which a uniform
solution of shellac in ammonia is obtained), take it from the fire and
dilute the solution with about 2 quarts of water. Throw the fluid by
means of the brush on the size and then throw on the body-color, _see
plain gray marble_. In this way beautiful white veins will appear,
which is explained by the fact, that the surface of the size is covered
with an expanding medium, which can be forced together by the
body-color, but is strong enough to hinder the union of the latter.
MARBLING OF GILT EDGES.
MARBLING OF GILT EDGES.
If gilt, silver or aluminium edges are to be marbled, burnish slightly
and moisten by a soft brush with a solution of powdered alum in hot
water which is of the consistency of a thin pap.
The marbling of the gilt-edge is then executed in the usual way before
the coating of alum is entirely dry.
After the marbling is done, water is poured over the edge until it is
entirely clean.
When the edge is completely dried it is rubbed over with a waxed rag and
is then burnished in the usual way. For marbling the usual marbling
colors are applicable, but it should here be added, that very dry edges
will not take the marbling colors readily.
MARBLING ON A LARGE SCALE.
For the purpose of marbling on a large scale especial arrangements have
to be made, and it is wonderful how elegant and practical are the
marbling rooms of large establishments. For instance the tables and
floors are of stone and cement, or of wood covered with zinc plates,
and the troughs and receptacles to take off the fluids which have been
employed are to be found in universal use. Even large iron cranes are
erected to hold the books together and lift them off, and to transport
them to the revolving drying apparatus, which can be heated.
These arrangements are in keeping with the extent of the business and
can here only be lightly passed upon.
THE UTENSILS.
THE UTENSILS.
THE MARBLING TROUGH.
The marbling trough is a long flat oblong box of about 20 inches in
length, 10 inches wide, and 1-1/4 inches deep inside, and should be
painted within with white oil-paint so that the size appears light
making the colors more readily discernible.
This trough must have inserted on one side a sloping partition of sheet
zinc so that the waste of color may be skimmed over it by aid of paper
slips or a piece of wooden board without running it over the top.
In addition to the trough containing the marbling size, a second smaller
trough or basin of 10 inches width, and 1-1/4 inches depth is necessary
for the reception of the waste of color. This is to be placed, while
marbling, immediately to the left of the first trough.
SIZE SKIMMER.
This is a piece of wooden board about 2 inches high, about 1/4 inch
thick and of the exact width of the trough. At both ends the board is
slightly wider than the trough, protruding, and while the larger part of
the board moves over the surface of the size, the projecting ends act as
guides by sliding over the rim of the trough. In this way the board is
always kept in a like position and serves to remove the air bubbles and
films and also the color waste.
Recently, strips of blotting paper 1 inch wide have been frequently and
successfully used for the removal of waste of color. They are applied in
the same manner as the board.
THE STYLUS
of wood or bone, is used for the drawing of the colors in producing
nonpareil marbles. This was described in the chapter on nonpareil edges.
THE COMB.
For the production of nonpareil marble, the comb is employed, made in
the following way; take two strips of heavy pasteboard, 12 inches long
and 2-1/2 inches wide, divide one of these exactly where the needles are
to be inserted, draw grooves so that the needles can be laid in; glue
the part in which the needles are to be laid, insert the needles in the
grooves as aforesaid, and, after drying, the second strip of pasteboard,
is glued upon the first.
The needles best adapted to comb making for use in comb marbling are
fine pearl needles of steel; they are preferable to the common pins
because they do not bend and do not offer any resistance to the size
while drawing the colors, and also because they cut the colors easily
without forming furrows.
The comb is so prepared that the pasteboard protrudes slightly at both
ends, by this the movement of the comb is defined by the rim of the
trough. It is advisable to prepare about three such combs with the
needles separated from each other about 3/32, 3/16 and 1/4 inch
respectively.
THE PEACOCK COMB.
The peacock comb consists of two common combs having strong needles
separated from one another by 1/2 inch. These two combs are put together
by means of a pasteboard frame in such a way that they can be moved 1/4
inch to the side.
Moved sideways the needles of one comb move to the centre between the
needles of the other comb, they cover each other as soon as both combs
are moved 1/4 inch in the opposite direction.
THE BRUSH.
To distribute the colors equally for drawn edges it is necessary to
divide the color around on the size as explained in the chapter on
nonpareil marble. This is almost impossible if a common brush is
employed as the drops cannot be voluntarily directed by it, I have had,
therefore, brushes made with bent bristles which make the distribution
of the drops easier.
THE BROOM-CORN WHISK.
This whisk is made of soft broom-corn about 1 to 2 inches thick. The
upper end is tightly bound with string or wire so that about 5 inches of
straw protrude. These whisks are used in producing marble-edges.
THE BRISTLE BRUSH.
A bristle brush 3 inches long and from 2 to 2-1/2 inches thick is bound
by a well waxed packing-thread about 1-1/4 inches from the top so that
the bristles are open for a length of 1-3/4 inches. This brush is very
well adapted for distributing the drops.
In marbling large lots of books, large broom-corn whisks are profitably
used for throwing on the body color or sprinkling water. Being possessed
of the above mentioned utensils which only are expensive at first,
nothing is further necessary for the production of beautiful edges.
THE BOOK CLAMP.
[Illustration]
The clamp is used to hold several books together which are to be
immersed at the same time into the marbling trough. They are of iron
entirely, are eccentrical in their movement and make a very quick
handling and an easier holding of the books possible.
APPARATUS FOR THROWING ON COLORS.
For the purpose of producing nonpareil marble an equal distribution of
color is desirable.
[Illustration]
It consists of four small color receptacles and apparatus from which
protrude needles equi-distant from each other in the form of a rake.