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THE GILDER’S MANUAL;

A COMPLETE PRACTICAL GUIDE TO

GILDING IN ALL ITS BRAN CITES.

DESIGNED FOR

4 LL TRADES IN WHICH GILDING IS USED.

INCLUDING SILVERING.

TOGETHER WITH

PICTURE FRAMING, PICTURE REPAIRING, AND
MUCH OTHER USEFUL INFORMATION,
VALUABLE RECEIPTS, &c.

— ■ » -

Entered according to act of Congress in the year 18?fl. by
Jesse Haney ifc Co., in the office of the Librarian of
Congress, at Washington.

■ » < »

NEW YORK:

EXCELSIOR PUBLISHING HOUSE,
McKeon & Schofield, Proprietors,

‘J k** *'

THE GETTY CENTirt

THE GILDER’S MANUAL.

PICTURE FRAME &ILDINO,

AND

Gilding for Interior Decoration.

PREPARATIONS USED IN OILDINO.

We shall first describe the various preparations used by the
gilder, and would here mention the importance of having clean
pots and brushes, and of being particular to keep all preparations
from dust and dirt. This is necessary if the operator wishes to
accomplish beautiful and brilliant work. We shall give the best
description of how the work is to be performed, and the latest
and best practical recipes known to the trade.

Parchment Size. — The size used by gilders in Englana is
made from parchment cuttings, or cuttings from gloves. In
America there is a white glue in use, which is not so fine or
suitable for the work. Parchment size is made by first washing
as many cuttings as you have room for in a clean stone pipkin
cover them with water, and let them simmer for two hours,
when, to test if it is boiled enough, the inside of the palm of
the hand should be slightly wetted with the size, and the other
hand pressed closely several times upon it, when if it be found
to be sticky, the size may be poured off into a clean basiD to cool
for use. This size is most important to the gilder, as he uses it
to mix nearly all his preparations in the practice of his art.
When it is cool, it is like jelly, and the stronger the size the
firmer it will be. The bottom and top of the basin of size will
be found not so pure or transparent as the middle, and the gilder
is always particular to mix his burnish and matt with the finest
and clearest size, while the tops and bottoms go to mix whiten¬
ing, stopping, thick white, &c. If the size is too thick it will be
necessary to add water in making up some of the preparations,
and m the strength of size is important, we shall refer to it again
shortly.

Oil Gold Size. — This size is a mixture of boiled linseed oil
and ochre, well ground up together. The carver and gilder

THK GILDER’S manual.

seldom, if ever, make this size for use, as it can be purchased
cheaply by weight. It is too solid for use as kept in stock, and
is thinned down with boiled oil to about the consistence of
cream.

Matt Gold Size. — This also is purchased of artists’ colormen
by weight. It is of a chocolate color, and very stiff. When it
is required for use a small portion of parchment size is put into
a stone pot, and about twice the quantity of water; when the
size is melted into the water, a small portion of the matt gold
size is added, and stirred till it is dissolved; more is added till it
is of the consistence of thick cream. This preparation is obliged
to be used warm, as the size with which it is mixed would coagu¬
late.

Burnish Gold Size. — Like the proceeding, this is usually
bought of the artists’ colorman, and is mixedl ike the above. It
does not pay to make this article, but the following ingredients
ground together very finely would bring out a good burnish.
Black lead, deer suet, and red chalk, one ounce each, with one
pound of pipe clay, ground with parchment size to a stiff paste.
This size is made ready for use like matt.

Clay. — This preparation is usually bought of the artists’
colorman, and is mixed the same as burnish size.

Gilder’s Ormolu. — This preparation is mixed with thin
parchment size, to give the oil and matt gilding a deeper and
richer appearance. To medium strength parchment size add
enough of the following recipe to color it. It is better strained
aefore putting into the size, and applied like a varnish, thinly
and carefully.

Recipe . — Mix together one-fourth pint of spirits of wine, half
ounce of unbleached shellac, one dram red Saunder’s wrood, half
dram tumeric. Shake every now and then until completely dis
solved.

Stopping. — This is a mixture of size and whitening to the
consistence of putty. It is used for stopping up holes, or making _
up defects in the work.

Thick White. — This is a mixture of whitening and parch¬
ment size to the consistence of cream, and is put on the parts to
be burnished previous to the burnish size.

Whitening. — The whitening used by the trade is usually
bought in 100 pound barrels, and is a very superior article to
that used in the household, as there is no grit in it, and the gilder
is particular to protect the whitening barrel from dust. Before
being used for the various preparations, it is rolled out on a board
with a rolling pin until it is perfectly smooth and fine.

Whitening Up. — Nearly all the work undertaken by the gilder.

THE GILDER’S MANUAL.

especially that of picture and looking-glass frames, requires to
jaave a foundation of whitening and size ; the reason is that it
can be got up much more smoothly; and a brilliant burnish can
only be produced on a good foundation of whitening. For out¬
side work paint is used as a foundation, and the gilding is inva¬
riably done in oil, as no other gilding would stand the weather.
It is therefore important that whitening up various moldings and
articles should be practiced by the learner. It must be remember¬
ed that all the stock moldings kept by the professional gilder comes
to hand ready whitened up from the manufactory, and there they
have a ready method of whitening up with templets, which ren¬
ders the moldings cheaper. The gilder has oftentimes frames to
make to pattern, when he has tc get the molding made, and then
whiten it up.

The first thing to be done is to give the molding a priming of
thin white , composed of parchment size and whitening, and laid
on very hot. After this is dry, the irregularities and defects of
the molding are filled up with stopping, and then thick white is
evenly laid on with a brush. As before observed, the thick white
is made by increasing the quantity of whitening to a given
amount of size till it is about the consistence of thick cream.
When several coats of thick white have been laid on, each one being
dry before the next is applied, pumice stone of various shapes to
fit is applied to the beads, hollows, flats, &c. , giving the work a
coat of white at the same time, and well rubbing down all the
rough projections in the molding, and also taking care to well
square up all the angles in the various members of the molding.
In smoothing it out, superfluous whitening will be rubbed out by
the pumice stone, which must be taken off.

After repeated smoothing down, it is finished off with clean
water, when it will be found to be smooth. The thickness of
whitening on the wood should be one-sixteenth of an inch, and
in some instances thicker. Care should be taken not to use the
whitening and size when it is beginning to “ turn off,” as it then
loses a great part of its adhesive quality. Different strengths
must also be guarded against, as a strong coat of whitening size
laid on a weak foundation will be likely to peel up when the
after preparations are laid on.

GILDING.

There are two kinds of gilding practiced by the trade; one is
called “ oil gilding,” the other “ water gilding;” and the latter
is both matt and burnish. Moldings full of small members, and
work full of ornaments, are generally gilt in oil, while broad

THE GILDER’S MANUAL

flat surfaces and plain beads and hollows are gilt in water,
sometimes in oil. Matt and burnish gilding are seen on the same
molding or piece of work.

In the chapter on composition ornaments we describe the
method of getting out, fixing on, and backing up the corners on
frames, but have hitherto said nothing on mitering-up moldings,
which will be done shortly; and our first essay at gilding will be
on an ornamental frame of broad molding, mounted with corners,
and will be in “oil.”

OIL GILDING.

After the corners have been backed up and hardened by being
in a dry place, the first care of the gilder is to wash the orna¬
ments on the frame to free them from the oil and dust that may
cover them in getting them out of the mold and on to the frame.
After this is dry, the coat of thin white is evenly put on the frame.
When this is dry, stopping is used to fill up the holes and defects
in the molding, and to square up the corners that are damaged,
and make good all ornaments that are chipped. When the stop¬
ping is hardened, the frame is ready for glass papering, and the
6aok edge, hollows, beads, and flat parts of the frame are per¬
fectly smoothed with fine glass paper. This is important, if good
work is required to be turned out. Glass paper for the gilder's
use is cut up into pieces about two inches square, and the sizes
most generally used are No. 2, 1£, 1, 0. No very coarse glass
paper is required. After well brushing out the frame with the
ducting brush, it is ready for two coats of thin white mixed with
clay. When this is dry, it is ready for again carefully fine glass
papering, and is then ready for wliat is technically termed clear
cole. This is parchment size thinned down with water moder¬
ately, and put on warm. The object of thus sizing the work is
to keep the next coat, which will be oil, from sinking into the
surface. Two coats of this size are usually laid on, and it is
much better to lay on two or more coats of weak than one of
strong size, as the latter sometimes, if too strong, peals off.
Size that has been kept a little too long, and commenced running
or spoiling, is known to make first rate clear cole. After the size
is dry, the frame will be ready for oil, and the workman mixes
enough oil gold size to about the consistence of cream, and
strains it through some clean linen rag screwed up tightly, forc¬
ing out the oil size. This oil gold size is laid on the frame very
thinly and evenly with a brush. The thinner it is laid on the
better, but great care must be exercised to touch the whole of
the surface of the molding, and to be most particular to brush
in the oil to the bottom of the work. It is usual to put work in

THE GILDEK’S MANUAL.

oil the last thing at night, so that it may be ready for gilding the
first thing in the morning. It is known to be ready for gilding
by the oil being just tackey , and nearly dry , and in this state the
gold will adhere firmly, and brush off bright; but if the oil has
been laid on too thick, or the gold applied when it is too tackey
or not dry enough, it will be dull, and greater care must be exer¬
cised in skewing in the gold, or the more prominent parts will
have the metal brushed from the surface.

The frame being ready, the gilder blows the gold out on the
cushion, and cuts the sheet of gold up into convenient sized
pieces to suit the various parts of the frame, and takes them up
with the tip, and lays them on the frame till it is well covered
with gold. In a frame gilded in oil the gold is ragged, and in
many places of double and treble thickness. The gold is first
carefully pressed down with a clobber, and then skewed well in
with a badger. A rather long-haired brush set in quill is used,
called a skewing brush, to brush out and off the frame the old
skewings remaining. After this operation, the frame is ready
for finish size. This is clear size, rather weak, laid on evenly
with a liog’s-hair brush, and if it is thought desirable to deepen
the color of the gold, a little onnolu is added in order to give it
a deeper and richer color.

The skewings, which are the small particles of gold not required
on the frame, are carefully put away and sold to the gold beater
when a sufficient quantity has been collected.

The frame will now be complete when the back edge is brushed
over with yellow ochre, mixed with size.

WATER AND OIL GILDING.

After going through the operation of gilding a frame in oil,
which is comparatively simple, the reader will be prepared to
gild a more elaborate frame, finished with brilliant burnish ou
the corners, beads, &c. , and a broad double gilt flat and hollow on
the inside. It may be mentioned here, all the best work that is
flat, such as broad insides to picture frames, spandrills, flat
looking-glass frames, &c., are double gilt; and this is done to
give the work a better color and more solid appearance.

Some of the gilder's customers may perhaps think he over¬
charges a little for his work, but when he is anxious to please his
customer with good work, it should be borne in mind both gold
and time must be paid for that have contributed to the result.

We will now describe the operation of gilding a broad frame
made of Alhambra molding, with corners and a broad flat Inside.
As a general rule the broad flat insides to frames are made aepo-

THE GILDER’S MANUAL.

rate, and fit into the rabbet of the outside frame when made.
This is convenient to the gilder, as he gilds the flat in water apart
from the frame it is made to fit.

The first thing the workman is careful to do is to see that the
frame is free from dust, dirt, or grease; and if not, to wash the
frame with a brush and clean water, care being taken not to take
off the sharpness of the ornaments in the operation. After it is
dry, a coat of thin white is then applied, and then all holes, &c.,
are made good by stopping , and the parts to be burnished receive
three or four coats of thick white. When the last coat of thick
white is nearly dry, pass over the parts with the finger, which
will help to smooth the rough surfaces. It may perhaps puzzle
a novice what parts should be burnished in various descriptions
of work, but a good rule will be to take the most prominent
plain parts of the ornaments and the beads; and in the case of
scrolls on a chimney glass, the scrolls fixed on for burnishing
should be followed throughout with burnish. It requires taste
and judgment to so distribute the burnish in any work that it
may not be overdone and lose its effect, but judiciously placed,
so that the matted portions will stand in strong contrast, and pro¬
duce brilliant work. The frame is then carefully and thoroughly
glass-papered till it is smooth, when it receives a coat of thin
white mixed with clay, and is again glass-papered and brushed
down. Two coats of dear cole, evenly laid on, follow, taking
care that the first coat is thorougly dry before the second is laid
on. When this is done the frame is put in oil, in the same way
as before mentioned, and afterward all the beads and ornaments
which have received the coats of thick white, and selected for
burnishing, must be rubbed clean of every particle of oil. This
is usually done by wetting a piece of calico, and wringing it out:
commence by putting it round the second finger of the right
hand, and pass it carefully over the parts to be burnished,
changing the surface of the calico on the finger very often.
Should any of the other parts of the frame be touched by the
damp calico, it will be necessary to again apply the oil brush to
remedy the accident, and a small camel’s hair brush will some¬
times be needed to touch in small imperfections. Although it is
thought that every particle of grease has been wiped off, yet it is
necessary the next morning, before laying the gold, to go over
all the parts gone over with the damp linen with clay. This is
done to prevent the possibility of any gold adhering, as it would
have to be glass-papered off before putting on more preparation.
The frame is then gilded as before described, and the gold
skewed into the bottoms of the ornaments; after which, if there
are any “ faults” in the gilding, they can be rectified by taking

THE GILDER’S MAHUAL.

a small camel’s hair brush, and wetting it in the mouth , apply
the moist brush to the spot, and lay gold enough to cover it.
The frame must then b e finish sized once, as before mentioned.

We must now look to the burnishes, left with a coat of clay.
Matt gold size must be mixed, and three or four coats must be
evenly applied with a camel’s hair brush. When dry, it should
be gone over with a damp sponge. On this surface lay two coats
of burnish gold size as evenly as possible, when it will be ready
for the gold as soon as the last coat is dry. We must now lay
the gold on these burnishes in a different manner from that men¬
tioned before, and we will first gild the bead running round the
frame between the parts already gilded in oil. The frame is
raised on the left hand, so as to be at an inclination, to allow the
surplus water to run off, when we must be provided with a clean
glass of water and camel’s hair pencils, and must proceed to
work in the following manner : A convenient sized camel’s hair
pencil that will cover the bead is dipped in the water, and scraped
over the edge of the glass, and beginning at the left hand end of
the bead, proceed to wet the bead for five or six inches down,
and pass the brush over it till it is thorougly soaked; and while
the water is yet floating on the bead, the strip of gold, which is
•■eady on the tip , must be laid quickly and evenly.

It may as well be mentioned that with water gilding the gold
cushion is held as usual in the left hand, and the knife and tip
are held between the fingers beneath. The workman commences
by cutting strips of gold leaf the necessary width, and taking up
one on his tip, it is put between the fingers of the left hand till
the bead is ready to receive the gold; the brush is placed in the
glass; and the tip, ready with gold leaf, is taken from between
the fingers, and the gold applied ; after which another strip of
gold is taken up on the tip, and it is returned to its place between
the fingers of the left hand to wait till another piece of the bead
is soaked, and ready to receive it. This operation is continued
till the whole of the bead is covered ; also the burnish in the
corners, &c., must in the same way be covered. It is scarcely
necessary to mention that the water must be kept from the gilded
portions of the frame as much as possible. In laying a bead, it
will be better to have no uneven edges to the gold where it joins,
as it will make it more solid and save trouble. Should there be
a defect in the gold caused by laying on or other causes, it must
quickly be made good by applying more gold lightly to the spot.

The whole of the frame is now covered with gold, and the
beads and ornaments just laid must remain till they are dry,
which will be perhaps two hours, unless the workman is in $
warm shop.

THE GILDER’S MANUAL.

Burnishing out the gold thus laid is the next operation, and !i
thus performed : The burnisher, which is usually curved at the
end, is grasped in the right hand, and the curved part applied to
the work; with a slight pressure from the thumb of the left
hand, which also steadies the tool, the burnisher is rubbed steadily
backward and forward, when it will be found to bring up a
brilliant burnish. Sometimes the burnisher is used at the point
to burnish close up to the ornaments, and for hollows, &c.
Burnishers of various sizes and shapes are used for the work ; a
little practice will enable the learner to soon find out the best
shapes for the work in hand.

The frame in hand must now be looked carefully over, and if
any “faults” occur round the base of any of the burnished
ornaments, which is sometimes the case, it must be made good
as before described, and the frame again finish sized, care being
taken not to touch the burnished parts with size, when the work
may be said to be finished so far, after the edge has been yellowed
with ochre.

The broad inside flat and hollow must now be taken in hand,
and as an engraving is to be put into the frame when it is finished,
we must burnish the hollow ; but if an oil painting had been
going into the finished frame, the hollow would not have been
burnished. We make this a rule, as the burnished hollow next
to a painting disturbs the eye, which ought to rest in repose on
the picture ; but with an engraving with a broad white margin,
the burnished hollow gives a more finished appearance to the
whole, and the white margin keeps the eye from wandering.

The inside flat and hollow is about one and a half inches wide,
and in order to make it look well it must be carefully prepared
up, and double gilt in water. Large flat surfaces tax the gilder’s
skill, so as to make the whole look solid, without an appearance
of a join in the gold. Sometimes the miters require rubbing
down with pumice stone and water if they have not been neatly
joined, and then any inequalities in the surface hollow or edge
neatly stopped , and when dry carefully rubbed down with rather
fine glass paper , when a coat of clay is evenly put on, and it is
again glass papered, rubbed down, and four coats of matt gold
size smoothly put on, when it is again glass papered and washed
carefully down with a piece of cloth. When this is nearly dry,
take a piece of dry cloth and briskly rub over the flat, when a
polished surface will be the result. On this surface lay two
coats of weak size, and when dry it is ready for the first layer of
gold. As our inside flat is one and a half inches broad, the gold
leaf will have to be cut one leaf in two. Proceed as before
stated fo^ water gilding, taking care not to lay the gold in the

THE GILDER’S MANUAL

hollow. When the gold is laid all round, the work must be
hang up until quite dry, which may be three or four hours
according to the temperature of the room. When dry, lake a
piece of cotton wool, the finest is sold by druggists, and rub off
the superfluous gold, when it is possible a lot of faults in the
gold will be discovered, and perhaps what is called “spiders’
legs ” will be seen ; but as our work is to have another layer of
gold, this difficulty will be got over. After the superfluous gold
is rubbed off, a coat of weak size must be put on the gold, and
when dry two coats of burnish gold size in the hollow ; when dry
the work is ready for the second coat of gold, which must be
laid on as before, taking care, on this occasion, to lay the hollow
with the flat. When dry, the hollow must be burnished carefully
with a burnisher, taking care the tool does not slip over the matt,
as it will make a scratch that cannot be easily got out. When
the matt has received two coats of finish size, the inside may be
said to be finished.

The tyro must remember never to touch his burnishes with
size or water, and hence arises the necessity of sometimes being
obliged to change the order of the processes to save the burnishes
from damage.

The faults spoken of will be found to have disappeared with
the laying of the second layer of gold, but if there should be a
fault it must be seen to before the finish size is laid on, or it will
show very badly, and spoil what would otherwise be considered
good work.

WHITE AND GOLD.

In many of the best drawing rooms of the present day suite*
of furniture in white and gold are used, and nothing looks so
chaste where the surrounding colors harmonize.

This class of work requires great care in whitening up and
preparing; also taste and judgment to decide what parts of the
article should be white, matt, or burnish. Brackets, whatnots,
console tables, chairs, lounges, and many other articles of furni¬
ture are ordered in white and gold; and we will here describe
the process on a carved chair, when, if the directions are fol¬
lowed with any carved article, the result will be satisfactory.

Chairs are oftentimes delivered into the gilder’s hands whitened
up, but where inis is not done it is necessary to carefully whiten
up the article, being particular to draw up the whitening so that
every part of the pattern shall be sharp, and stand out well ii l
bold relief, according to the directions before given on whiten¬
ing up.

THE GILDER’S MANUAL.

As the back and seat of our chair are to be needlework it wil.
be necessary to see that they both fit in tlieir proper places, so
that the gilding may not be damaged when finished.

After glass papering, we must decide on the parts to white,
burnish, and matt, when a coat of day must be applied to all tho
parts required to be gilt, care being taken not to go over the
parts decided on to be white, and the work will proceed in the
same way as laid down for water gilding.

When all the gold is laid and burnished out, and the matt finish
sized, the white parts must receive two or three coats of flake
white and parchment size, not too thick, care being taken to give
a clean finish to the gilding in passing over it with a camel’s
hair brush.

If the work is ordered to be varnished, it will be necessary to
give the white two coats of clear size to prevent the varnish from
sinking in, when the chair will be ready to receive a coat of
enamel white varnish. With this operation the white will
become a cream color.

Articles are sometimes got up in mauve and other delicate
colors to suit the taste of the purchaser. Where silver leaf is
required to be laid, the process will be the same as for gold leaf.

Cheap gilding, so called, consists in laying silver leaf, or even
tin foil, instead of gold leaf, and then varnishing with a “gold
coloring varnish,” for a recipe of which see toward the close of
this volume.

LOOKING-GLASS FRAMES.

During the latter half of the last century the frames for
looking glasses were of a set and decided pattern, and were,
generally speaking, more architectural in their character than
they have since been. There was a broad cornice on the top,
with a frieze below it, on which was represented some allegori¬
cal subject; the sides consisted of a column or pillar on a fiat
ground. The Corinthian order was sometimes adopted, and
terminated with capitals and bases of the same; square blocks
were placed under the base, and the cornice was supported by
the capital. This style was succeeded by doing away with the
molding and frieze, and substituting a column of the same order
as the sides. Not half a century ago the columns were dispensed
with altogether. The sides and top of the frame were made of
equal width, and consisted of a fiat ground, bounded at each
edge by a hollow or some other small molding, and the comers
were ornamented by carved or composition ornaments.

The next style may be called the “ modem antique,” ia which

THE GILDER’S MANUAL. 1®

the style of the times of Charles II., Anne, and Louis XIV. pre
vailed.

At the present time glass frames are made of every descrip¬
tion and style, so that any style of furniture can be matched,
either mediaeval or modern.

There are two shapes, technically called “landscape" and
“pier." The “landscape” glass is long, and the “pier” is up
right.

Although any size can be made to order, yet the following
are standard sizes, and frames are kept in stock of the following
sizes rabbet measure :

PIER.

in.

high

in.

high

in.

high

in.

high

in.

high

30 in. broad.
34 in. broad.
40 in. broad.
44 in. broad.
44 in. broad.

60 in. high
70 in. high
70 in. high
70 in. high
76 in. high

by 48 in. broad
by 44 in. broad,
by 50 in. broad,
by 30 in. broad,
by 48 in. broad.

LANDSCAPE.

40 in. broad by 30 in. high, i 40 in. broad by 30 in. high.
44 in. broad by 34 in. high. | 60 in. broad by 40 in. high.

COMPOSITION ORNAMENTS.

The ornaments with which gold frames are mounted are of
comparatively recent date, having first come into use about a
century ago for figures on chimney pieces, and since for picture
frames. The ornaments are made from a mixture, for which the
following recipe will be found to answer well; any quantity can
be made in the following proportions :

RECIPE FOR COMPO.

Boil seven pounds of the best glue in sevenhalf pints of water,
melt three pounds of best rosin in three pints of raw linseed oil.
When the ingredients are well boiled, put them into a large
vessel and simmer them for half an hour, stirring it, and taking
care it does not boil over. When this is done, pour the mixture
into a large quantity of whiting, previously sifted and rolled
very fine, and mix it to the consistence of dough, and it is ready
for molding into the required shapes. The above compo will
keep for a long time in a damp place, or in a barrel of whiten

THE GILHEK’S MANUAL.

Compo, when cold, is very hard, and when required to bo
used it is heated by means of steam, when it assumes the consis¬
tence of dough.

The ornaments are made by pressing the compo into mold*.
The molds are made of boxwood, and the required ornament is
countersunk in the wood by a man who is by trade a mold cutter.

They are got out in the following manner :

The workman takes the mold and well brushes into it oil and
turpentine, to prevent the composition adhering to it. When
composition enough, in a warm soft condition, is rolled up in
the hands into a convenient form to go into the mold, it is pressed
into every part very carefully by the fingers, and then a board or
flat surface of iron is wetted and placed on the compo still out¬
side the mold, when the whole is put into an iron screw press,
and the pressure, which is but for a few moments, drives the
compo into all the deep parts of the mold, and makes the board
adhere to the back of the composition. When it is taken out of
the press, the mold is removed from the ornament. After the
compo has hardened a little, the ornament is cut off, and the
remaining compo sliced off to be again heated and used. The
ornament, when first cut off, is very soft and pliable, and can be
then fitted to frames having beads hollows, &c., without fear of
breaking. These ornaments are fixed on with glue, and if corners
to a frame, are sometimes supported with a piece of compo
behind to secure them in the position required. When dry they
are quite hard and brittle, and are then to be lacked up, that is,
the spaces between the corner and the frame filled up with compo
softened in hot water, which will make the ornament strong and
thicker than before. The mounting of these ornaments often¬
times requires skill and practice, as they have to be placed on a
large proportion of the gilded articles sold in the trade. Some
of the ornaments when made require supporting in other ways
oesides that mentioned, as in the case of distinct fronds of ferns,
a wire has to be placed throughout the back of the ornament,
and secured by covering or backing up with compo, when it is
found this beautiful but fragile pattern will wear well. Brackets,
cornices, frames, whatnots, &c., each require the ornaments
mounted so as to be graceful and suitable to the design.

For cheaper work there are gilded lead ornaments sold at
twenty-five cents per pound by wholesale molding dealers.

The carver and gilder has a stock of molds to suit the various
descriptions of work. As we have remarked, the molding
manufacturer has facilitated the work of the carver and gilder,
as the moldings come to hand ready mounted with composition
ornaments, so that in many instances the picture frame, whea

THE GILDER^ MANUAL.

made, only requires suitable compo corners Where looking
glass frames are made, they are mounted with handsome scrolls,
&c. , except where the pattern required is heavy and unsuitable
for compo work, when, as mentioned before, the scroll pattern
is carved out of soft wood, and whitened up.

On very large frames the ornaments are sometime papiet
mache , which is much lighter. These ornaments are made out
of paper pulp, which is pressed between two molds, and the
ornament, when pressed comes out thin and hollow. One ad¬
vantage of these ornaments is that, if let fall, they are not so
liable to break as compo.

These ornaments are not held in favorable estimation by the
gilder, as the paper pulp does not form such a good foundation
for gilding as wood or composition.

FRENCH OIL GILDING FOR PICTURE FRAMES AND IN¬
TERIOR DECORATIONS.

Oil Gilding is employed, with varnish polish, upon carriage^
mirror-frames, and other furniture. The following method is
employed by eminent gilders at Paris.

1. White lead, with half its weight of yellow ochre, and a
little litharge, are separately ground very fine ; and the whole is
then tempered with linseed oil, thinned with spirits of turpen¬
tine, and applied in an even coat, called impression.

2. When this coat is quite dry, several coats of best flake white
very finely ground with raw linseed oil and thinned for use with
spirits of turpentine as it is used, called hard tint are given, even
so many as 10 or 12, should the surface require it, for smoothing
and filling up the pores. These coats are given daily, leaving
them to dry in the interval in a warm sunny exposure.

3. When the work is perfectly dry, it is first softened down
with pumice stone and water, afterward with worsted cloth and
very finely powdered pumice, till the hwrd tint gives no reflection,
and is smooth as glass.

4. With a camel’s hair brush, there must be given lightly and
with a gentle heat, from 4 to 5 coats at least, and even sometimes
double that number, of fine shellac varnish.

5. When these are dry, the grounds of the panels and the
carved parts must be first polished with shave-grass ; and next
with putty of tin and tripoli, tempered with water, applied with
woolen cloth ; by which the varnish is polished till it shines like
a mirror.

6. The work thus polished is carried into a hot place, free
from dust, where it receives very lightly and smoothly a *hW

THE GILDER’S MANUAL.

coat of gold color , much softened down . This is merely the drega
of the colors, ground and tempered with oil, which remain in the
little dish in which painters clean their brushes. This substance
is extremely rich and gluey ; after being ground up, and passed
through fine linen cloth, it forms the ground for gold leaf. This
coat is passed over it with a clean soft brush, and the thinner it
is the better.

7. Whenever the gold color is dry enough to take the gold,
which is ascertained by laying the back of the hand on a corner of
the frame work, the gilding is begun and finished as usual.

8. The gold is smoothed off with a very soft brush, one of
camel’s hair, for example, of three fingers’ breadth ; after which
it is left to dry for several days.

9. It is then varnished with a spirit of wine varnish, and then
treated with the chafing dish as follows : The workman with a
lighted chafing dish holds the flame near the gilding for a mo¬
ment and then passes on. He must not stop any length of time
at any one spot or he will spoil the work. This gives a fine luster
to the varnish coat, as it melts the small upward projections and
brush marks down to a perfect dead level.

10. When this varnish is dry, two or three coats of copal or
oil varnish are applied, at intervals of two days.

11. Finally, the panels are polished with a worsted cloth, with
Tripoli and water, and luster is given by friction with the palm
of the hand, previously softened with a little olive oil, taking
care not to rub off the gold.

FRENCH BURNISH GILDING-.

Gilding in distemper of the French, is the same as our burnished
or water gilding. Their process seems to be very elaborate,
and the best consists of 17 operations ; each of them said to be
essential.

1. Encollage , or the glue coat. To a decoction of wormwood
and garlic in water, strained through a cloth, a little common
salt and some vinegar are added. This composition, as being
destructive of worms in wood, is mixed with as much good glue ;
and the mixture is spread in a hot state, with a brush of boar’s
hair. When plaster or marble is to be gilded, the salt must be
left out of the above composition, as it is apt to attract humidity
in damp places, and to come out as a white powder on the glid¬
ing. But the salt is indispensable for wood. The first glue
coating is made thinner than the aecond.

2. White preparation. This consists in covering the above
•urface with 8, 10, or 12 coats of Spanish white, mixed up with

THE GILDER’S MANUAL.

strong size, each well worked on with the brush and in some
measure incorporated with the preceding coat, to prevent their
peeling off in scales.

3. Stopping up the pores, with thick whiting and glue, and
smoothing the surface with dog-skin.

4. Polishing the surface with pumice-stone and very cold
water.

5. Reparation ; in which a skillful artist repairs all defects.

6. Cleansing ; with a damp linen rag, and then a soft sponge.

7. Preler. This is nibbing with shave-grass the parts to be
yellowed, in order to make them softer.

8. Yellowing. With this view yellow ochre is carefully ground
in water, and mixed with transparent colorless size. The thin¬
ner part of this mixlure is applied hot over the white sunace
with a fine brush, which gives it a fine yellow hue.

9. Ungraining consists in rubbing the whole work with shave-
grass, to remove any granular appearance.

10. Coat of assiette; trencher coat. This is the composition on
whicn the gold is to be laid. It is composed of Armenian bole,
1 pound ; oxide of iron (best red chalk or jeweler’s rouge), 2
ounces ; and as much plumbago ; each separately ground in
water. The whole are then mixed together, and ground up with
about a spoonful of olive oil. The assiette well made and applied
gives beauty to the gilding. The assiette is tempered with a white
sheep skin glue, very clear and well strained. This mixture is
heated and applied in three successive coats, with a very fine
long-haired brush.

Rubbing, with a piece of dry, clean linen cloth ; except the
parts to be burnished, which are to receive two more coats of
assiette tempered with glue.

12. Gilding. The surface, being damped with cold watei
(iced in summer), has then the gold leaf applied to it. The hol¬
low grounds must always be gilded before the prominent parts.
Water is dexterously applied by a soft brush, immediately be¬
hind the gold leaf, before laying it down, which makes it lie
smoother. Any excess of water is then removed with a dry
brush.

13. Burnishing with bloodstone.

14. Deadening. This consists in passing a thin coat of glue,
slightly warmed, over the parts that are not to be burnished.

15. Mending ; that is moistening any broken points with a
brush, and applying bits of gold leaf to them.

16. The vermeil coat. Vermeil is a liquid which gives luster
and fire to the gold ; and makes it resemble ormolu. It is com¬
posed as follows : 2 ounces of annotto, 1 ounce of gamboge, 1

THE GILDER'S MANUAL.

ounce of vermilion, half an ounce of dragon’s blood, 2 ounces ol
salt of tartar, and 18 grains of saffron, are boiled in a litre (2
pints English) of water, over a slow fire, till the liquid be re¬
duced to a fourth. The whole is then passed through a silk or
muslin sieve. A little of this is made t > glide lightly over the
gold, with a very soft brush.

17. Repassage is passing over the dead surfaces a second coat
of deadening glue, which must be hotter than the first. Thii
finishes the work, and gives it strength.

RE-GILDING.

The large variety of articles supplied new by the trade in the
course of time require renovation and re-gilding, but this process
differs but little from that of gilding a new article in the white.
There are a few things necessary to look to, not generally re¬
quired in new work, and we will now mention them

If the article required to be re-gilt is the frame of a chimney
glass, the back must be carefully taken out, and the wedges
holding the glass in its place must be removed, taking care they
do not touch or scratch the back of the glass, and the glass taken
out. Take off the ornaments on the top and the sides, if they
are not compo, taking notice how again to secure them in their
place. The ornaments are put on with screws from the back of
the frame, or with brads and needle points. Dust well down
both frame and ornaments, and be particular to see well to the
rabbet that no particles of quicksilver remain, as any quicksilver
coming in contact with your newly-gilt frame will turn the gold
black.

Proceed to wash off all the old geld, and shell up any of the
preparation that is not firm ; also ornaments that may be loose
on the back or sight edge of the frame. A piece of cloth will be
found to be the best thing to clean off the old gold, as there is
more friction than in a sponge, but the sponge will be useful
when the gold is removed to carefully go over the frame. If the
frame Las been varnished or gilt in oil, glass paper must be used
till all the gold is removed, when a slight wash over to remove
all the remaining particles of dust will be advisable. If in wash
ing the frame you find any of the preparation blister up, you
will know it in bad, and the parts blistered must in scraped off

THE GILDEItJ3 MANUAL.

down to the wood, and when dry a coat of thin white of medium
strength applied. Of course these remarks will be applicable to
the ornaments as well as the frame ; and if you whiten the backs
of the ornaments, be particular not to let any run on to the front;
if it should do so, see that it is removed before it is dry, or
smooth it down.

Glue on to the backs of the ornaments some blocks of wood
about an inch high, when they will be found most useful in
keeping the work from rubbing on the bench, and also to catch
hold of in laying on the preparations and gold. The ornaments
and frame are now ready for stopping , and making good all defi¬
ciencies, either in ornaments or preparation, and when the stop¬
ping is dry to glass paper over, and give another r-<at of thin
white, and then the parts to be burnished should have three or
four coats of thick white with a camel’s hair brush. The frame
will now go on the same as new work before mentioned until it
Is finished.

If the work under hand be picture frames where the ornaments
ire broken and lost, they must be made good. Sometimes this
can be accomplished by softening compo, and putting it on to
the part deficient, and with the modelers fashion it out to match
the other ornaments. But where the pattern is small and difficult
to imitate, the usual method is to take a model as follows : —

TO TAKE A MODEL IN COMPO.

If it is found necessary, in making or repairing, to replace
broken ornaments on a frame, it is often a saving of time to
take a model of the ornament required from a good one still re¬
maining on the frame. Sometimes a strip of running leaf is de¬
ficient on the back or sight edge, when a piece long enough for
our purpose shells up from the frame. If the ornament is loose
from the frame, glue it down on a flat piece of wood, and tack
round it, leaving a margin, slips of wood about half an inch high,
and with the brush used for oiling the wood molds, oil the in¬
side and the ornament, Warm the compo, and then with the
fingers well squeeze in enough compo to fill the place. When
it is hardened, the mold may be removed from the ornament,
and a good mold will be found to be the result, from wkteh
(when thoroughly hardened), as many ornaments may be made,
in the same way as before described for the wood molds, as are
wanted. If only part of an ornament is required, it is cut to the
required size, and either put in or stuck on and backed up as the
case may be.

If the ornament to be molded is on the frame, it will not
oftentimes be found necessary or convenient to have slips of

THE GILDER’S MANUAL.

wood to keep the compo from spreading, as, if a good lump of
compo is used, a mold can be made good enough for the pur¬
pose by proceeding as before mentioned. This method will be
found to answer to replace ornaments on any article where the
compo ornaments require mending or replacing, but where there
is no ornament left to mold from, oftentimes molds that you
have in stock will answer the purpose ; if not, suitable ornaments
must be ordered from the dealers.

LEAP GILDING ON BRASS.

It is necessary to say a few words on gilding brass articles, as
they occassionally come to the gilder to renovate.

The brass ends of cornice poles, ornaments, the ornamental
brass on cabinets, and a variety of small articles are sent to the
local gilder, and these articles can be done up on the premises
without sending them to be re-lacquered, and will look much
better and lai* as long.

First wash the brass ornaments in strong soda and water, well
brushing om> the bottoms : and when clean and dry, go over
them with Fiench polish laid on with a brush. Put the orna¬
ments “ in oil ” in the usual way and gild, when they will be
found to look a good color, and the gold will not be liable to
scratch off. The thin coat of French polish* has been found to
be a good foundation for the gold, as there is no shelling up.
Where the articles are required to bear a brilliant burnish they
had better be re-lacquered.

TO FROST A CARDBOARD MOUNT IN GOLD OR SILVER.

Mounts to be frosted should be made out of stout cardboard,
so that the preparations laid on do not cause it to warp.

Give the mount first two coats of thin parchment size, and
when dry a good coat of oil gold size. Throw on in sufficient
quantity, fine, middle, or coarse emery to well cover the surface,
(as you may want the frosting coarse or fine), and allow the sur¬
plus not adhering to the oil to roll off again. Lay the mount
flat till the morning, or till the emery is fast on the suiface.
There should then be a coat of whitening and size lightly laid on,
so as not to disturb the emery, and when it is dry a coat of clay
and another coat of oil gold size, and left till the following morning,
when gold or silver leaf may be laid, and finish sized. These
mounts are very effective for portraits or other small works of
art.

’See page 134.

THE GILDER’S MANUAL.

TO GILD OAK AND OTHER HARD WOOD.

It is sometimes required to gild the bare wood, so as to show
the grain. This may be done to look very well with oak and
other hard wood, but with soft wood the grain would rise, and
present a very rough appearance.

Well glass paper down the surface to be gilt, and apply two
coats of strong parchment size, and when dry, oil gold size.
The gold can be laid when this is nearly dry, and will brush off
bright.

The above is suitable for the bevels of oak Oxford frames,
screens, church decorations, and any hard wood.

TO GILD A CARDBOARD MOUNT.

Lay on three coats of matt, and lightly wash and rub down
with a piece of cloth to get a perfectly smooth surface ; weak size^
and gild according to instruction in water gilding.

The mount to be gilt should be made of stout cardboard.

GILDING PLASTER CASTS, BRACKETS, &0.

Fasten a pledget of tow or a piece of sponge to the end of a
stick ; immerse it in olive oil, and daub the cast plentifully with
it ; in two hours this will be absorbed; the operation must be
repeated again and again until the plaster is saturated to suet a
degree that it ceases to absorb the oil readily ; then leave the
cast in a dry place for twenty-four hours. With a soft brush lay a
thin and even coating of thin glue (made of the best white) over
the whole surface. Again leave it to dry ; then have ready
japanner’s gold size and sufficient gold leaf. When the cast or
bracket is perfectly dry, coat a portion of it evenly, and not too
thickly, with the gold size ; and when that is nearly dry, (which
will, under ordinary circumstances, be in about ten minutes),
apply the gold leaf, previously cutting it into pieces of the re¬
quisite size, or laying it on where practicable by the page.
After carefully gilding the whole, dust away superfluous bits
with a clean dry, soft brush, and burnish portions here and
there with a hook-shaped pettle, or agate burnisher. When
durability is desired, rather than brilliancy of effect apply a coat
of copal varnish.

THB OILDBB’fl MANCJAI*

GILDING FOR SIGNS ON WOOD.

SIZES FOR GILDING SIGNS ON WOOD.

Before considering this branch of the sign painter’s art it will
be best to treat upon the various sizes in general use among them.

Let every painter make his own size, and then he will be less
likely to be a stranger to what he wants. If it be too slow in
drying, or if it dries too quickly, he will be able to know what
is required to make it right.

An excellent size is made by putting boiled oil in a good stone
pot ; place it upon a slow fire, and let it rise to such a heat as
nearly to ignite ; then with a match or bit of lighted paper set
fire to it, and let it burn for a few minutes, so as to thicken ;
then lake a piece of cloth and cover the pot, to put out the flame,
and it will then be like syrup or thin tar.

This done, strain it through a silk stocking or handkerchief
into a bottle and keep it closely corked. When you wish to use
it, thin it with turpentine, but be careful and not use it too thin.

Another Recipe. — Another good size for gilding may be
made in this way : Procure some pure old drying oil, the older
the better; grind into it some ochre and a little of the best
quality of red lead ; then thin it to a proper consistence ; form
your letters carefully, laying it very even and thin, and let your
work stand until so dry as only to have sufficient “tack” to hold
your leaf. Apply the leaf with a gilder’s tip carefully and lay it
smooth with a flat camel-hair brush or a ball of fine cotton wool,
but do not brush oil all the superfluous gold until you are sure
thfit the under size is perfectly dry and hard. This gives the
gold its full brilliancy and stands the weather well.

Quick Drying Size. — Take a little good, quick-drying copal
varnish ; add to it a small quantity of your old boiled drying
oil, just enough to give it “ tack,’' and when dry enough lay
your leaf as before directed in page 29.

A Size known to but few. — Take one pound of good, pure
drying oil ; put it in a metal pot with a cover ; slowly add to
this, after it has come almost to a boiling point, four ounces of
pure gum animi (not copal ; gum dealers are of the opinion
generally that animi and copal are one and the same, but such
is not the case). Have your animi reduced to a fine powder ;
(ake it upon the point of your pallet-knife and put it in caution*-

THE GILDER’S MANUAL.

ly, little by little, until you have it all in, allowing time to dis¬
solve, and all the while keep stirring the mixture. Boil to the
consistency of tar, and while warm strain it through a piece of
silk inio a heated, wide-mouthed bottle ; keep well corked, and
when required, thin with turpentine and mix thoroughly. If
you grind a little vermilion with this size it will show you what
you are doing when using it.

This size will gild on glass, china, metal, signs, and nearly
everything, and if properly made has no equal ; being more
durable, it gives more luster to the gold than any other size, and
has the very singular property of retaining the “tack” longer
than any size known.

This is the “secret size,” used by the best artists in London
and Paris, and the one used by the justly celebrated japanners
of Birmingham, who produce the finest work in decoration to be
found in the world’s market.

The artist must be furnished with a gilder’s cushion, with
parchment back and ends ; a knife to cut his gold ; a “ tip,” or
brush, to lift his leaf with ; a ball of cotton wool, and a flat
camel-hair brush to clean off with.

Take a little clean tallow on the back of the left hand, and
then draw the “tip” quietly over the tallow and it will receive
enough to take up the gold. Then place it lightly upon the work,
to which it will adhere readily, and so continue until all your
sized work has been covered with it.

The next thing to do is to pad it down lightly with your cotton
ball, being careful to omit no portion of it, for if a mistake oc
curs on the first going over, you will find it very difficult to
mend it afterward. So be particular in your work and miss no
part of it. As before stated, do not thoroughly brush off your
work until entirely dry.

Always, when gilding, try your size upon a piece of painted
board or glass, in order to determine accurately the length of
time it requires to dry. If it dries too quick, add some oil. If
you size to day and gild to-morrow, and should you find the size
too dry in the morning, you will have to add a little old, fat, raw
linseed oil, as this tempers it so that you can set your own time
for the gilding. A few experiments in this connection will en¬
able you to master and regulate the nature and operation of size.

For a Size Exposed to the Weather. — One thing has
been proved by experience, that is, that no gilding exposed to
the extremes of summer and winter, wet and dry, cloud and sun¬
shine, should ever be varnished.

The bare gold, if good, and on good size, will stand better,
change less, retain its luster longer, with less liability to

THE GILDER’S MANUAL.

“dulce,M or crach, than when varnished, although done with
the best copal varnish ever made.

I have seen a sign done with gold, upon a black ground, that
had stood the weather forty years ! The board had given way to
the effects of the weather, and had fallen away in many places,
leaving the letters standing out bold, in good form and wTell pre¬
served. So much for good size and no varnish.

GILDING ON GLASS FOR SIGNS.

This beautiful art is worked in many different ways, every
artist having his own peculiar method.

One very good way is to first outline with a piece of hard soap
your letters, scrolls, etc., (on the outside) then commence to out¬
line on the glass (inside; with some suitable color, a light shade
line for the top and left side of the letter ; then upon the bottom
and right side of them use a black, or, in fact, almost any color
you may select. When dry proceed to lay on your gold.

Some use gin, some whisky, others simply water ; gum arabic in
solution, or white of egg, may be used. One can merely breathe
upon the glass and it will sometimes answer the purpose of a
“ tack ” for the gold.

I have found an excellent size, made from a solution of gum
tragacanth in water. The first part that dissolves is the part
that suits best ; that port) on being pure, while the residue is
cloudy and unfit for use.

When wanted to use, reduce a portion of the gum with wra*er
to a very wTcak standard, as in all cases you will find your gilding
bright in exact ratio to the thinness and transparency of your size.
I consider this the most desirable size, especially for large work.

Note.— For the instruction on Gilding for Signs , and the other informa¬
tion given from page 28 to 33 inclusive, credit is due to “ Haney’s Manual of
Sign, Carriage, ancl Decorative Painting.” In our present work we aim to
give full information on Gilding in all its branches, and all necessary in¬
struction on matters directly relating thereto. A multitude of valuable and
interesting matters, which every sign, carriage and ornamental painter
should be in possession of, do not come appropriately within the scope or
capacity of tnis book, and we recommend all interested in those branches
to refer to the “ Manual of Sign, Carriage and Decorative Painting ” for a
full and practical course of instruction in those branches. The articles on
Gilding which we quote are a sufficient evidence of the familiarity of the
yi^hnr with the subjects which he treats

THE GILBERTS MANUAL.

OUTLINING UPON GLASS.

First Method. — Draw your lines upon the glass at the proper
distances for the size of your letters, etc., with a piece of hard
soap, which will make very distinct lines. Then form your
.etters accurately, and in true distances or space, one from the
other, being satisfied that all your proportions, etc., are correct.
You will now be ready to commence your gilding.

Second Method. — Have your letters, etc., diawn out on fine
paper ; prick with a pin the outlines of your letters, scrolls, etc
Next t»ke * bag made of muslin, filled with fine powdered char¬
coal ; lay the paper carefully to its proper place ; then pounce
the charcoal bag against the paper, and you can then trace the
outlines in full with black japan. To make all secure it will be
necessary to give the work two or three coats, and when dry,
wash or mb off all superfluities with a sponge or soft cotton rag.

N. B. — This method is only used after gilding, where the lea.
is placed full without any outline.

Third Method. — To get accurate lines upon glass, preparatory
to gilding. In the first place, clean the glass thoroughly ; then
with a mixture of whiting, water, and a little milk, brush care¬
fully all over the outside of the glass. When dry, draw your
parallel lines, letters, scrolls, etc., with a pointed stick.

For small work, turn the glass around, and letter backward.
If inside of a window, work upon the same principle. This is
an easy and a true method of forming your lettering or ornamen¬
tation, as any fault in the drawing can be easily corrected.

Fourth Method. — In this plan it is necessary that the glass
should be perfectly accessible on both sides — say for instance a
glass door. The painter begins by painting the letters just as he
wishes to have them — (unless he wishes to give them a shade in
color, in which case he outlines the shadow) with a mixture of
gum water and drop black on the front of the glass. Then
going to the other side, or back of the door, he gilds as hereafter
described. This obviates all difficulty about writing letters
backward — as he has only to follow the lines he sees through the
gold. Of course, in shaded letters, he only fastens the gilding
over the body of the letter with black japan, and when the gold
is nibbed off, he adds the shades. This method seems, in
description, to take longer time than either of the others— but it
really takes less.

MODUS OPERANDI FOR GILDINO ON GLASS,

Whichever size you agree upon, lay it on with a full pencil,
and proceed with your gold at once, so as to secure a solid

THE GILDER’S MANUAL.

** cover” without being obliged to “ touch up,” and if you wish
to u e two coats of gold, blow your breath upon the first coat to
hold the second.

Lay as much gold as possible before your size dries, and so
proceed until your lines are finished. Then rub it down gently
to remove the superfiuous gold. Then proceed to outline as in
second method given ; or draw your parallel lines through the
gilding (if in capitals of one given length) and cut in your letters
with black ja:ain very carefully, forming them all backward. .
This is the principle of the first method, but it requires consi¬
derable practice to do it correctly.

If any ornament is wanted in the body of the letters, lay them
in with oil size. When dry, gild and shade if required. When
all is dry, lay in the entire letter with the size (spirit or water
size) and gild and back, as above, viz : with two or three coats
of black japan.

The shading is done afterward, and in any colors the artist may
decide upon. It generally takes two coats to cover solid upon
glass. Gilding upon glass requires great practice and nice hand
ling, but with proper care, this process looks very beautiful and
stands well.

Silver leaf is laid on in the same manner, only it requires a
Jittle stronger size than the gold calls for. The silver being
heavier relatively, use the size of gum tragacanth.

One point seems rather difficult — that of having to form tlit
letters backward, but practice is the only thing that will make
perfect in this respect, and enough of it will make, what at first
seems a difficulty, as easy as the formation of letters in the
ordinary way.

JAPANNED TIN SIGNS.

Draw your letters on paper to suit your sheet of tin, having
first cleaned it with diluted alcohol and a piece of cotton. This
will remove any grease or other matter that might hold the
gold. Then take some whiting and rub it over the back of the
papei upon which your design is made and lay it upon the japan¬
ned tin.

Place a weight upon the four corners of the paper, or other¬
wise fix it securely to the tin; then with a fine pointed piece
of hard wood, trace the design carefully, bearing upon the papei
with the point just hard enough to cause the whiting on the
under side of the paper to adhere to the tin, and after going
carefully over the whole, you will have transferred the entire
design in fine white outlines to the tin you are to finish it
upon.

THE GILDER^ MANUAL.

Then paint your letters with either quick or slow drying oil size,
and, when sufficiently dry for gilding, lay on the gold leaf, and
“bat” it down thoroughly, afterward brushing off with your flat
camel-hair brush or cotton.

GILDING ON MUSLIN OR SILK FOR PAINTERS.

For Masonic or Oddfellow's aprons, banners, or any work of
like nature, a few words may be useful.

First have your material put upon a stretcher, and then com¬
plete your lettering and design. Prepare a size as follows :
Dissolve bleached shellac in alcohol, and thin as much as will
cover the parts to be painted or gilded, using the precaution to
cut over the outime a little, so as to prevent the color from
spreading.

Another size may be prepared by simply using the white of an
egg. This size will do where the work is not exposed to the
weather, or when it is required to be done quickly; and for such
work, where gilding is to be done, lay the gold while the size is
wet, and when dry, dust off the surplus gold and proceed with
the painting, shading etc., when you are sure that the size is dry,
remember.

SIZE FOB BRONZING AND GILDING.

A good size for bronzing, or pale gilding, is a mixture of
asphaltum, drying oil, and spirits of turpentine.

A size for gilding on cloth, silk, plaster, etc., is made as fol¬
lows: Take a little honey, combined with thick glue. When
reduced properly, this size has the effect of brightening the
color of the gold leaf, sticking to it well and giving it a very fine
luster.

BURNISHED GILDING ON GLASS— LONDON METHOD.

The gold used is the ordinary gold leaf. Procure some fine
fcinglass, and place about as much in a tea-cup as will cover a
lix penny piece, and then pour on it about half a cupful of boiling
water, which will dissolve the isinglass. Before the water is cold
add about as much spirits of wine as there is water in the cup ;
then strain the whole through a clean silk handkerchief, and the
mordant is ready for use. The addition of the spirits of wine is
most material, as without it the gilding cannot be satisfactorily
accomplished. Whatever may be the design or lettering to
be executed on the glass, it must first be set out on a sheet of
white paper, and painted with Brunswick black, so that it cau

•*

THE GILDER*8 MANUAL.

be seen through the paper. This paper should be fixed at tha
edges or corners to front of the glass, the writing, of course ap
pearing backward through the glass when looked at from the
side to be gilded.

The glass having been thoroughly cleansed and rubbwi
with a silk handkerchief, the gilding may be commenced,
the gold leaf being laid on the reverse side to that to
which the paper is rttached. It is usual to place the
glass in a slanting position on an easel, the lines of lettering not
being horizontal, or reading from left to right, but perpendicular,
reading from top to bottom. The size is put on with a large soft
camel-hair pencil, and the gold leaf applied in the usual way.
If the line of writing is less than three inches in liight, it is advi
sable to gild the whole line, without paying any regard to the shapes
of the letters, so that when the line is finished it will be a solid
piece of gilding about the same hight and length as the letters.
The first piece of gold leaf should be placed at the beginning of
the line, which is the top of the glass, and each succeeding piece
below it, the different pieces just overlapping each other. It is
necessary to be particular in this, for if the pieces of gold do not
meet, the interstices will probably show when the work is com
pleted, and will prevent the uniformity of burnish.

For letters larger than three inches in hight, the gilding may be
made to cover each letter, leaving the spaces between untouched. As
soon as this part of the gilding has been completed it should be
left to dry in a warm room, or placed before the fire, in which
case it will be dry in a few minutes. When the gilding is per¬
fectly dry and bright, it should be rubbed over very gently with
a piece of cotton -wool. This will highten the burnish of the
gold, and, and remove the loose pieces which do not adhere to
the glass.

After the gilding has been treated as described, a flat soft
^camel-hair brush charged with the isinglass size should be
'passed lightly over the work ; but not worked to and fro, or it
will remove the gold leaf. The size should be flowed on freely
and rapidly, and if any small pieces have been omitted, no at¬
tempt should be made to retouch them while the size is wet.
When it is dry the gilding will resume its brightness. In order
to complete the burnish of the gold, sometimes hot water is
poured over the gilding, and this not only washes out any little
specks which may appear on the front of the gold, but enhan¬
ces its brilliancy considerably. The hotter the water poured
over the work, the brighter does the gilding become, but care
must be taken, as beyond certain degrees of heat the water will
break the glass. This was very common, but the hot water bath

THE GILDER^ MANUAL.

now is often dispensed with, and the size coated over the gilding
is applied hot. Another plan is to hold a hot flat iron near the
work for a moment. This method is not quite so effective but it
is much safer. The whole of the gilding has now to be repeated.
A second layer of gold leaf over the first is necessary
to ensure a satisfactory result. The second coat of
gold is put on with the isinglass size, the same as the first ; and
as it dries, the gilding viewed from the front of the glass wi”
present a rich and finished appearance.

The loose pieces of gold should be removed as after the first
coat, by means of cotton-wool gently rubbed over the work.
Another coat of size made hot may now be applied, and the
gilding is ready to be written upon. It is better to leave the
gilding on for a day before writing upon it, because the isinglass
does not get thoroughly hard, though to all appearance it is per¬
fectly dry in an hour or two.

If the gilding is left untouched for two or three months, the
action of the spirits of wine will cause the gold leaf to adhere so
firmly to the glass that it will be difficult to remove it by any
amount of washing with water ; whereas in the course of a few
days after it is laid on, it may be readily removed by a damp
sponge. The outline is transferred and the letters painted with
Japan black and other methods.

When the japan is dry, the edges of the letters may be cut
sharp and true by passing a small chisel along a straight edge, so
as to l rim the writing and make the tops and bottoms perfectly
regular. All the straight lines of the letters may be thus
trimmed, but the curved ones must be perfected with a writing
pencil The softened colored thicknesses added to the letters
are painted with the ordinary oil colors thinned with boiled oil
and turpentine, the latter being used sparingly. Three or more
tints are generally mixed on the palette, with a separate pencil
to each, and these are softened with a larger sable pencil, and the
outer edges are cut up with a pointed stick guided by a straight¬
edge, whilst the color is wet, and the superfluous color is wiped
off with a piece of rag. By this means a sharpness of outline is
obtained which the most skillful writer would fail to get by the
mere use of the pencil. The shadow is put on as soon as the
thickness is dry, and not being softened down, quick drying col¬
ors may be employed.

THE GILDER’S MANUAL.

GILDER’S TOOLS.

The tools used by the gilder are few, and not very costly. A
short description of each may be acceptable.

The gilder's cushion is used to spread the gold on, ready to cot

Fio. 1. — The Gilder’s Cushion.

up for use. It is a piece of wood about 8 inches by 5, covered
with calf skin, with a piece of soft fabric introduced between
the wood and the leather. The leather is strained tightly over
the board, and nailed on to the edge. A piece of parchment about
three or four inches broad is nailed half way round the board,

Fig. 2. — The Gilder’s Knife.

and is meant to keep the gold leaf from flying off, as the least
disturbance of the atmosphere is enough to send the gold leaf
flying. A loop is placed under the cushion in which the thumb
is inserted, and serves to carry the cushion. (See fig. 1.)

THE GILDER’S MANUAL.

The gilder '* I nrfc is a light flexible blade, free from notches,
hut not very sharp, used to cut the gold on the cushion to the re¬
quired shape. It must be kept clean, smooth in the edge, and
bright, or it will tear instead of cut the gold. (See fig. 2.)

The gilding “ tip ” is a thin layer of flexible hair held togethei
between two pieces of cardboard, and made of various widths,

Fig. 3.— -The Gilding Tip.

and the length of hair varies also. The tip is used to convey the
gold from the cushion to the work required to be gilded. The
manner of using the cushion, the knife, and the tip, is as follows:
The gilder first proceeds to open the book of gold leaf, and dex¬
terously blows the leaf from the book into the cushion until he
has about a dozen ready for use. He then takes up the cushion,

and slips his left hand thumb through the loop underneath; then
with the end of the knife he carefully takes up a leaf of gold, and
dexterously brings the metal to the front of the cushion, when

the gilder’s manual

with a slight, puff of wind from the mouth on to the center of the
leaf it is made to be perfectly flat. He then with the knife cuts
it to the required shape, and places the knife between the Angers
of the hand carrying the cushion. The tip (which is also carried
between the fingers of the left hand) with the right hand is then
drawn quickly across the hair of the workman’s head, or across
the back of his hand, which gives it a little moisture, and on bezrrg
piaced on the gold required to be lifted, carries it to the work to
be gilded. This operation is repeated till the work is complete.
(See fig. 3.)

The burnisher is a tool used by the gilder, and is made of eithei
agate or flint. For beads and hollows, the burnishers are of differ¬
ent form and size to suit the work, and are usually curved near the
end. The method of using the burnisher can only be attained by
practice, when the sound and smooth passage of the burnisher
over the gold will tell the workman if he has been successful in
obtaining a good burnish. (See fig. 4.)

Brushes of various descriptions are constantly in use by the
gilder ; ground hog’s hair, flat and round; these are used for the
various preparations of gold size: skewing brushes in quill are
used for skewing or dabbing in the gold after it has adhered to
the oil gold size : gilder’s mops in quill are used to dab the gold
to make it closely adhere to the size; camel’s hair brushes of all
sizes are useful, as well as sable and other tools.

Modelers, both steel and wood, are used to fashion ornaments
that are broken and lost.

The gilder also uses pumice stones of various shapes, glass-
paper, pallet knives, etc.

LAYING GOLD LEAP.

Some find it difficult to use the tip and cushion, owing to un¬
steadiness or want of “ knack.” Ail such might try the follow¬
ing method: Cut off the back of the book with a keen knife;
have a flat dish with a little turpentine in it; take a small sponge,
dampen with the turpentine and pass over the top of the book, so
as to dampen the paper all over. The leaf will adhere as you lift
the top sheet, which can be cut with scissors into any shape and
carried to the work. This has been found an economical and
also a quick way for most work, especially stripes. If carefully
lifted, the gold will adhere to the paper without the use of turpen¬
tine.

THE GILDER’S MANUAL.

GLASSWARE AND PORCELAIN-

TO GILD GLASSWARE AND PORCELAIN.

Drinking and other glasses are sometimes gilt on tlieir edges.
This is done either by using an adhesive varnish or by heat.
The varnish is prepared by dissolving in boiled linseed oil an equal
'w eight either of copal or amber. This is diluted by a proper
quantity of oil of turpentine, so as to be applied as thin as possi¬
ble to the parts of the glass intended to be gilt. When this is
dry, which will be in about 24 hours, the glass is to be placed
in a stove, till it is so warm as almost to burn the fingers when
handled. At this temperature the varnish will become adhesive,
and a piece of leaf gold, applied in the usual way, will imme
diatcly stick. Sweep off the superfluous portions of the leaf,
and when quite cold it may be burnished, taking care to inter¬
pose a piece of very thin India paper between the gold and the
burnisher. If the varnish is very good, this is the best method
of gilding glass, as the gold is thus fixed on more evenly than in
any other way.

PERMANENT GILDING BY HEAT.

It often happens with glassware or porcelain, when the varnish
is but indifferent, that by repeated washing the gold wears off; on
this account the practice of burning it in is sometimes had
recourse to. For this purpose, some gold powder is ground
with borax, and in this state applied to the clean surface of the
glass by a camel-hair pencil; when quite dry, the glass is put
into a stove heated to about the temperalure of an annealing
oven; the gum burns off, and the borax, by vitrifying, cements
the gold with great firmness to the glass; after which it may be
burnished. The gilding upon porcelain is in like manner fixed
by heat and the use of borax.

GILDING ON PORCELAIN OR GLASS BY DIPPING.

Mix first in a glass mortar, and then between a muller and a
ground plate glass, neutral chloride of platinum with rectified
essence of lavender, so as to form a thin syrup, which is applied
with a brush in very thin layers upon the glass, porcelain, or
other ceramic object. After drying, heat in a muffle up to a

THE GILDER^ MANUAL.

dark red; this temperature reduces the platinum to the metallic
state; it then appears with a perfect polish. After cooling, pass
the whole object through aquafortis, which is without action
upon the platinum, but destroys the impurities which may tar¬
nish its surface. Rinse in plenty of water, wrap the object with
a few turns of tine brass wire, having numerous points of
contact with the platinized places, and dip into the gold bath.
After a few minutes the platinum is covered with gold which
has the same adherence and polish. Rub the gold with chamois
leather; this method dispenses with burnishing, which is costly,
and often impracticable in the deeply indented parts. If the
gilding is too red, add to the bath a few drops of a solution of
double cyanide of potassium and silver liquor for silver electro
plating. This method is preferable to that of baths with separate
battery ; the gilding has a bright instead of a dead luster, and it*
adherence is greater.

Another Method. — The following is said to give good results •
Pure chloride of gold is dissolved in water, so that each quart of
water shall carry in solution after careful filtering three quarters
of a grain of gold. Neutralize the solution with soda. A por¬
tion of alcohol is then mixed with an equal quantity of water
and a stream of hydrogen gas driven through it until it wifi
receive no more gas. The glass being then perfectly cleaned and
a border put around it of wax, or other material one-tenth of an
inch thick, a portion of alcohol and water is mixed with sufficient
chloride to cover the glass. Precipitation is said to commence in
a few minutes, the gold coming out quite bright, and making a
tolerably firm coating.

GILDING ON METALS.

GILDING ON METALS BY DIPPING.

The baths employed contain go d in the form of a double salt
of protoxide, and should possess little stability, that is to say, be
decomposed and abandon the gold under feeble influences, and
should dissolve the copper placed in them in equivalent propor¬
tion to that of the deposited gold, thus forming a new double
salt in which the copper is in the same degree of oxidation as the

THE GILDER’S MANUAL.

gold. When the articles have been previously amalgamated, it
is mercury and not copper which is substituted for gold in the
solution.

PREPARATION OP THE GOLD BATH.

Distilled water, seventeen pints ; pyrophospate of potash, of
soda, twenty -eight ounces; hydrocyanic acid of twelve and a half
per cent, strength prussic acid, one-third of an ounce ; crystalized
perchloride of gold, two-thirds of an ounce. The pyrophosphate
of soda is most generally employed, and is obtained by melting,
at a white heat, the ordinary crystalized phosphate of soda. The
pyrophosphate of soda may be obtained in the form of crystals,
which is a proof of a definite composition. The quantity of
chloride represents a little more than one-third of an ounce of
pure gold treated by aqua regia. Put 16 pints of distilled water
in a porcelain vessel, or an enameled cast-iron kettle, and add,
by small portions at a time, and stirring with a glass rod, the
pyrophosphate; heat, filter and let it cool down. The chloride
of gold is prepared by introducing into a small glass flask pure
gold finely laminated, of one-third of an ounce; hydrochloric
acid, pure, nearly one ounce; nitric acid, pure, one-half an ounce
The flask is slightly heated, effervescence and abundant nitrous
vapors result, and in a few minutes the gold has entirely
disappeared, leaving a reddish-yellow liquor. The flask is then
put upon a sheet of iron, with a hole in its center, and supported
by a tripod. The whole is heated by a gas or spirit lamp to
evaporate excess of the acids; too much acidity may cause great
irregularities in the working of the bath, and even prevent its
action altogether. An excess of nitric acid causes a jumping of
the heated liquors, and may overthrow the whole ; it is prefer
able to have the hydrochloric acid predominating. The evapora¬
tion is finished when vapors escape slowly from the flask, and
when the liquid has become of an oily consistency and of a deep i
red color. The flask is then removed from the fire by wooden
pincers, and set to cool upon a ring of plaited straw. If a more
rapid evaporation is desired, heat the flask over ignited charcoal,
or the spirit lamp; agitate the liquid to prevent any of the gold
from returning to the metallic state. Well prepared chloride of
gold, when cold, forms a saffron-yellow crystalline mass. If the
color is red, it has been too much evaporated, and will do very
' well for electro baths ; but for dipping baths it must be heated
again after a small addition of the two acids. If the perchloride
of gold, by too protracted a heat, has passed to the state of in¬
soluble protochioridc, 01 even uf metallic gold, the treatment

42 tiie gilder’s manual;

must be begun again with the indicated mixture of pure nitric
and hydrochloric acids. The perforated sheet of iron, upon
which the flask rests, is intended to prevent the action of heat
upon the sides of the vessel, which will decompose the films of
chloride of gold wetting the flask at these places. When the
chloride of gold is cold and crystallized, dissolve it in the flask
w ith a little distilled water, and pour the solution through a
paper filter held in a glass funnel into a clean bottle; this is to
separate a small quantity of silver always found in the gold of the
trade. Rinse the flask and filter with the unemployed wrater, so
as to get all the gold into the bath. Pour the filtered solution of
chloride of gold into the cooled one of pyroposphate, and stir
with a glass rod. Lastly, add the hydrocyanic acid, and the
bath is heated nearly to the boiling point for use. If the solution
of pyrophosphate is still tepid, add the hydrocyanic acid before
the chloride of gold. Hydrocyanic or prussic acid is not abso¬
lutely necessary ; but, wdthout it, the bath is too easily decom¬
posed, and the gold is too rapidly precipitated upon the objects
placed in it. When the solutions are mixed in the cold, the
liquor is yellowr or greenish-yellow ; but becomes colorless by
the increase of temperature. If the liquor becomes currant- red,
or wine-lees violet, it is an indication that there is too little
hydrocyanic acid ; add it drop by drop, until the liquor becomes
colorless. An excess of this acid is objectionable, but there is
a very simple method of keeping the baths in good working
order, by adding prussic acid gradually to those too rich in gold;
or correcting any excess of prussic acid with a small proportion
of chloride of gold, until the gilding is produced without diffi¬
culty and of the proper sli de. Thus prepared, the bath will
produce very fine gilding upon wTell-clcansed articles, which must
also have passed through a very diluted solution of nitrate of
binoxide of mercury, without which the deposit of gold is red
and irregular, and will not cover the soldered portions. The
articles are supported by a hook or in a stoneware ladle per¬
forated wutli holes, or in brass gauze baskets; they must be con¬
stantly agitated whilst in the bath. Gilders usually employ three
baths, placed in close proximity to each other, and heated in the
same furnace; the first bath is one deprived of gold by a previous
operation, and is used for removing all excess of wiiicli may
remain upon the articles; the second bath still retains some gold,
but not enough to give a sufficiently rich gilding. The pieces
passed through it begin to receive the deposit, which will be
finished in thickness and shade in the third bath. A gas furnace,
easy to manage, and ciean in its working, may be arranged by
having a properly supported sheet-iron plate, with holes cut out

THE GILDER’S MANUAL.

where the kettles are to stand. Under each kettle place suitable
gas burner ; when the baths have been heated nearly up to boil
ing point, lower the gas, so as not to increase the temperature.
This method produces much more gilding with a given quantity
of gold, than one bath alone. The gilding is done in a few seconds ;
the finishing operations consist in rinsing in fresh water, drying
in dry and warm saw-dust, and burnishing, if desired.

COLORING PROCESS.

If the gilding is dull and irregular in color, melt together in
their water of crystallization, at about 212° Fahr., equal parts of
sulphate of iron, sulphate of zinc, sulphate of alumina and potash
and saltpeter. Cover the articles with the mixture, and put
them into a cylindrical and vertical grate. This is placed in th<*
center of a furnace, where the charcoal burns between the sides
and the grate which holds the articles. When the moistened fin¬
ger is presented to one piece, and a slight hissing sound is heard,
the heat has been sufficiently raised ; put all the articles rapidly
into a very diluted solution of sulphuric acid, where the coating
of salts is quickly dissolved ; the articles present a warm, uniform
shade of color. If the copper articles are not entirely gilt by the
first operation, the ungilt portions will show themselves by a red
coloration, and the articles must then be deprived of gold,
cleansed, and gilt anew. Sometimes, when the first gilding i&
imperfect, instead of coloring by the process just described, the
articles are placed for a few moments into the electro-bath.

For articles which require a good plating there is an easy
method by this process of obtaining as good results as by the
battery ; it consists in gilding several times, by dipping ; before
each dipping, the article is passed through the solution of nitrate
of binoxide of mercury. Gilding by dipping is superior to that
by electricity in depth of shade, brightness, and especially in not
scaling off, as the deposit is of pure gold only.

ORMOLU COLORING.

This operation consists in smearing, by means of a brush, the
gilt and scratch-brushed objects with a thin paste of nitrate of
potash, alum, and oxide of iron, which have been well mixed and
ground under the muller, and to which has been added a solution
of saffrou, annatto, or any coloring substance according to the
shade desired. If the gilding is strong and thick, the objects are
then heated until this coating curls over at the approach of a wet
finger. If the gilding is a mere film, the mixture is simply al-

THE GILDKR'8 MAtftJAL.

lowed to stand upon the articles for a few minutes. In cither
case, the whole is rapidly washed in warm water holding in sus¬
pension a certian quantity of the materials for ormolu ; they are
then rapidly dried, when they appear of a darker shade ; remove
any portions too much colored by striking them vertically with <*
brush having long bristles. If the tint does not appear satisfac¬
tory, commence the operation afresh, after washing off the or¬
molu in a diluted solution of sulphuric acid.

GREEN AND WHITE GILDING.

These shades may be graduated at will, and are obtained by
adding, drop by drop, until the desired shade is arrived at, to the
bath of double pyrophosphate of soda and gold, a solution of ni¬
trate of silver. For the solution of nitrate of silver, dissolve in 5
oz. of distilled water, $ oz. of nitrate of silver crystallized, or of
lunar caustic. Before gilding green or white, yellow gild the ob¬
jects in the ordinary bath, then pass them rapidly through the
mercurial solution, and, lastly, dip them into the gold bath hold
ing the nitrate of silver, which parts rapidly with its silver upon
the first articles steeped in it. It is necessary to maintain the
constancy of the shade by the addition of a few drops of the sil¬
ver solution when required.

GILDING SILVER BY DIPPING.

The silver articles, previously cleansed and scratch-brushed, are
boiled for about half an hour in the gold bath of pyrophosphate,
to which add a few drops of sulphurous acid, or, preferably, hy¬
drocyanic acid, in excess of the quantity needed by the primitive
bath. This gilding is very fine, but without firmness. The
deposit is rendered more rapid and thicker when the silver arti¬
cles are stirred with a rod of copper, zinc, or brass.

GOLD DIPPING BATH WITH BICARBONATES.

The bicarbonate bath is prepared in a cast-iron kettle, turned
clean and smooth inside on the lathe, and gilt by the protracted
ebullition of nearly spent gold baths. Water, 3£ galls. ; bicarbo
nate of potash of soda, £ oz. ; pure metallic gold, transformed in¬
to chloride, 4^ oz. The whole is boiled for at least two hours, and
fresh water added to replace that evaporated. A part of the gold
in the form of a violet-b'ack powder, precipitates, and requires
the cooling and decanting of the liquor. This is boiled again and

THE GILDER^ MANUAL.

the gilding proceeded with in the same manner as before described
except that the mercurial solution should be more diluted than
for the baths of pyrophosphates. The operation is finished when
about half of the gold in the liquor is deposited. The remainder
goes to the saved waste. The bicarbonate process is inferior in
most respects to the pyrophosphate, and it is now rarely used.

GILDING BY DILUTED BATH.

This bath should be employed only as a complement to the
cleansing process, before a more resisting gilding, as its results
have little durability. Water, 2 galls. ; bicarbonate of potash, 7
oz. ; caustic potash, G3 oz. ; cyanide of potassium, 3 oz. ; metal¬
lic gold to be transformed into chloride, £ oz. The whole is
brought up to the boiling point, and a pale gilding is obtained
even upon articles imperfectly cleansed, and without using ni¬
trate of binoxide of mercury. It is possible to add £ oz. of chlo¬
ride of gold several times to this bath without any other sub¬
stances. Afterward maintain it at the proper strength by addi¬
tions of gold and salts in the above proportions, and it will last
for an indefinite period. This bath will gild about 140 oz. of
small jewelry with 310 oz. of gold, whereas a pyrophosphate bath
gilds only about 35 oz. of small articles with the 3l0 oz. of gold ex¬
tracted from the liquor.

GILDING SMALL METAL ARTICLES BY STIRRING ANT) GOLD

AMALGAM.

In the center of a charcoal stove put a crucible holding a given
quantity of pure and dry mercury, and when the temperature has
reached about 212 Fahr. add one-half the weight of gold. Stir
with an iron rod until the amalgam has acquired the consistence
| of butter, throw it into cold water, and keep it there for use.

Cleanse the articles to be gilded in aquafortis, put them in a
stoneware pan, and pour over them a diluted solution of nitrate
of binoxide of mercury, taking care to move the articles about all
the time, in order to cover them with a regular white coating of
mercury. Add the desired proportion of amalgam ; on stirring
the articles this is spread all over them.

Then rinse the articles in cold water, place them in a large and
deep copper ladle, perforated with numerous small holes, and
having a long handle. Hold the ladle over a charcoal tire, and
constantly stir it about in order to have the heat equal everywhere.
The mercury of the amalgam is soon volatilized, and the gold
remains adherent to the articles.

•A*

i. v • .

THE GILDER’S MANUAL.

If instead of a yellow gilding a red one is desired, this is got
by waxing, which consists in pouring upon the pieces, kept in the
ladle and upon the tire, in a well mixed and fluid state : oil, 25
parts ; yellow wax, 25 ; acetate of copper, 10 ; red ochre, 40.
The articles must be coustantly agitated, and the mixture allow¬
ed to burn out, when the whole is thrown into a very diluted so¬
lution of sulphuric acid. The waxing is only to be done after the
comple volatilization of the mercury.

When removed from the pickle, the gilding has the dull ochre
appearance, and must be scratch-brushed. Small articles are
brightened in a long narrow bag, where they are put with copper
pearls, or the waste from these pearls, and wet with vinegar wa¬
ter ; a to-and-fro motion is imparted to the bag, and the gilt ar¬
ticles and the copper granules polish each other. Kinse and dry
in saw-dust, and burnish if required. Five grains of gold are
enough to well gild a gross of old-fashioned buttons.

GILDING BY FIRE OR MERCURY.

Mercury gilding will furnish gold with a bright or a dead
luster, scratch-brushed, ormolued, and M’ith different shades. The
amalgam of gold is prepared in the manner described in the pro¬
cess of gilding by stirring, only a little less mercury is used, in
order to have an amalgam about as hard as wax. This amal
gam is crystalline, and a certain crackling sound is heard when
the crystals are crushed between the Angers. A stock of amalgam
is generally prepared in advance, and is divided into small balls
of nearly equal size, the value of which is ascertained from their
number, and from the total weight of gold employed. These
balls are kept in water, but should not remain too long without
being used, as the different parts do not then present the same
composition. The amalgam is spread with the Anger upon a flat,
hard stone called the gilding stone ; and having dipped a
scratch-brush of stout brass wire into a solution of nitrate
of binoxide of mercury until it becomes completely white,
it is passed over the amalgam, a portion of which is car¬
ried away. The object, previously well cleansed, is scratch-
brushed in every direction, and the brush must be fre¬
quently dipped into the mercurial solution to facilitate the regu¬
lar and even spreading of the amalgam. This operation requires
great care to obtain a uniform coat upon the hollow and raised
parts.

V\ hen the back part of a piece does not require gilding, the flat
outline, and the baek edge, should be gilt, so that the naked cop¬
per shall cause no injury in the subsequent operations. The ar«

THE GILDER’S MANUAL.

tide, when uniformly covered with the amalgam, is heated upon
a charcoal fire without draught, which rests upon a cast-iron
plate. It is advisable to employ a gilding forge, which allows
the workman to watch the operation from behind a glass frame,
which protects him from the mercurial vapors. The entire at¬
tention is now required for watching the process. With the left
hand covered with a thick glove of buckskin, turn the piece in
every direction upon the fire, and, as the mercury disappears,
with the right hand strike the article in every direction with a
brush, the handle and the bristles of which must be long, to equal¬
ize the gilding, and to push the remaining amalgam upon those
parts which appear less charged with it. When all the mercury
has volatilized, the gilding has a dull, greenish-yellow color, re¬
sembling that of boxwood ; examine whether the coat of gold is
continuous. Should a few empty places appear, add more amal¬
gam, and heat the whole again.

The next operation is scratch-brushing; which furnishes a pale
green color, and requires another heating for arriving at the de¬
sired shade. The reheating should expel any remaining mercury,
and produce a fine orange-yellow color. In case a bright luster
is required, submit the object, with the aid of heat, to the ormolu
process already described. To obtain dead luster, the object ia
firmly fixed to an iron rod, by wire of the same metal, and
smeared with a hot paste for dead gilding, composed of saltpeter,
common salt, and the double sulphate of alumina and potash.
The whole is heated upon a brisk charcoal fire, without draught,
and moved about until the mixture dries and begins to fuse,
when the article is immediately placed in a barrel half filled with
water. The covering of salts dissolves, and the dead luster ap¬
pears ; this operation requires a certain amount of practice.
The gilding must be strong to stand the dead luster process, es¬
pecially when the first trial is not successful. The red lines left
by the iron wire disappear by plunging the object into a not too
diluted solution of nitric acid, or pure hydrochloric acid. Mer¬
cury gilders do not employ pure gold ; what they use is pre¬
viously alloyed with a certain portion of copper or silver. With
the latter metal the gilding is green. Red gilding is either ob¬
tained with a dark ormolu or with the green for red, already men¬
tioned.

COLD GILDING WITH THE RAG.

Dissolve finely laminated pure gold in aqua regia made of nitric
acid, 10 parts ; sal ammoniac, 4 ; saltpeter, 1. Heat carefully
upon a gentle fire ; when all the gold has disappeared, pour the
cooled contents of the flask into a flat-bottomed stoneware pan.

THE GILDER’S MANUAL.

Into this liquor, place one upon the other, and in sufficient quan¬
tity, squares of linen cloth, stir them with a glass rod, in ordei
that they may absorb the chloride of gold. Each square of cloth
is taken out with wooden pincers, well drained, and spread for
drying in a dark chamber.

When nearly dry, each piece of cloth, supported upon glass
rods, is placed on top of a charcoal fire, and soon takes fire. The
combustion is aided by the presence of the saltpeter, and is fin¬
ished upon a marble slab. Grind the ashes under a muller, col¬
lect and keep them between the folds of a parchment leaf, around
which a wet cloth has been folded. The powder is then ready to
use ; mix it upon a slab with a few drops of water, and with this
paste rub the well cleaned surfaces of the silver to be gilt.

The smooth surfaces are rubbed with the thumb, the fillets or
grooves with a fine cork cut to the proper shape, and the corners
or angles with a stick of soft wood, such as linden or poplar ;
the articles are then burnished. This gilding is very thin, but
quite resisting, especially after the action of the burnishing tool,
which forces the gold into the pores of the silver.

If a red shade be desired, add a small proportion of pure cop¬
per to the gold to be dissolved in aqua regia.

GRECIAN GILDING FOR BRASS AND COPPER ONLY.

Equal parts of sal-ammoniac and corrosive sublimate are dis¬
solved in nitric acid and a solution of gold made with this
menstruum. The silver brushed over with it turns black, but on
exposure to a red heat it assumes the color of gold.

GILDING BY DIPPING ON SMALL SCALE.

Take one-half ounce of nitric and one-half ounce muriatic acid ;
dissolve in these one pennyweight of gold, gently evaporate until
it crystallizes, then add two ounces of cyanide of potassium dis¬
solved in fifteen ounces of water. The article to be gilded is to
be simply put in the solution, and a piece of clean zinc placed on
it, and moved from one spot to another until it is sufficiently
covered with gold. The vessel containing the solution should be
porcelain.

GILDING ON STEEL BY DIPPING.

In any quantity of nitro-muriatic acid ( aqua regia) dissolve gold
or platina, until, on the application of heat, no effervescence en¬
sues. Evaporate the solution thus formed to dryness by means
of a gentle heat ; then dissolve the dry mass thus formed in the
least possible amount of water. Take the instrument known by
chemists as a separating funnel, which may contain a liquid

THE GILDER’S MANUAL,

ounce ; a quarter fill it with the liquid, and the other three parts
All with the best sulphuric ether. The two liquids should not
mis. Then holding the tube in a horizontal position, turn it
round with the finger and thumb. When the ether has become
impregnated with the gold or platina, which may be known by
its change of color, replace it in a perpendicular position, and
having stopped up the orifice with a cork, let it stand for twenty-
four hoars. At the end of this time the liquid will be divided
into two parts, the darkest colored being below. Take out the
cork and let the dark liquid flow off, and stop the tube imme¬
diately with the cork. What remains in the tube is the gilding
liquid. The article to be gilded must be perfectly free from nist
or grease, and have received the highest possible polish. The
process of gilding is as follows : A vessel of glass or unglazed
ware having been procured, it should be filled nearly to the top
with the gilding liquid. The article should be dipped in this for
a moment, and then be plunged into clear water and well rinsed.
After having been thoroughly dried with blotting-paper, it
should be placed in a temperature of 150* Fahr. until it is heated
throughout, and then polished with rouge and wash-leather ; or,
better still, be burnished. Take care that the muriate of gold is
quite free from excess of acid, and be careful to follow exactly
the above directions in every particular, as only by doing so can
perfect success be ensured.

GILDING COPPER CHAINS, ETC., BY DIPPING.

Take a solution of nitro-muriate of gold (gold dissolved /h a
mixture of aquafortis and muriatic acid), and add to a gill of it a
pint of ether or alcohol, then immerse your copper chain in it for
about fifteen minutes, when it will be coated with a film of gold.
The copper must be perfectly clean, and free from oxide, grease,
or dirt, or it will not take on the gold.

COPPER, BRA88, IRON OR STEEL WITH LEAP GOLD.

Heat the articles, after thorough cleaning from rust or grease,
to a blue shade ; apply the leaf and burnish down with a steel
burnisher. Add leaf upon leaf in the same manner, until the
gilding is as thick as desired. Iron or steel receive the gold bet¬
ter if dipped for a few moments in sulphate of copper solution,
so as to receive a flash of copper ; or iuto a bath of the nitrate of
the binoxide of mercury.

THE GILDER’S MANUAL.

GILDING BY THE USE OF THE BATTERY.

BATTERIES.

For gilding and silvering there are used four different kinds of
batteries. The Daniels, the Smee, the Bunsen, and the Watts
batteries. We will describe the latter because it may be made by
any one and fully answers the purpose.

The battery which I would recommend, says Mr. Alexander
W atts, to the attention of the electro gilder, and those who desire
to deposit metals by electricity on a moderate scale, consists of a

Fig. 5. — Watts Battery.

cylindrical stone jar a (fig 5), capable of holding about four gal¬
lons ; inside this jar is fitted a cylinder of sheet copper c (this
may be one sixty-fourth of an inch in thickness), a strip of the cop¬
per cylinder b, about half an inch broad, is cut off to within one
inch, so as to form the positive electrode ; my motive in doing
this is to insure a perfect connection between the positive pole
and the cylinder, and to save the trouble of soldering.

A circular piece of wood forms a covering to the jar ; in the
centre of this cover, a hole about two inches in diameter is
bored, to which an ox-gullet or weazand, d, is fastened, extend¬
ing to the bottom of the jar, the lower end of which is carefully
tied with a piece of thick twine ; or a porous cell may be used

Instead if preferred. A zinc bar e (fig 2) is cast, with a long and
tolerably thick copper wire in it, one end of which haa been pre-

THE GILDER’S MANUAL.

dously coiled into a helix, so as to form a spring, to prevent the
breaking off of the wire at its junction with the zinc bar. The
ox -gullet, or cell, is now nearly filled with a concentrated solution
of common salt, to which a few drops of hydrochloric acid have
been added, and the zinc bar immersed in it, but not allowed t<?
touch the bottom of the gullet, or cell, which it may be prevented
from doing by attaching a piece of wood across the zinc bar, to
suspend it from the cover of the battery. The jar is nearly filled
with water acidulated with two pounds of sulphuric acid and one
ounce of nitric acid, and the battery is ready for use. p and N
(fig 5) signifying positive and negative poles.

In the above form of battery several advantages present them¬
selves ; its action is constant, there is but little local action, and
consequently but little waste ; its current is regular, and it is
very economical in its construction and inexpensive in use.

A compound battery thus constructed will give most powerful
effects when a number of cells are used, and it will continue to
give these effects for a greater length of time than any battery
with which I am acquainted.

In a single cell of this battery, a considerable quantity of elec¬
tricity is disengaged, of sufficient intensity for small operations,
such as gilding and so forth. When it is desired to deposit a large
quantity of metal in a given time, several of these cells alternated,
.hat is, having the zinc wire of one cell united to the copper
rylinder of the next, and so on, may be employed, by which ar¬
rangement a vast amount of metal may be deposited in a short
time, when the solution is in good working condition. But it is
preferable to unite all the copper wires and the zinc wires, by
which arrangement the intensity is not increased.

The Daniells battery, is mainly used for electrotyping, obtaining
copies of casts, &c. , as it works slowly and solidly. It consists
of a copper vessel any desired size. Within this stands the porous
cup, and within the cup a thick zinc plate or cylinder. The
negative wire proceeds from the zinc and the positive from the
copper vessel. Inside the porous cup there is poured strong salt
water— outside of it a solution of blue vitriol (sulphate of copper).
The fluid in the two vessels should stand about the same bight,
or if there is any difference that in the porous cup should stand
higher. This acts just as the previous batteiy ; the object to be
coppered being attached to the zinc wire, and the waste being
supplied by some crystals of sulphate of copper on a little shelf
in the copper vessel. In coppering small articles the work can bo
perfectly done in the battery itself 'by suspending the object in the
sulphate solution— but in large works or in depositing other metals
use a separate bath for the solution, the connection being mad#

THE GILDER’S MANUAL.

by brass rods laid over the bath and connected with the two wirea.
Care must, however, be taken by the operator to have all the con
nections clean, and the bath perfectly insulated.

The Smee battery consists of a glass or porcelain jar, a plate
of silver covered with a film of platina (by dipping it into a solu¬
tion of chloride of platina) fixed in a wooden clamp between two
zinc plates — but not touching them — being kept separate by a
band of gutta percha around the silver plate. To one of the zinc
plates and to the silver plate are attached the usual thumb screws
to hold the wires for connections — and the articles to be plated
are placed in a separate bath suspended from the zinc wire — while
the anode or metal plate to supply metal withdrawn from the
solution by the process, is suspended from the wire proceeding
from the silver plate. These batteries are made in all sizes— a
battery of four two-quart batteries being sufficient for the ordinary
work of jewelers. Sulphuric acid one part to sixteen water is
the exciting fluid, and the zincs should be covered with quick¬
silver. This is done by first cleaning the zincs in a strong solu¬
tion of sulphuric acid and water, and then rubbing well with
quicksilver by means of a brush. The quicksilver should be
contained in a dish. When the battery becomes inactive, the
zincs must be cleaned and freshly rubbed with quicksilver.

The Bunsen battery consists of the usual glass or porcelain jar
containing a porous cup containing a plate of coke or carbon,
and a cylinder of zinc surrounding the porous cup, but not touch¬
ing it. Within the porous cup is nitric acid undiluted, and out¬
side of the cup is a solution of sulphuric acid one part, and wrater,
nine parts. The wires proceed from the coke and zinc respec¬
tively. This battery wrorks wTith great intensity, and is mainly
used for plating iron and steel and Britannia metal, or in giving
coats of brass, tin, platinum, etc. It is better to buy it than to
make it, and all parts not intended to be acted on by the acids
must be carefully protected by some acid-proof coating.

A simple form of battery is something like a Daniells reversed,
and can be made with an ordinary copper cup or kettle.

Into a copper vessel is put a sheet of zinc bent into a cylinder,
and surrounding a porous cup. The zinc must stand on glass or
other non-conductor, and must touch neither copper nor cup. A
copper wrire may be soldered to it. This battery is excited by
filling the porous cup with the gold solution, and the space out¬
side of the cup with strong salt water. Have both fluids the
same hight. Put a lighted lamp under the copper until the solu¬
tion reaches a temperature of about 200 degrees — hang the articles
to be plated from the wire (attached to the zinc) in the gold solution,
and in a few minutes they will take a thin but beautiful flask of gold

THE GILDER’S MANUAL.

GOLD ELECTRO-GILDING BATHS.

Distilled water, 2\ gallons ; cyanide of potassium, ordinary 70
per cent., 10 £ oz. ; pure gold, 3£ oz. ; aqua ammonia, 17 \ oz.
Heat the gold in a glass flask with 9 oz. of pure hydrochloric
acid, and 4£ oz. of pure nitric acid. When the gold is dissolved,
continue the heat in order to expel the acid fumes, and until the
color of the liquid is dark red, nearly black. Remove from the
fire, and dissolve the crystalline mass formed in cooling in 3 or 4
pints of water, and pour into a large porcelain dish. Add the
ammonia, which produces an abundant yellow precipitate of gold
ammonium ; pour upon filtering paper, and the filtered liquid,
which still contains traces of gold, is kept with the saved waste
Wash the precipitate remaining upon the filter several times with
cold water, until it no longer smells of ammonia. It must not
be dried, as it is a fulminating mixture, and consequently very
dangerous.

Next dissolve in the vessel used as a bath the cyanide of potas¬
sium in the distilled water. Filter, and add the wet gold ammo¬
nium, which rapidly dissolves when stirred, and forms a clea?
gold bath. But before using it cold, the ammonia should be ex
pelled by boiling for about one hour.

For a newly-prepared cold electro-gilding bath, the ordinary
cyanide of potassium is preferable, on account of the potash it
contains, which renders the liquor a better conductor of elec¬
tricity. But for the preservation of the strength, the pure
cyanide is better, as it possesses the advantage of a constant com¬
position, and does not load the solution with foreign salts.

The gold solution for maintaining the metallic strength of the
bath is prepared as follows : Transform the gold into precipitate
of gold ammonium, as above described, place it in water, 2 pints
of water to 4 oz. gold, then add cyanide of potassium until the
liquor is colorless. If there is not sufficient water with the gold
ammonium, the liquor will be dark red, and will not be decolor
ized by cyanide.

ANOTHER GOLD ELECTRO-GILDING BATH.

Distilled water, 2£ gallons ; cyanide of potassium, pure, 7 oz. ;
or ordinary cyanide, according to strength, 10 to 14 oz. ; pure
gold, 3£ oz. Make a neutral chloride of gold, as in the preceding
formula, and, when cold and crystallized, dissolve it in 3£ nints
of water. Filter if needed. Dissolve the cyanide in 14 pin*« erf
water, filter, and mix the two solutions, which become colorless
When it is possible to boil this bath for half an hour before using
it, it becomes a tetter conductor of electricity, and the gilding i a

THE GILDER’S MANUAL.

more uniform. Its strength is maintained by additions of neutral
chloride of gold and pure cyanide of potassium, from 1 to 1J of
pure cyanide to 1 of gold.

Both the above baths may be diluted with once or twice their
volume of water ; the gilding will remain fine, but the propor¬
tion of gold deposited will be less in a given length of time.

CHLORIDE OF GOLD ELECTRO-GILDING BATH.

Yellow prussiate of potash, 7 oz. ; pure carbonate of potash, 6
oz. ; sal ammoniac, 1 oz. ; pure gold transformed into chloride,
h oz. ; water, gallons. Boil all the salts together, less the
chloride of gold, separate by filtration the precipitate of carbon¬
ate of iron, then add the chloride of gold dissolved in a little
water, and allow the bath to cool off. Any kind of gold salt, and
the oxide, or even finely -powdered metal, may take the place of
the chloride of gold ; but the latter is preferred on account of the
facility of its preparation, and of its solubility. Any kind of
gold salt will be transformed into cyanide by the cyanide of po¬
tassium. The small proportion of the chloride of potassium
resulting from the transformation of the chloride of gold into
cyanide does not prevent the good working of the baths. The
addition of a little prussic acid produces a brighter, but thinner,
gilding. The indicated cyanides may be replaced by the cyanides
of sodium, calcium, and ammonium.

GENERAL MANIPULATION.

Cold gilding baths are generally kept in porcelain or stoneware
vessels ; but for large volumes of liquor use wooden troughs
lined with gutta-percha plates. The sides of the troughs support
anodes of laminated gold, which dip entirely into the liquor, and
are held by small platinum wires ; they are connected with the
positive pole of the battery. Suspend the articles by means of
metallic slinging wires to a movable frame of clean brass rods
connected with the negative pole.

The deposit of gold should be pure yellow, but it has some¬
times a dull earthy gray color. In that case scratch-brush it with
the greatest care, and then pass it through the ormolu coloring.
The gold anode conducts the electricity, and also maintains the
metallic strength of the bath up to a certain point ; but it is
necessary to add now and then either the oxide or the chloride of
gold, and a certain proportion of cyanide of potassium, to make
up for that transformed into carbonate of potash and cyanide of
ammoni*

THE GILDEB’S MANUAL.

The proportion of cyanide is about double that of the chloride
of gold added ; this is ascertained by the color of the bath and
the shade of the deposit ; if the proportion of the chloride of
gold is too great, add more cyanide. If gold predominates, the
deposit is quite black or dark red ; when the cyanide is in excess,
the gilding is very slow and gray, and it will sometimes happen
that pieces already gilt will lose their gold.

When the bath is not in use, the gold anode must be removed
from it, otherwise it will be dissolved. If the anode were partly
immersed in the bath, it would be rapidly cut at the level of the
liquid ; for this reason use the platinum wires, which are not
acted upon. It is remarkable that the solution of cyanides, even
without the action of the electric current, rapidly dissolve all the
metals except platinum in the cold or at a moderate temperature,
and that at the boiling point they have scarcely any action upon
the metals.

Cold electro-gilding should be done slowly ; and it is necessary
to often look at the pieces in the bath, and scratch-brush those
with an irregular deposit, or with dark spots. The intensity of
the current should be often changed by increasing or diminishing
the number of the elements, or the strength or the volume of the
.iquors in the battery.

With too much intensity in the current, the deposit is black or
red ; it is yellow with the proper amount of electricity. With a
weak current those portions opposite the anode only get covered
with gold ; it is well to change the position of the objects often,
in order that the deposit be regular.

With a freshly-prepared bath it may happen that surfaces al¬
ready gilt will lose their gold by changing their positions. This
is a sign that the bath contains too much cyanide of potassium,
and too little gold, or that the electric current is too weak.

IMPROVING APPEARANCE AFTER COLD BATH. j

When the deposit obtained in cold baths is unsatisfactory in
appearance, although the quantity is sufficient, the proper shade
may be imparted by —

1. The gilt article is steeped in a solution of nitrate of binoxide
of mercury, until it has become white. It is heated afterward
to volatilize the mercury, and scratch-brushed.

2. Place the article into concentrated sulphuric acid, then heat
it until abundant white fumes are disengaged, throw it, still hot,
into a weak pickle of sulphuric acid. In this case, the acid has
destroyed the organic impurities which may exist in the deposit,
and reduces the subsalts of gold to the metallic state.

THE GILDER’S MANUAI*

8. 8m** the article with a thick paste of water and powdered
berar, or with biphosphate of lime of the consistency of honey,
*Dd heat until igneous fusion takes place. Then put the article
into diluted sulphuric acid, which dissolves the borax or the bi-
ohosphate, and leaves the gold with its natural bright luster.

When, after scratch-brushing small gilt articles, their color is
not entirely satisfactory, it may be improved by plunging the
articles again into the bath but for an instant, and then imme¬
diately into boiling water. For gilding German silver, the solu¬
tion should be worked at rather a low temperature, and with a
less surface of anode. The solution should be lust so weak in
precious metal, that the German silver will not precipitate the
gold without tne aid of the battery ; otherwise the deposit will
take place so rapidly that the gold will peel off when being bur¬
nished or scratch-brushed.

GOLD ELECTRO-PLATING IN HOT BATHS.

Is more regular, more rapidly obtained, and possesses a deeper
shade, than that by cold baths. 1. Crystallized phosphate of
soda, 21 oz. ; bisulphite of soda, 3£ oz ; pure cyanide of potas¬
sium, £ oz. ; pure gold, transformed into chloride, £ oz. ; distilled
water, gallons. This is satisfactory for electro-gilding silver,
bronze, and other alloys rich in copper. For gilding wrought
and cast iron and steel directly, without a previous coat of cop¬
per, the bath is modified as follows : Distilled water, 2£ gallons ;
phosphate of soda, 17£ oz. ; bisulphate of soda, A.\ oz. ; pure cya
nide of potassium, $ oz. ; gold transformed into chloride, £ oz.
The proportion of gold indicated is that of the metal employed,
and it is not necessary to mind the weight of the chloride, if the
proper amount of gold is dissolved in aqua regia.

Ten parts of metallic gold corresponds to about 18 parts of
neutral chloride, or to 23 or 22 parts of acid chloride such as is
usually sold. Steel articles, after cleansing by alkalies, must be
passed rapidly through a very diluted solution of hydrochloric
acid, wiped, and dipped into a very hot bath with an intense gal¬
vanic current at the beginning, which is gradually diminshed by
partly withdrawing the p.atinum anode.

Small articles of steel, such as pens, or watch hands, are
threaded on a thin brass wire, and separated one from the other
by glass beads. After cleansing, they are put into the boiling
bath, rinsed, dried, and polished in hot and dry saw-dust.

It is preferable to give zinc, tin, lead, antimony, or the alloys
of these metals, a previous coat of copper, or to begin the gilding

THE GILDER’S MANUAL.

in a hot gold electro-bath, nearly worn out, and to scratch-brush
the articles carefully. The gilding is completed in a new hot
bath, with a strong current.

PREPARATION OP THE GOLD BATH.

1. Put four-fifths of the distilled water into a porcelain dish,
or an enameled cast-iron kettle, heated over a charcoal stove,
and dissolve in it, by the aid of stirring, the crystallized phos¬
phate of soda. When this is entirely dissolved, remove the
liquor from the fire, filter if necessary, and allow it to cool off.
2. Place the gold in a glass flask, with } oz. of pure nitric acid
and 1 oz. of pure hydrochloric acid. Heat slowly until the gold
has dissolved, and then more rapidly to expel the excess of acid.
There should remain a thick liquid of a blackish-red color. Re¬
move the flask from the fire, and by cooling the contents form a
brown -red crystalline mass. The cooling is important. 3. Dis¬
solve in a porcelain dish, in half the remaining water, the bisul¬
phite of soda and the cyanide of potassium. 4. Then dissolve
the neutral chloride of gold in the remaining water, and pour it
slowly, stirring with a glass rod, into the cold solution of phos¬
phate of soda ; add the solution of bisulphite and of cyanide.
The whole liquor soon becomes colorless ; the bath is then ready.
If the chloride of gold were thrown into the solution of phosphate
of soda while hot, there would be danger of a partial reduction
of the gold in the form of a metallic powder.

The hot electro-gilding baths for small quantities of liquor are
kept in porcelain dishes, but for large baths use enameled cast-
iron kettles. The temperature may vary from 120° to 175° Fahr.
Small articles, such as jewelry, are kept in the right hand with
the conducting wire, and plunged and agitated in the bath. The
left hand holds the anode of platinum wire, which is steeped
more or less in the liquor, according to the surface of the articles
to be gilt. Large pieces are suspended to one or more brass rods,
and are not moved about. The gilding is very rapid, and a suf¬
ficient thickness is obtained after a few minutes. The shade of
the gold deposit is modified by the amount of platinum anode
dipping into the liquor. If it dips but a little, relatively to the
surface of the articles, the gilding is pale ; by immersing it more
the shade will become deeper and deeper, until it is red. The
platinum anode is connected by a conducting wire to the positive
pole of the battery, and the conducting wire starting from the
negative pole, touches or supports the articles to be gilt.

As a rule, it is preferable to replace the impoverished baths by
fresh ones, instead of keeping up their strength by additions of

THE GILBERTS MANUAL.

metals, especially for small articles. When gilding large pieces,
maintain the strength of the baths by successive additions of
chloride of gold, or, what is better, of equal parts of gold ammo¬
nium and pure cyanide of potassium. In this manner baths may
be made to last a long time, but they are open to the inconve¬
nience of furnishing a red or green gilding, if many articles of
copper or of silver have been gilt in them. Articles of copper
or its alloys, should be perfectly cleansed, and may be passed .
through a very diluted solution of nitrate of binoxide of mercury. »

Silver requires to be heated, dipped, and perfectly scratch-
brushed. For this metal the gilding should be strong, in order to
prevent the corners and raised parts from becoming white and
bare ; and it is a good precaution to give it a coat of copper or
brass, or a first gilding in an old bath.

2. Phosphate of soda, 14 oz. ; bisulphite of soda, oz. ; bicar.
bonate of potash and caustic potash, If oz. of each ; cyanide of
potassium and pure gold for neutral chloride, £ oz. of each ; dis¬
tilled water, gallons.

All the substances except the chloride of gold may be dissolved
together, and filtered if necessary; then the solution of chloride
of gold is added. This bath is heated at from 120° to 140° Fahr.,
and produces a very fine gilding, but it requires an intense elec¬
tric current. It does not suit for the direct gilding of iron or
steel.

3. Yellow prussiate of potash, 5f oz. ; carbonate of potash,
pure, If oz. ; hydrochlorate of ammonia, § oz. ; pure gold for
neutral chloride, £ oz. ; water, 1 gallon. Dissolve the first three
salts in hot water, and filter the solution ; after cooling add the
gold solution, and boil for half an hour, taking care to replace
the evaporated water.

4. Pure cyanide of potassium, If oz. ; pure gold for neutral
chloride, £ oz. ; water, 5 pints. Dissolve the chloride of gold in
the whole of the water, and add the cyanide, which dissolves and
makes the liquor colorless. This bath may be employed with
little regard to temperature, and is simple in its ingredients. Un¬
fortunately it is not uniform in its working, as it will ungild one
face of the object while the other face becomes gilt, or may pro¬
duce a red gilding at the bottom and a yellow one at the top.

These inconveniences will partly disappear by a long ebullition.

MANAGEMENT OF DOT GOLD BATHS.

The baths may be more concentrated, the quantity of water
may be diminished, without changing the proportions of the salts
and of the gold. But it is preferable to use diluted solutions,

THE GILDER’S MANUAL

which deliver the metal in smaller quantity in a given time, but
more homogeneous in substance. The articles should be kept in
constant agitation ; there is then no difference of specific gravity
among the layers of the liquor, and the gilding possesses a uni¬
form color. A foil or a wire of platinum is preferred to a soluble
anode of gold when electro-gilding by the aid of heat, as it is not
dissolved, and is more handy for regulating the intensity of the
current, by immersing it more or less in the liquid. Thus with
the same bath and battery three different shades can be obtained:
a pale color, with the anode dipping but slightly; a yellow color,
when the immersion is greater, and a red gold, if the whole anode
is in the liquor.

In a bath of pink gold, composed of gold, copper and silver, by
increasing or diminishing the length of the platinum anode in the
liquor, the deposit will have a white, yellow, or red shade, as the
various metals require different degrees of intensity for their re¬
duction in the galvanic current.

In hot electro-gilding baths, and especially with small articles,
keep them in the right hand constantly moving in the liquid,
while the left hand is employed in changing the position of the
platinum anode, so as to suit the surface and the nature of the
articles, and obtain the desired shade.

The hot baths may have their strength maintained by success¬
ive additions of chloride of gold with a proper proportion of the
other salts ; but it is preferable to wear out the bath entirely and
to prepare a new one. When a bath is exhausted, the gilding is
red if much copper has been gilt in it, and green in the case of
silver articles. It may then be used for a first coat upon objects
which are to be finished in a new bath. Thus green or white
golds result from the simultaneous deposit of gold or silver in
various proportions ; red gold from the alloy of copper and gold ;
and pink gold from the combination of gold, silver, and copper.

GREEN AND WHITE GOLDS.

Add to one of the above baths a solution of the double cyanide
of silver and potassium, or a diluted solution of nitrate of silver,
until the desired shade is obtained. The tints will vary from a,
leek -green to a very pale whitish-yellow. This kind of gilding
mixed upon the same articles with red, yellow, or pink gold, will
produce splendid effects of contrast, especially upon chased parts,
where the green gold has a velvety luster.

RED GOLD.

Mix in suitable proportions the electro-copper bath already de¬
scribed with ope of the baths for electro-gilding ; or use an old

THE GIXDER’s MANUAL.

bath in which a great many copper articles have been gilt, with
an intense current of electricity. Yellow gilding may be made to
pass to red, by beating it after it has been covered with a paste ol
acetato of copper, cream of tartar, and common salt. Plunge
tho heated piece into a weak solution of sulphuric acid, and care¬
fully scratch-brush afterward.

PINK GOLD OR NEW GOLD.

This kind of gilding is the most difficult to obtain on accoun*
of the different tendency of the various metals to galvanic decom¬
position. Pink gilding, to be perfect, should present at the same
time the red, yellow, and white shades, in such a manner that a
practiced eye will distinguish them. The articles are first gilt
yellow by the pyrophosphate bath for dipping, or by the hot
electro-bath. Then, without drying, but keeping them in fresh
water, small packages are made weighing from 1 to 2 oz. each ;
pass lightly through the mercurial solution, and then red gilt iD
an old and hot bath, where a great deal of copper has already
been gilt, or in a new bath composed of 10 parts of hot electro-
gilding bath, first formula, and 3 to 4 parts of the first coppering
solution, with battery.

For imparting the whitish tint of articles gilt by stirring and
of the gold alloy for jewelry, the red gilding is passed through a
boiling and nearly exhausted bath of pyrophosphate, to which
add one-tenth, or a twentieth, or a thirtieth of its volume of a
silver bath, or simply a few drops of a concentrated solution of
nitrate of silver. This gilding should be scratch-brushed or bur¬
nished, and may be chased, but the luster soon disappears on ac¬
count of the proportion of copper.

To obtain the proper pink gilding, if the first deposit is unsat¬
isfactory, plunge the articles for a few seconds into a mixture of
5 parts of sulphuric acid to 1 of nitric acid. The copper and
silver are dissolved, and the yellow gilding reappears, upon
which the operation may be begun anew. Besides the variations
of color in gilding due to the dipping of the anodes more or less
;nto the bath, and to the strength of the electric current, moving
the articles about in the bath will at all times enable the operator
to vary the color of the deposit from pale straw -yellow to a very
dark red. The temperature of the solution likewise influences
the color of the deposit, the color being lightest when the solu¬
tion is cold, and gradually becoming darker as the temperature
Increases.

GILDING WATCH PARTS.

In gilding small articles for watchmakers, gold is seldom di¬
rectly applied upon the copper ; there is generally a preliminary

THE GILDER’S MANUAL.

operation, called graining, by which a grained and slightly dead
appearance is given to the articles.

PREPARATION OP THE SILVER PARTS.

Marks of the file are obliterated by a rubbing upon a wet stone,
and lastly upon an oilstone. Any oil or grease is removed by
boiling the parts for a few minutes in a solution made of 100
parts of water and 10 of caustic soda or potash ; rinse in clean
water, which should wet them entirely if all the oil has been re¬
moved. The articles are threaded upon a brass wire ; cleanse
them rapidly in the compound acids for a bright luster, and dry
them carefully in white wood saw-dust. The pieces are fastened
upon the even side of a block of cork by brass pins with flat
heads. The parts are then thoroughly rubbed over with a brush,
entirely free from grease, and charged with a paste of water and
very fine pumice-stone powder. Move the brush in circles, in
order not to rub one side more than the other ; thoroughly rinse
in clean water, and no particle of pumice-dust should remain up¬
on the pieces, or the cork. Next place the cork and the pieces
into a weak mercurial solution, which very slightly whitens the
copper, composed of — water, two and one-fifth gallons, nitrate or
binoxide of mercury, one-fourteenth of an ounce; sulphuric acid,
one-seventh of an ounce. The pieces are passed quickly through
the solution, and then rinsed. This operation gives strength to
file graining which, without it, possesses no adherence.

GRAINING POWDERS.

1. Silver in impalpable powder, 1 oz. ; cream of tartar, finely
pulverized and passed through a silk sieve, 10 oz. ; common salt,
pulverized and sifted as above, 2 lbs. 2. Silver powder, 1 oz. ;
cream of tartar, 4 to 5 oz. ; common salt, white and clean, 13 oz.
•i. Silver powder, 1 oz. ; cream of tartar, 3 oz. ; common salt,
white and clean, 2 lbs. All these substances should be as pure
us possible, and perfectly dry. Cream of tartar is generally dry;
common salt often needs, before or after it has been pulverized,
a thorough drying in a porcelain or silver dish, in which it is kept
stirred with a glass rod or a silver spoon. The mixture of the
three substances must be thorough, and effected at a moderate
and protracted heat. The graining is the coarser the more com¬
mon salt there is in the mixture ; and it is the finer and more
condensed as the proportion of cream of tartar is greater, but it is
then more difficult to scratch-brush.

SILVER POWDER.

The silver powder is obtained by immersing cleansed copper
plates in a very diluted solution of nitrate of silver made with

THE GILDER’S MANUAL.

distilled water. The more diluted the solution is, the finer is the
precipitate of silver upon the copper, and the more easily it is re¬
moved. In a glass or porcelain vessel § of an ounce of crystal-
ized nitrate of silver are dissolved in 2£ gallons of distilled water,
and 5 or 6 bands of cleansed copper f of an inch wide are placed
in it. These bands should be long enough to allow of a portion
being above the liquid. The whole is kept in a dark place for
24 hours, and now and then stirred with the copper bands. This
motion is sufficient to loosen the deposited silver, and present
fresh copper surfaces to the action of the liquor. When no more-
silver deposits on the copper, the operation is completed, and
there remains a blue solution of nitrate of copper. The silver
powder is washed by decantation, or upon a filter, until there
remains nothing of the copper solution. It is then carefully
dried, avoiding contact with hard bodies. Nuremberg powder is
produced by grinding a mixture of honey and silver foil upon a
ground-glass plate with a muller until the proper fineness is ob
tained. The silver is separated by dissolving the honey in boiling
water, and washing the deposited metal in a filter, until there is
no remaining trace of honey. The silver is then carefully dried
at a gentle heat.

GRAINING.

A thin paste made of one of the above powders and water is
spread by means of a spatula upon the watch parts held upon
the cork. The cork itself is placed upon an earthenware dish, to
which a rotating movement is imparted by the left hand. An
oval brush with close bristles, held in the right hand, rubs the
watch parts in every direction, but alwaj^s with a rotary motion.
A new quantity of the paste is added two or three times, and
rubbed in the manner indicated. The more the brush and the
cork are turned the rounder becomes the grain, which is a good
quality; and the more paste added the larger the grain.

When the desired grain is obtained, the pieces are washed and
then scratch-brushed. The wire brushes employed, which usually
come from Nuremberg, are made of brass wires as fine as hair,
very stiff and springy. It is necessary to anneal them upon an
even fire to different degrees ; one soft, or half annealed, for the
first operation of uncovering the grain ; one harder, for bringing
up the luster ; and one very soft, or fully annealed, used before
gilding for removing any marks which may have been made by
the preceding tool, and for scratch-brushing after the gilding,
which, like the graining, must be done by giving a rotary motion
to the tool. Decoctions of liquorice or saponaire are employed
In this operation.

THE GILDER’S MANUAL.

RESISTS.

If it happens that the same watch part is composed of coppet
and steel, this latter metal requires to be preserved against the
action of the cleansing acids and of the graining mixture, by a
composition called resist. This consists in covering the pinions
and other steel parts with a fatty composition, which is sufficiently
hard to resist the tearing action of the bristle and wire brushea»
and insoluble in the alkalies of the gilding bath. Yellow wax, 2
oz. ; translucent colophony, 3£ oz. ; extra fine red sealing-wax,
1§ oz. ; impalpable peroxide of iron or polishing rouge, 1 oz.
Melt the colophony and sealing-wax in a porcelain dish upon a
water bath, and afterward add the yellow wax. When the whole
is thoroughly fluid, gradually add the rouge, and stir with a
wooden or glass rod. Withdraw the heat, but continue the
stirring until the mixture becomes solid, otherwise all the oxide
of iron will fall to the bottom of the mixture. The flat parts to
receive this resist are slightly heated, and then covered with the
mixture which melts and is easily spread.

For covering steel pinions, employ a small gouge of copper or
brass fixed to a wooden handle. The metallic part of the gouge
is heated upon an alcohol lamp, and a small quantity of resist is
taken with it. The composition soon melts, and, by turning the
tool around the steel pinion, this becomes coated. Use a scratch¬
brush with long wires, as their flexibility prevents the removal of
the composition.

When the resist is to be removed after gilding, place the parts
in warm oil or into tepid turpentine, then into a very hot soap-
water or alkaline solution, and lastly into fresh water. Scratch¬
brush and dry in warm saw-dust of white wood. The holes of
the pinions are cleaned and polished with small pieces of very
soft white wood, the friction of which is sufficient to restore the
primitive luster.

The gilding of parts composed of copper and steel requires the
greatest care, as the slightest rust destroys their future useful,
ness. Should some gold deposit upon the steel, it should be re¬
moved by rubbing with a piece of wood and impalpable pumice-
dust, tin putty, or rouge.

GILDING SEVERAL COLORS ON SAME OBJECT.

Again, when it is desired to obtain gildings of several colors
upon the same object, resists, generally made of some kind of
varnish, are used ; after having gilt an article of a uniform red
or green color, it is covered with a fat varnish, made drying by
the addition of chromate of lead, at those places which are to re-

THE GI^DER’8 MANUAL.

sist the action of the new bath. By means of resists and suc¬
cessive baths, several different shades can be obtained upon the
same object. The resist varnishes are applied with a brush or
pencil, and should be thoroughly dried in a stove before placing
the object into another solution. These varnishes may be colored
with various oxides or colored salts, in order to facilitate their
use upon those places which should be sharply marked ; chromate
of lead and artificial ultramarine blue are well suited for the pur¬
pose.

Resist varnishes are also used for preserving the reverse parts
of articles which have to receive the gilding only on the front.
When the operation is finished, the resist is easily removed by a
washing, first with essence of turpentine, gasoline, benzine or
benzole, and then with alcohol ; when benzole is used, it is suf¬
ficient to wash the article in boiling water, and then to dry it iD
warm saw dust of fir-wood. It comes out perfectly clean. This
is not always the case with rectified turpentine, and it may be
accessary to plunge the object into a hot alkaline lye, then to
rinse and dry it in warm saw-dust.

MODUS OFEBANDI OF GILDING BY BATTERY.

After the preparations described, the gilding may be effected
by some of the processes already mentioned. Hot baths must
not be employed for those pieces covered with the resist. Heat
one- eighth of an ounce of finely laminated and pure gold in or¬
der to destroy all organic substances, dissolve in a glass fiask with
three-sixteenths of an ounce of pure nitric acid, and three- eighths
of an ounce of pure hydrochloric acid. When the gold is dis¬
solved, evaporate the excess of acids, leaving in the flasks a
syrupy dark-red liquid ; the whole is then removed from the fire
and allowed to cool. Dissolve the chloride of gold in about 2
- oz. of distilled water, and pour into a large glass vessel. Dilute
with about a pint of distilled water, and pour into the liquor a
certain excess of pure ammonia, which precipitates the gold in
the state of a yellow powder of ammoniuret of gold, or fulmin¬
ate of gold, which is a detonating powder when dry. The pro¬
portion of ammonia is sufficient, when a new quantity of this
reagent, being added to the clear liquid above the settled
powder, does not produce any new precipitate.

The clear liquor is decanted and kept among the saved waste.
Collect the settled powder upon a small filter, previously wetted
with distilled water, then wash with distilled water until all
ammoniacal smell has disappeared. The filter and its contents
are afterward put into a glass or porcelain vessel with a quart of

THU GILDER^ MANUAL.

distilled water and three-eights of an ounce of pure cyanide
of pottasiuin, which rapidly destroys the gold and passes through
the filter. The whole is filtered again, boiled for 15 to 20 min¬
utes, filtered again, and left to cool. The bath obtained is excel¬
lent for gilding the most delicate watch parts, with an electric
current regulated to suit the surfaces to the gilt,

Seveial of these baths, in various degrees of exhaustion, are
generally kept in glass or porcelain vessels flat-bottomed, and
holding from 7 to 9 pints within a depth of 4 to 5 inches. The
articles to be gilt are suspended to metallic holders, connected
with the zinc pole of a battery, and of a shape appropriate to the
nature and form of the watch parts. One or more platinum
wires are used for anodes, and are disposed in the center or round
the bath. The battery most generally employed is composed of
three, four, five or six small Daniell’s elements. Those with bal¬
loons, on account of their constancy, should be preferred.

The slower the gold deposit, the finer and more adherent it is.
When the coating is sufficient, wash the articles in clean water,
and fix again upon the cork in order to proceed to the last scratch-
brushing with a decoction of liquorice, or of horse-chestnut.

GILDING THIN WIRES.

Gilt silver is fine ; gilt copper is half fine ; and copper or
brass alone is false. At the present time, nearly all gilt wire is
gilt by electricity ; the baths and the battaries are the same as
those already mentioned, but for the success of the operation a
certain disposition of the apparatus is required. Upon a brick
furnace, which may be heated either with solid fuel or gas, is a
cast-iron enameled kettle, about 3 feet long, 18 inches wide, and
4 to 7 inches deep, for holding the gold bath. If gas is used as
fuel, the burner should be an elleptic ring with 25 or 30 jets
attached to it, or the same kettle may be used as a cold bath if
desired, the fire being optional. At one end of the apparatus,
near the battery, are two wooden stands supporting an iron rod
which passes through a certain number of wooden spools carry¬
ing the wire to be gilt. These spools turn freely upon the rod,
and the unwound wires, before dipping into the bath, are pressed
against a copper or brass rod, connected with the negative, zinc,
pole of the battery ; thus the wires are connected with this pole.
The wires dip into the bath to about two-tliirds of its depth, and
are kept stretched by small grooved pulleys of glass, porcelain or '
ivory, rolling freely upon glass or ivory axes, which are kept
near the bottom by supports screwed on the top edges of the
kettle.

THE GILDER’S MANUAL.

At the bottom of the bath, and crossing the wires to be gilt,
are two or more platinum wires, the vertical branches of which
communicate with the positive, or carbon, pole: These plati¬
num anodes must nowhere touch wires to be gilt, as these two
kinds of wire represent the two poles of the battery in the bath.
At the other end of the apparatus is another series of wooden
reels, upon which the gilt wire is wound up. These reels are
fixed to the square iron axis which traverses them, and which is
turned by gearing, slowly enough to ensure a good gilding to the
wire, during its passage through the bath. After passing through
the gilding bath, the wires are rinsed and dried by winding over
two wooden rollers revolving freely upon their axis, and plunged
by means of grooved rollers into the first trough, filled with a
weak solution of cyanide of potassium, which cleans and bright¬
ens the gilding ; they then pass into the second trough filled with
water, which is constantly replaced, which removes the salts
from the wires.

The drying rollers, covered with several layers of calico, are
moved by gear in opposite directions ; the wires are thoroughly
dried in a flat tube, kept at a dull red heat in the furnace. In a
kettle of the size named, 20 wires may be gilt at the same time.

Copper wires are generally previously silvered and passed once
through a draw plate, to avoid the cleansing process before gild
»ng. The more intense the battery, or the slower the wires pass
through the bath, so will the deposit of gold be increased ; anc
it will be well to weigh the bobbins before and after the opera¬
tion, for which purpose the spools for winding up and winding
out should be of the same weight. This gilding requires constant
supervision, either for uniting the broken wires, the severed parts
of which may touch the anodes, and stop the operation ; or for
regulating the intensity of the battery, which, if too powerful,
will produce a red gilding, or, if too weak, a green gilding.

Baths of double cyanide of gold and patassium are employed
•cold or slightly tempid ; baths with phosphate and bisulphite
of soda are used for hot electro-gilding, but they are concentrated
until the proportion of water is one-half of that indicated. As
ithe platinum anodes do not make up for the metallic loss of the
Ibath, it is frequently necessary to add new portions of metal and
.salts, in the manner already described.

Pure gold wire is sometimes gilt, in order to impart to it a
more uniform and deeper shade. After being gilt the wire is
passed through the draw-plate or the rollers. By the draw-plate it
is diminished by about one-fourth or one-half of a number to re¬
move the dulness of the deposit, and bring up the luster. When
gilt wire is flattened between the rollers, its surface is bright

THE GILDER'S MANUAL.

or dull according to the state of the surface of the rollers. Sil¬
vering, or any other metallic electro-deposit upon thin wires, can
be effected in a similar manner.

GILDING WITH A DEAD LUSTER.

1. By the slow deposit of a large proportion of gold. This gild¬
ing is very durable, but dull and earthy in appearance, and is
costly.

2. By acids ; giving a dead luster to the metallic surface, before
gilding, and by the processes indicated in the cleansing opera
tions. This is employed for small articles, or when gilding by
dipping, for bronze articles, or large embossed work.

3. With frosted silver, by depositing upon the object to be gilt
a coat of frosted silver, and then gilding in a good bath ; this
method is expensive, the burnished parts are greenish, and the in¬
termediary coat of silver is more easily blackened by sulphur fumes
than gold.

4. By depositing from a solution of sulphate of copper decom¬
posed by a battery a coat of this metal, which possesses a pink
dead luster. The whole is rapidly passed through the compound
Acids for a bright luster, and the mercurial solution, and then gilt
.n a good bath. When the dead luster obtained in the bath is
perfect, the compound acids may be dispensed with, and merely
place the article in the mercurial solution before it is gilt. This
mode is generally preferred, as the gilding is very handsome in
luster and color. The burnished parts will be red, if vinegar or
soap-water is used ; and of a fine yellow color, if the burnishing
tool be wetted with a decoction of flax-seed, or of marsh-mallow
root. If the gold deposit is of insufficient thickness, it will!
blacken in time, by the oxidization of the intermediate coat of
copper.

5. Dead luster by mercury, or the old process of gilding by fire,
which furnishes the most durable gilding, although costly, as al¬
ready described.

GILDING FOR POTTERIES.

Much of the porcelain and china ware sold is gilded or painted
after it leaves the potteries, by houses which devote themselves
specially tc this kind of work. But there is also a kind having

THE GILDER’S MANUAL.

a gold luster, as it is called, which is done at the manufactories.
It is best to do it on a body specially prepared of 4 parts clay,
4 parts flint, 4 parts kaolin, and G parts feldspar. This should be
covered with a glaze, of 60 parts litharge, 36 parts feldspar, and
15 flint.

PREPARATION OF GOLD LUSTER.

Dissolve first in the cold, and then with heat, 48 grains of fine
gold in 288 grains of an aqua regia, composed of 1 ounce of nitric
acid and 3 ounces of muriatic acid ; add to that solution 4£ grains
of grain tin, bit by bit ; and then pour some of that compound
solution into 20 grains of balsam of sulphur diluted with 10
grains of oil of turpentine. The balsam of sulphur is prepared
by heating a pint of linseed oil, and 2 ounces of flour of sulphur,
stirring them continually till the mixture begins to boil ; it is then
cooled, by setting the vessel in cold water ; after which it is
stirred afresh, and strained through linen. The above ingre¬
dients, after being well mixed, are to be allowed to settle for a
few minutes ; then the remainder of the solution of gold is to be
poured in, and the whole is to be triturated till the mass has as¬
sumed such a consistence that the pestle will stand upright in it
lastly, there must be added to the mixture 30 grains of oil of tur¬
pentine, which being ground in, the gold luster is ready to be
applied. If the luster is too light or pale, more gold must be
added, and if it have not a sufficiently violet or purple tint, more
tin must be used.

ANOTHER GOLD LUSTER.

Dissolve a gold dollar in aqua regia with a gentle heat. To the
solution when cool, add 2 grains of grain tin, which will imme¬
diately dissolve. Prepare a mixture of half an ounce of balsam
of sulphur with a little essence of turpentine, beating them
together till they assume the appearance of milk. Pour this
mixture into the solution of gold and tin, drop by drop, with con¬
tinual stirring ; and place the whole in a wrarm s tuation for some
time.

It is absolutely necessary to apply this luster only upon an
enamel or glaze which has already passed through the fire, other¬
wise the sulphur would tarnish the composition.

Balsam of sulphur is made by adding two ounces powdered
brimstone to a pint of heated linseed oil, stirring until thor-
oughly melted and straining through a piece of muslin.

These lusters are applied with most advantage upon chocolate
and other dark grounds. Much skill is required in their firing,
and a perfect acquaintance with the quality of the glaze on which
they are applied.

THU GILDER’S MANUAL.

For other methods it is necessary first to prepare a Flux.
Brown gold is gold with a copper alloy of about £ ; in green gold
the alloy is silver in the proportion of 6 silver to 20 gold.

GOLD FLUX.

Borax, 11 parts ; litharge, 5$ ; oxide of silver, 1. Grind very
fine. Melt in a crucible. Pulverize and regrind for use.

BURNI8H GOLD (BROWN)-

Brown oxide of gold, 12 parts ; mercury, 8 ; oxide of silver, 2 ;
white lead, 1. Grind very fine in an earthenware mortar, and
mix with spirits of turpentine for use. The parts combine very
easily. The white lead is the flux in this case.

BURNISH GOLD (GREEN GOLD).

Green gold, 12 parts ; mercury, 7$ ; oxide of silver, 1$ ; flux (as
above) 1£. First put the gold alone in an earthenware mortar ;
place over the fire ; heat to a red heat ; pour in now mercury to
the extent of 4 times the weight of the whole mixture. Stir with
an iron rod until perfectly mixed, and then pour the whole into
a vessel of water. When it can be handled, pour off the water ;
collect amalgam into a piece of muslin ; squeeze out the surplus
mercury (saving this for future operations) ; throw this amalgam
into nitrous acid to dissolve out the mercury. Wash the gold in
clear water several times, and finally mix with fresh mercury,
the silver and the flux as above. Grind very fine and mix with
spirits of turpentine for use.

CHEAP OR BRONZE GOLD.

Burnish gold (see above), 125 parts ; oxide of copper, 4 ; mer¬
cury, 2 ; Flux, 1. Dissolve the copper in aqua fortis; precipitate
it (put an iron rod into the solution) ; gather and wash the pre¬
cipitate, and then mix with the other ingredients, and finally
with spirits of turpentine. It may be be made brighter or darker by
varying the proportions of gold or copper. Gold gives the
brightness.

GILDING CHINA BY BATTERY.

The ingenious process recently introduced in France for elec¬
trotyping on a non-conducting material, such as china, &c., is
likely to prove of peculiar value, both for practical and artistic
purposes, but is evidently one requiring much care in order to
insure a fair degree of success. It appears that sulphur is dis¬
solved in the oil of sf ike to form a sirupy consistence ; and

THE GILDER’S MANUAL

then chloride of gold or chloride of platinum is dissolved in sul¬
phuric ether, and the two solutions are in this state mingled under
a gentle heat. The compound is next evaporated until of the
thickness of ordinary paint, in which condition it is applied with
a brush to such portions of the china, glass, or other fabrics, as
are desired to be covered, according to the design or pattern, with
the electro-metalic deposit. The objects are baked in the usual
' way before they are immersed in the bath.

FRENCH SIZE OB CLEAR COLE.

A good method of making size, practiced in France, is to
cut up rabbit skins (free of hair) into fine shreds and boil them
in a water bath as glue is boiled. Apart of the skin will remain
undissolved. The fluid is, therefore strained, and the clear part
is kept for use. A hot solution of white vitriol (salt of zinc) and
alum is next prepared — an ounce of vitriol to a quarter of an
ounce of alum for every quart of water. Of this a half pint
is added to a quart of the thin clear rabbit skin glue. It is left to
to thicken — then cut up to dry. This glue when thoroughly
dry is used in the proportions of one-half a pouud to a gallon of
water. It makes a strong thick size.

EARLY ILLUMINATED WORK.

The gilding employed by the old illuminators was of two kinds,
flat, and raised or embossed. The former was used for laying a
large smooth surface for painting upon, and in many cases even
for scrolls and ornaments, but chiefly for shading and putting in
the highest light on such colors as reds, browns, and yellows.
The raised gilding was principally used for nimbi, or glories
round the heads of saints, for lines, background letters, and small
ornaments and leaves.

GILDING WITH WATER GOLD 8IZK.

Dip a camel hair pencil in the gold size, the sane way as liquid
water-colors are used, and apply it to every part of the illumi¬
nation which is to be gilt. Where the gold is intended to be
raised, lay on as many coats as will raise the work sufficiently;
but take care to do it all as smoothly as possible, so that no ridges
may appear, for they give the gold a streaky appearance whicn
must be avoided. Let it stand quite half-and-hour to harden
well Previous to putting the gold leaf on, breathe upon the
size to render it sufficiently adhesive, and apply the gold leaf im¬
mediately. The success of burnishing results from practice, and
is influenced by the heat of the room ; try gently with the bur-

THE GILDER’S MANUAI*

Iher, and if it glides about easily, it is ready. Indenting a pat-
n on gold is best done by the point of an ivory tracer, or by a
rk darning needle. The indented lines may be drawn with
worn point of a penknife.

IMITATION GILDING.

There are two methods of imitating gilding. One for tempor'

- purposes — such as theatrical scenery etc., etc., is by the use*
Dutch metal, or Dutch gold, which is simply brass or copper
L The gilding is effected with Japanner’s gold-size, as abeady
icribed for real gold. Dutch metal soon turns green on expos
; unless varnished, and even then it discolors easily.

The other method is to use a siiver or even tiu-foii, which is

I cheaper, and cover with a varnish of good yellow tint —
e the ormolu. A good imitation is also obtained by varnishing
: ordinary tin-plate, after polishing it somewhat with pumice-
ne and water. Any varnish with a decidedly yellow tinge

II answer. None of these methods, however, are durable. A
st coat of thin shelllac- varnish ensures a better adhesion of any
isequent coat of varnish; but this also will peel under the al*
□ate expansion and contraction of the metal below.

GILDING FOR PRINTERS.

Hat tips and other sized muslin work are done as described in
etion on Book Gilding. But work on paper — generally glazed
-S first printed with gold-size instead of ink and the gold-leaf
<1 on as in any ordinary gilding with leaf. The leaf is patted
wn and the superfluous gold brushed away. In lithographic
nting the gilding process is precisely the same. Dutch metal
much used in label work. The size in this case should be
ong, and used as abundantly as it can be — as metal is apt to
me off and make the work look shabby. In bronzing, the
wder is rubbed lightly over the impression printed in size with
Diece of raw cotton well filled wflth the powder. The finer the
onze the more economical the work. Gold in powder is some-
nes used.

SILKS, SATINS, WOOLENS, EVOKY, BONE, &C.,

May be readily gilded by immersing them in a solution of neu-
il tercldoride of gold (1 of the salt, and to fl of water), and then
posing them to the action of hydrogen gas. The latter part of
2 process may readily be performed by pouring some dilute
tyhuric acid on zinc or iron flings, in a wide-mouthed bottle^

TI1E GILDER’S MANUAL.

and placing it under a jar or similar vessel, inverted, at the top
of which the articles to be gilded are suspended. Flowers or
other ornamental designs may be produced by painting them on
the surface with a camel-hair pencil dipped in the solution. The
design, after a few minutes’ exposure to the hydrogen, shineg
with all the splendor of the purest gold, and will not tarnish on
exposure to tho air, or in washing.

SILVERING.

WHITENING WITH 8ILVEB IN A POT.

This operation is still employed for whitening small wares foi
which durability is of secondary importance, and which simplj
require the whiteness of silver ; such are hooks and eyes, 01
buttons. This whitening is made as follows : —

1. Dissolve a certain quantity of pure granulated silver in
iouble its weight of pure nitric acid. The solution is largely
iiluted with water, and the metal is precipitated in heavy white
clods by common salt or hydrochloric acid. All the nitrate ol
silver has be n decomposed when a further addition of hydro¬
chloric acid or common salt to the clear supernatant liquid does
not produce any turbidness. The clear liquors are then thrown
away, and the chloride of silver obtained is washed several times,
to deprive it of all free acid. If this precipitate is to be kept
some time before use, it should be removed from the sunlight,
which blackens it rapidly. The chloride of silver, with a little
water, is thoroughly mixed with at least 80 times its weight of
finely powdered bitartrate of potash, and kept in a stoneware
pot.

2. Pure silver for making the chloride, 1 part ; powdered cream
tartar, salt, 83 parts of each ; a few spoonfuls of the paste
thrown in, and dissolved in boiling water contained in a pure
copper kettle.

The articles are dipped into this bath by a hook, or in a basket
of wire gauze, such as indicated in receipt for gilding by dipping.
Ur have another basin of copper, shallow and perforated with
Holes, which rests against the upper sides of the kettle. By
means of handles, this basin can be removed at once with its con-

THE GTLDER’8 MANUAL.

tents. Stir the articles with ft wooden spatula ; nnd fit each
operation add a quantity of paste proportioned to the surfaces to
he whitened. These baths do not work well when freshly made,
but improve as they arc more used. They acquire a dark green
tint, due to the copper which is dissolved, and which takes the
place of the deposited silver. Varnishing, coloring, and cleansing
may be done in aquafortis ; but these cleansing methods are in¬
ferior to those employed for gilding ; in general, use the worn-
out acids of gilders. Brighten the articles by friction with saw¬
dust. The smallest particle of iron, zinc, or tin introdui ed into
the whitening bath imparts a red color to the brass or copper
articles in the liquor. The iron is separated by a magnet ; the
zinc is dissolved in pickles of hydrochloric or sulphuric acid,
which, when cold, do not sensibly corrode the copper articles ;
tin or lead must be picked out by hand. If the operation has
not succeeded, the articles are plunged for a few seconds into a
boiling solution of water, gallons ; nitrate of silver, 3| oz. ;
ordinary cyanide of potassium, 21 oz. This bath retains its
strength for a long time, and increases the brightness and white¬
ness of the deposit. The process of silvering by dipping has
nearly superseded this method.

PLATED SILVER

Is obtained by rolling together a plate of copper of the first
quality, and one of silver ; these are cither welded, or simply
united by placing their hot and clean surfaces together, wetted
with a concentrated solution of nitrate of silver. The two metals
are reduced and drawn out about equally by the pressure of rolls,
and long sheets or bands of silvered metal are thus obtained, with
which a great many articles may be manufactured. By this
mode of operation, a great quantity of material is lost, as the
objects have to be cut out from a sheet entirely silvered, and the
waste retains a large proportion of that metal ; the cut sections
picsent parts without silver, which must be hidden by ledges, or
by silvering by another method. There is also the absolute ne¬
cessity of employing pure copper, which is more costly, less
sonorous, and not so tough as its alloys ; but the greatest defect
of the process is the difference of thickness of the silver, accord¬
ing to the shape of the object. Raised surfaces are the most ex¬
posed to friction, and it is just there that the coat of silver is the
thinnest ; the conditions are reversed with electro-silvering, and
the parts in relief receive a more abundant deposit of silver,
which is a satisfactory result. The best plated silver is manu¬
factured by applying upon an ingot of pure copper weighing 9

THE GILDER’S MANUAL

parts, another Ingot of pure silver weighing 1 part, to coat one
side only; add another part of silver, if it is intended to coat both
sides. The two are rolled together until the desired thickness is
obtained.

The silver of the plated metal will be bright if the rollers are
well polished, and dull with rough rollers. The only solder which
docs not injure plated silver is tin solder ; and when the objects
manufactured are required to resist a warm temperature, nuts
and screws are employed. The electro-plating of old wares made
from copper with a covering of silver, is often ditncult. Sup¬
posing it is required to electro plate an old cruet-stand, the
bottom is separated from the wire, either by unsoldering or un¬
screwing. Smooth by emery cloth, or pumice-stone and water,
or by powdered bath-brick brushed over with a hard brush.
Spots of verdigris are removed with a few drops of hydrochloric
acid. The great difficulty consists in giving a good electro-deposit
upon the edges or mounts where there may be some lead or lead
solder ; apply to such parts, with a rather soft brush, a solution
made by dissolving 4 oz. of mercury in nitric acid, and adding
about half a pint of cold wTater. This solution is lightly brushed
over the lead mounts only ; the article and brush are then to be
well rinsed, and the brush and plain water applied ui the same
way.

The solution of mercury will turn the edges black, or dark
gray, but the subsequent brushing will render them bright again
The frame when well rinsed is ready for the depositing bath.
If, on its first immersion, any black spots appear, the frame maybe
removed, again brushed over, and finally returned to the bath. If
the edges do not receive the coating of silver as readily as the other
parts, the solution may require a little more cyanide, or a greater
battery power, or an increase in the surface of the anode. These
lead edges may be prepared for receiving the silver deposit by a
previous coat of copper applied as follows : — The edges are
plunged into a solution of sulphate of copper, with a lii tie free
sulphuric acid in it ; then, by touching the lead edge with an iron
wire, it is immediately coated with a bright deposit of copper,
which is rinsed and becomes a good conductor for the further
electro-deposit of silver. The coating of tin underneath the bot¬
tom of cruet frames is very difficult to plate, unless in a solution
made expressly for it ; therefore it is preferable to remove it
either with abrading materials, or with nitric acid employed with
care. This process of depositing copper will be found useful not
only for old plated ware, but also for many articles on which are
found unruly spots of tin solder.

THE GILDERS MANUAL.

SILVERING WITH 8ILVER FOIL

This method is never practiced except upon objects already
manufactured, in their definite shape ; and is adapted to all
kinds of copper, bronze, or brass. It is, in certain respects,
superior to plated silver ; but is very difficult of execution, and
has less adhesion to the metal underneath. After annealing the
articles, they are thrown whilst hot into a bath of sulphuric acid
with a small proportion of hydrochloric and nitric acids. They
have then a dull and dead luster, owing to a multitude of small
holes, which are so many points of attachment for the silver foil.
The objects, thus prepared, are tightly fixed upon an iron rod,
which is held in a vice. Their temperature is raised to about
800° F., by means of incandescent charcoal put at the proper
place, so as to open the pores of the metal, which, by cooling
afterward, will imprison the silver applied. The silver foils,
taken from the book with small tweezers, are cut to the proper
size upon a cushion with an ivory or steel knife. After each foil
is deposited upon the object, it is made to adhere by a light pres*
sure of a rag pad, and afterward by the friction of a steel burn
ishing tool. The parts of the silver foil which do not adhere art
removed with a soft brush. Gold-beaters prepare silver foil either
with bright or dead luster. The latter is made to adhere only by
the pressure of the pad, and not by the burnishing tool This
dead luster cannot compare in fineness with that obtained by the
battery ; however, it resists handling and the sulphur gases of
the atmosphere better. Articles thus silvered are only burnished
after all the silver foils have been applied ; round or cylindrical
objects are burnished upon the lathe, other forms by the hand ;
there are always places and lines showing the vibrations of the
burnishing tool. This method of silvering is only employed for
very large objects, such as high chandeliers and other church
ornaments. Spoons and forks may be covered with silver foil,
as follows : — First, slightly silver with a dead luster in a silver
bath by dipping ; heat, and then cover with silver foil, forcing
the silver foils into the pores of the metal underneath, by the
pressure of an iron scratch-brush striking vertically. Burnish by
the usual method ; it is impossible to obtain a dead luster by
this method.

COLD SILVERING BY RUBBING,

with the thumb, or cork, or a brush. The results are better than
those by the whitening process, but not very durable ; the method .
is useful to repair slight defects upon more durable silverings,
and to produce mixtures of gold and silver, or gold, upon slightly

THE GILDER’S MANUAL.

gilt objects, thus avoiding the use of resist varnishes. Make a
paste by thoroughly grinding in a porcelain mortar or with a
muller, and, as far as practicable, not in the light ; — 1. Water,
to 5 oz. ; white fused nitrate of silver, or, preferably,
the chloride, 7 oz. ; binoxalate of potash, 10| oz. ; bitartrate of
potash, 10i oz. ; common salt, 15 oz. ; sal ammoniac, 2f oz. 2.
Chloride of silver, Si oz. ; bitrartrate of potash, 7 oz. ; common
salt, 10 £ oz.

When finely pulverized in a porcelain mortar, triturate
it under a muller upon a plate of ground glass until there is
no granular feeling. Keep the paste in a porcelain pot, or in a
black glass vessel, to preserve it from the light, which decomposes
it rapidly. When about to use it, add a little water so as to form
a thin paste, which is applied with a brush or pencil upon the
cleansed articles of copper, or upon those gilt by dipping, or even
upon those gilt by the battery, provided that the coating is thin
enough to allow the copper to decompose the silver paste through
the coat of gold ; allow the paste to dry naturally, or with the
aid of a gentle heat. The chemical reaction is more or less com-
plele, according to the thickness of the gold deposit, and the dry
paste is of a pink shade, or entirely green. The salts are removed
by a thorough rinsing in cold water, and the silver appears with
a fine frosted appearance, the brightness of which may be in¬
creased by a few seconds’ immersion in a very diluted solution of
sulphuric acid, or of cyanide of potassium. This silvering bears i
the action of the wire brush and of the burnishing tool very well
and it may also be oxidized. Should a first silvering not be found
sufficiently durable, after scratch-brushing, apply a second or a
third coat. This silvering is not so adhering or white on pure
copper, as upon a gilt surface. For the reflectors of lanterns the
paste is rubbed upon the reflector with a fine linen pad ; then
with another rag, a thin paste of Spanish white, or similar sub¬
stance, is spread over the reflector and allowed to dry. Rubbing
with a fine and clean linen rag will restore the luster and white¬
ness of the plated silver.

FOR FLATED SILVER REFLECTORS.

A bath made of water, If pint ; nitrate of chloride of silver,

2 oz. ; cyanide of potassium, 10£ oz. Add sufficient Spanish
white, or levigated chalk, in fine powder, to produce a thin paste,
which is kept in a well closed pot. This paste is spread by a
brush or a pad of old linen, all over the surface of the reflector,
and allowed almost to dry, when it is briskly rubbed over by an¬
other clean dry rag of old linen.

THE GILDER’S MANUAL.

SILVERING BY DIPPING IN A WARM BATH.

For small articles a bath is made by dissolving in an enameled
cast-iron kettle in 2 galls, of water 17^ oz. of ordinary cyanide
of potassium. Also dissolve 5J oz. of fused nitrate of silver in
pint of water contained in a glass or porcelain vessel.

The second solution is gradually poured into the first one
Stir with a glass rod. The white or grayish-white precipitate
produced soon dissolves, and the remaining liquor is filtered
if a perfectly clear bath is desired. When brought to the boiling-
point it will immediately silver the cleansed copper articles
plunged in it. The objects must be quickly withdrawn. Tlie
silvering should immediately follow the cleansing, although the
rinsings after each operation should be thorough and complete.
This bright and light silvering is adapted for set jewelery, which
cannot be scratch-brushed without flattening the clasps, and to
which a bright luster is absolutely necessary as a substitute for
Ihefoilof burnished silver placed under the precious stones or
real jewelery. The employment of the solution of nitrate of
binoxide of mercury is useless, and even injurious for this bath.
It is useless to keep up the strength of the solution by new ad¬
ditions of cyanide and silver salt ; thus reinvigorated, it gives re¬
sults far inferior to those of the former solution. The bath
should, therefore, be worked out as long as the silvering is satis¬
factory, and when exhausted put away with the waste. With
this process a battery and a soluble anode may be used to obtain
a more durable deposit ; but the operation is no longer a simple
dipping, and properly belongs to electro-silvering by heat. A
solution, which, when boiling, produces a very fine silver coat,
with a dead, or partly dead, luster, upon cleansed coppers, is
made by dissolving with the aid of heat, in a well-scoured cop¬
per kettle, distilled water, 9 pints ; ferrocyanide of potassium,
21 oz.; carbonate of potash, 1-4 oz. When the liquid boils add
the well-washed chloride obtained from 1 oz. of pure silver
This should boil for about half an hour, and be filtered before
using ; part of the silver deposits upon the copper kettle, and
should be removed when a new bath is prepared. On account of
this inconvenience the process has been nearly abandoned, al¬
though the products are remarkably fine. All the dipping silver¬
ing baths, which contain a comparatively great excess of cyanide
of potassium to the proportion of the silver salt, will silver welt
copper articles perfectly cleansed, even in the cold ; whereas
this property diminishes in proportion to the increase of the
amount of silver in the bath, or with the decrease of the amount
of cyanide.

THE GILDER’8 MANUAL.

SADDLERY AND CARRIAGE WARES.

For small articles, partly copper and partly iron, such as those
used for saddlery and carriage wares, a particular process of sil¬
vering is used. The bath is composed of : — Water, 9 pints ;
caustic potash, 6 oz. ; bicarbonate of potash, 3£ oz. ; cyanide of
potassium, 2 oz. ; fused nitrate of silver, $ oz. The cyanide,
caustic potash, and bicarbonate are dissolved in 7 pints of water
in an enameled cast-iron kettle, then the remaining quart of
water, iu which the nitrate of silver has been separately dissolved,
is added to the former solution. For the silvering operation a
certain quantity of articles is cleansed, thoroughly rinsed, and
put into a small enameled kettle. Enough of the silver bath is
poured in to cover the articles entirely, and the whole is brought
to a boil for a few seconds, and stirred with a wooden spatula.

When the silvering appears satisfactory, the liquor employed
is put with the saved waste ; the same liquid is never used for
two batches of articles. This process gives a somewhat durable
silvering with a dead luster, of a grayish white, which is increased
in whiteness and brightness by soap and burnishing.

SILVERING BY DIPPING IN A COLD BATH.

As the bath is cold it is always ready for use, and the deposit
is finer and more unalterable, because only chemically pure silver is
deposited, without any mixture of subsalts. The bath is formed
of bisulphite of soda, to which is added nitrate of silver, until it
begins to be dissolved with difficulty. It is therefore with a
double sulphite of soda and silver that the cold silvering by dip¬
ping is effected. Bisulphites of potash, ammonia and other
alkalies may be substituted for the bisulphite of soda, but the
latter is to be preferred, because its preparation is cheaper, more
easy, and better known.

PREPARATION OF BISULPHITE OF SODA FOR COLD SILVERING.

Put into a tall vessel of glass or porcelain, water, 10 pints ;
crystalized carbonate of soda, 10 lbs. Pour a little mercury into
the bottom of the vessel, so that the glass tube carrying sulphur¬
ous acid gas, which has to be placed into it, may not be stopped
by the crystals formed during the operation. Arrange an appa¬
ratus for the production of sulphurous acid gas, and let the washed
gas pass through the vessel holding the carbonate of soda. Part
of the soda is transformed into sulphite of soda, which dissolves,
and a part falls to the bottom as bicarbonate. The latter is, how¬
ever, transformed into sulphite of soda by a continuous produc¬
tion of sulphurous acid, and the carbonate acid escapes. When
all has dissolved, continue the passage of sulphurous acid until

THE GILDER^ MANUAL.

the liquid slightly reddens blue litmus papv, and then put the
whole aside for 24 hours. After that time some crystals are found
upon the mercury, and the liquid above, more or less colored, is
the bisulphite of soda for silvering. The crystals are separated
from the mercury, drained, and kept for gilding baths. They
are not suitable for silvering.

The liquid bisulphite of soda thus prepared, should be stirred
with a glass rod, to throw off the carbonic acid w'hich may still
remain. The liquor should then be again tried with blue litmus
paper. If it turns a deep red, add a little carbonate of soda for
neutralizing the excess of sulphurous acid ; if red litmus paper
becomes blue, there is too much alkali, and more sulphurous acid
gas should be passed through the liquid, which is in the best con¬
dition when litmus paper becomes violet or slightly red. This
solution marks from 23° to 26° Baume, and must not come in
contact with iron, zinc, tin, or lead.

COLD SILVERING BATH FOR DIPPING.

A stoneware or glass vessel is about three parts filled with \*ho
liquid bisulphite of soda, a solution of nitrate of silver in dis¬
tilled water, of medium concentration, is gradually added while
the bath is continually stirred with a glass rod ; a white floccu-
lent precipitate of sulphite of silver is produced by stirring ; this
is dissolved by the bisulphite of soda. The silver solution is
added so long as the precipitate readily disappears, and stopped
when it becomes slow to dissolve. This bath is always ready to
work, and instantaneously produces a magnificent silvering upon
copper, bronze, or brass articles which have been thoroughly
cleansed, and passed through a weak solution of nitrate of bin-
oxide of mercury, although this last operation is not absolutely
necessary. According to the length of time of the immersion
the bath will give, a very fine whitening by silver is as cheap as
any of the other described processes ; a bright silvering, espe¬
cially adapted for setting jewelry ; or a silvering with a dead
luster, still more durable, without electricity, and in the cold.
The loss of silver is made good by additions of nitrate of silver.
When the proportion of bisulphite is not sufficient to dissolve the
metallic salt, add some bisulphite of soda to restore the bath to
its primitive state. Silver is slowly deposited upon the sides of
the vessel ; this may be dissolved in nitric acid for future uses.

SOLUTION OF SILVER OR GOLD FOR 8ILVERING OR GILDING WITH¬
OUT THE AID OF A BATTERY.

1 oz. of nitrate of silver is dissolved in one quart of rain or
distilled water, and a few crystals of hyposulphite of soda added,

TTTE GILDER’S MANUAL.

which form a brown precipitate soluble in a slight excess
of hyposulphite. Small articles of steel, brass, or German
silver may be silvered by dipping a sponge in the solu¬
tion and rubbing it over the surface of the article to be coated.
A solution of chloride of gold may be treated in the same manner,
and applied as described. A more concentrated solution of either
gold or silver may be used for coating parts of articles which
have stripped or blistered, by applying it with a camel-hair pencil
to the part, and touching the spot at the same time with a thin
clean strip of zinc.

SILVER ELECTRO-PLATING.

BATH FOR SILVER ELECTROPLATING.

Water, 2£ galls. ; cyanide of potassium, pure, 17£ oz. ; pure
silver for cyanide, 8£ oz. The composition of commercial
cyanide of potassium is exceedingly irregular. The pure, or No.
1, contains from 90 to 100 per cent, of real cyanide, and is espe¬
cially employed for gilding and silveriug baths. No. 2 contains
from 00 to 70 per cent, of real cyanide ; it is the article prepared
by Liebig’s method, and is used for electro-baths of copper and
brass. No. 3, which marks from 55° to 00°, is for scouring and
preparing baths.

1. Put in a porcelain dish, holding a quart, pure granulated
silver, 8f oz. ; pure nitric acid at 40° Baume, 17£ oz. Heat by
charcoal or gas. The dish should be supported by an iron tri¬
angle, and not in direct contact with the fire. The acid rapidly
attacks and dissolves the silver with an abundant production of
yellow nitrous vapors, which must not be inhaled. When the
vapors have disappeared, there remains a liquid more or less
colorless, according to the proportion of copper held by the com¬
mercial silver, which is seldom entirely pure. The heat is then
increased in order to evaporate ihe excess of acid, which escapes
in white fumes. The material in the dish swells up and dries,
and, with a further increase of heat, melts like wax. The dish is
then removed from the fire, and being held with a cloth, the
molten mass is made to flow upon the sides, where it soon solidi¬
fies ; the fused nitrate of silver, (lunar caustic,) is more or less
white or gray, according to the purity of the silver employed.
When perfectly cooled, turn the dish upside down, and by a
gentle tap on the sides, the mass is detached.

2. Dissolve the nitrate of silver in ten or fifteen times its weight
of distilled water ; hydrocyanic acid poured into this solution im¬
mediately produces an abundant white precipitate of cyanide of

THE GILDER’S MANUAL.

silver. A sufficient quantity of prussic acid has been employed
when, by adding a few drops of it to the clear liquid, no precipi¬
tate or turbidity appears. Throw the liquid upon a filter of
muslin stretched on a wooden frame, the cyanide of silver remains
on the cloth, the solution with the nitric acid and excess of prus¬
sic acid passes through. Wash the precipitate left upon the filter
two or three times with pure water.

3. This cyanide of silver is put into the vessel intended for the
bath and stirred with the galls, of water. The cyanide of
potassium is then added, dissolves it, and also dissolves the cy¬
anide of silver, thus giving a solution of a double cyanide of
potassium and silver.

Those who employ small baths, often renovated, may substi¬
tute for the cyanide of silver the chloride, or the nitrate of this
metal. In the latter case, the quantity of cyanide of potassium
should be increased. Such baths will be prepared as follows : —

1. The nitrate or silver is prepared in the manner indicated above,
and 5^ oz. of it, nearly equal to oz. of pure silver, are dis¬
solved in 2£ galls, of water.

2. The cyanide of potassium No. 1, about 8| oz., is then added.
Stir to facilitate the solution, filter the liquor, to separate the iron
contained in the cyanide. This operation may in some cases be
dispensed with, because the iron rapidly falls to the bottom of
the bath, and the solution becomes limpid.

The proportion of cyanide of potassium employed is more than
is required for dissolving the silver, as 1| parts of good cyanide
is sufficient for one part of silver ; but unless there is an excess
of cyanide of potassium, the liquors do not conduct electricity
well, and the deposit of silver is granulated and irregular. The
silvering is effected with a battery, and with baths either warm
or cold. The latter method is generally adopted for articles which
require great solidity. The hot process is used for small articles,
and is preferable for steel, iron, zinc, lead, and tin which have
been previously electro-coppered.

The hot baths are generally kept in enameled cast iron kettles,
and the articles are either suspended, or moved constantly about
in them. The preliminary cleansing in acids, and passing through
the mercurial solution, are necessary. A somewhat energetic
current is needed, especially when the articles are moved about,
in order to operate rapidly. There is too much electricity when
the articles connected with the negative pole of the battery
become gray or black, and produce many bubbles of gas.

A platinum, large wire or thin foil anode, is generally preferred
to the soluble anode of silver employed in cold baths, but the so¬
lution is rapidly impoverished. In hot silvering baths, th$

82 the gilder’s manual.

separate battery is often replaced by a zinc wire wrapped around
the articles.

The points of contract of the two metals are black or gray, but
the stain disappears by plunging the object into the liquor for a
few moments, after it has been separated from the zinc, and care¬
fully 3cratch-bruslicd.

Instead of separate batteries, a simple apparatus may be made
of a glass, porcelain or stone-ware vessel holding the bath, and
in the centre of which is a porous jar filled with a solution of 10
per cent, of cyanide of potassium or common salt. The cylinder
of zinc, immersed in this porous jar, carries a larger circle of
brass wire, the cross diameters of which are soldered to the zinc.
This brass ring projects over the bath, and the articles, suspended
to the ring by slinging wires, hang down into the bath. At the
beginning, the operation goes on rapidly, and the deposit is good ;
but, after a time, the solution of zinc traverses the porous cell
and impairs the purity of the bath.

An impoverished hot bath is reinvigorated by additions of
squal parts of cyanide of potassium and silver salt. It is neces¬
sary to replace the water in proportion as it is evaporated. When
the silver baths rapidly deposit metal without the aid of electri¬
city', it is a proof that they are too rich in cyanide, or too poor in
silver. A deposit affected under such conditions is rarely adher¬
ing, especially when upon articles previously coppered, because
the excess of cyanide dissolves the deposited copper, and the sil¬
ver which takes its place may be removed with the finger. The
remedy consists in adding to the bath only enough silver salt and
no more, so that a piece of copper will not become sensibly sil¬
vered in it, without the aid of electricity.

The cold electro-silvering baths generally employed for electro¬
plating such articles as table-spoons or forks are contained in large
rectangular wooden troughs lined with gutta-percha, or made of
riveted wrought iron. They are sufficiently high to allow about
4 inches of liquid above the immersed object, whose distance
from the bottom and sides should be nearly the same, to give a
regular deposit of metal at both extremities of the object. The
upper ledge of the trough carries two brass rods all round, which
do not touch one another, one above the other, so that other
metallic rods, being put across, will rest upon the higher or the
lower rod, but not both at the same time. Each rod is connected
with one of the poles of the battery by conducting wires, the
points of contact of which should be perfec ly clean. The rod
which supports the articles to be silvered is connected with the
negative pole represented by zinc in most batteries ; and the
other, supporting the anodes, is attached to the positive pole.

TIIE QILDEIt’S manual.

which is carbon with Bunsen’s elements, copper for Daniell’s, and
platinum with Grove’s cells.

A certain number of spoons and forks fixed to a rod, by means
of copper wires, are cleansed at the same time, and the rod is placed
upon the negative conducting rod of the trough. Then, facing
these articles hang upon the positive conducting wire of the trough
another metallic rod to which the soluble silver anode is attached
like a flag. Next comes another series of spoons and forks, faced
by another soluble anode, in such a manner that each row of
spoons and forks is between two anodes. The articles to be sil¬
vered all rest upon the negative conducting rod, and the soluble
anodes upon the positive one. This disposition is for obtaining
an equal deposit upon all the pieces.

The objects require turning upside down during the operation,
in order to prevent a thicker deposit on the lower parts, as the
richest part of the solution is the densest, and therefore lies near
the bottom of the trough. The denser layers, being richer in
metal, deposit it more abundantly upon the direction which they
follow, and form grooves which cannot be filled by the lighter
and poorer currents. It is, therefore, advantageous to keep the
objects in constant motion. In this case the frame supporting
the articles does not rest upon the trough, but is suspended above
the bath, and receives its motion from a small eccentric, or other
motive power. The silver deposit will adhere strongly, if the
articles have been fully amalgamated in the solution of nitrate
of binoxide of mercury, and have remained in the silver bath
from 12 to 15 hours, according to the intensity of the current.
The silvering will be the better and finer as the intensity of the
current is weaker, up to a certain limit. A sufficient quantity of
silver may be deposited in 3 or 4 hours, but the result is not satis¬
factory, and the burnishing is very difficult.

When the articles have acquired a film of silver, they are
sometimes removed from the bath and thoroughly scratch-brush¬
ed, cleansed in alcohol, or, preferably, in a hot silvering bath,
thence again passed through the mercurial solution, and finished
in the former cold electro bath. This first scratch-brushing,
which is not always necessary, obviates the tendency of certain
alloys to assume a crystalline appearance, and corrects imperfec¬
tions of the cleansing process.

Electro-silvering baths do not generally work so well when
freshly prepared, as when they have been used for a certain time ;
the deposit is often granulated, bluish, or yellowish. It is, there¬
fore, desirable to mix a portion of old liquors with those recently
prepared, or new baths may acquire an artificial age by boiling a
few hours, or adding one or two thousandths of aqua ammonia.

THE GILDER'S MANUAL.

TO ELECTROPLATE OVER BOLDER.

Cleanse from grease with caustic potash. Dip quickly In red
nitrous acid, in order to remove oxide, and then wash away with
water all traces of acid. Make a solution of mercury in cyanide
of potassium ; into this dip the joint for a short time ; then wash
in water as before. The silver may be then easily deposited upon
the amalgamated surface.

TO PREVENT ELECTRO-SILVER PLATING TURNING YELLOW BY

CONTACT WITH THE AIR.

This change of color is due to the deposit, by galvanic action,
of pure silver and of a subsalt, the subcyanide of silver, which is
rapidly decomposed and darkened by light. It is therefore neces
sary to remove the subcyanide by one of the following methods:

1. The articles are left immersed in the bath for sometime after
the electric current has been interrupted, when the subcyanide of
silver is dissolved by the cyanide of potassium.

2. Having smeared the objects with a paste of borax, they
are heated in a muffle until the salt fuses and dissolves the sub-
cyanide. This process anneals and softens the metal.

3. The poles of the battery are inverted for a few seconds, that
3 to say, the articles become soluble anodes, and the electric
current carries away the subcyanide of silver in preference to the
metal ; this operation should be very short, otherwise the silver
will entirely abandon the objects and will coat the silver sheets.

SILVER-PLATING BRITANNIA METAL, PEWTER, AND ALL COMBI¬
NATIONS OF LEAD AND TIN.

These are best placed in a solution containing a good deal of
free cyanide, and the deposit should be rapid at first. The sur¬
face of the anode should be about three times that required for
German silver and the battery power strong, but not too intense.
It is better not to disturb these articles in the solution at the be¬
ginning of the deposit. Afterward they may be shifted for ob¬
taining a uniform coat. If the articles, when they have been a
short time in the plating bath, present an unequal surface, re¬
move them, and brush over again as before ; then, after well
rinsing, return quickly to the bath and allow them, if possible, to
remain without further disturbance.

SMALL SILVER BATH FOR AMATEURS.

The bath is a cylindrical stoneware, glass, or porcelain vessel.
After cleansing and amalgamation, the articles are attached by

Clean copper wires to the circumference of a brass ring, supported

THE GILDEE’s MANUAL.

npon the top of the apparatus by three or four soldered cross¬
wires. The ring is connected with the negative pole of the
battery, and the positive pole with a platinum anode, or a cylinder
formed of a sheet of silver rolled round, which dips into the mid¬
dle of the apparatus. The articles must be now and then turned
upside down, and sideways, so that each face of the object will
be, in turn, directly opposite the silver anode, and thus also the
points of contact with the suspending wires receive their quota
of metallic deposit. Points, edges, corners, and all raised parts,
offer a more easy passage to the electric current, and therefore
become more coated with metal. As the wear of tablespoons and
forks is greater on their convex sides, those parts should face the
silver anode longer than the concave portions.

BRIGHT LUSTER.

Bisulphide of carbon, in small proportion, imparts a bright
luster to electroplated articles. Put an ounce of bisulphide of
carbon into a pint bottle containing a strong silver solution with
cyanide in excess. The bottle should be repeatedly shaken, and
the mixture is ready for use in a few days. A few drops of this
solution may be poured into the plating bath occasionally, until
the work appears sufficiently bright. The bisulphide solution,
however, must be added with care, for an excess is apt to spoil
the solution. In plating surfaces which cannot easily be scratch-
brushed, this brightening process is very serviceable. Care must
betaken never to add too much at a time.

DEPOSITS ON SOLDER.

The difficulty of obtaining regular deposits of gold or silver over
articles which have parts soldered may be greatly obviated by
scratch-brushing those parts dry, that is, without the usual liquid
employed. This renders these refractory parts better conduct¬
ing, provided that during the operation no impurities are left on
these spots.

METHOD BY WHICH THE WEIGHT OP DEPOSITED SILVER IS DIRECTLY

ASCERTAINED.

1. The articles are cleansed by the processes already described,
then dried saw-dust or otherwise, and weighed in a scale. How¬
ever rapidly this may be done the surface of the copper will be
slightly oxidized and tarnished ; to recover their former cleanli¬
ness the articles must be plunged into a strong piokel of sulphuric
acid, and then into the mercurial solution. After rinsing, and
immersion in the bath, practical experience will teach when it is
nearly time to withdraw the articles from the solution. They

THE GILDER’S MANUAL.

will have to be wighed several times before the intended weight
of silver has been deposited.

2. Cieanse the articles, and put them immediately into the
bath, except one, which is treated as above, and used as a test.
This piece is now and then removed from the bath to ascertain
its increase of weight, and when it has acquired its proportion of
silver it is supposed the other pieces are also finished. Strongly
amalgamated articles will not become sensibly oxidized during
the drying which precedes tlieir weighing. When the objects
have been dried in order to ascertain the proportion of deposited
silver, they should not be returned to the bath without having
been cleaned in a hot solution of cyanide of potassium, which
dissolves the grease from handling, and passed again through the
solution of nitrate of binoxide of mercury, and rinsed. Alcohol
may be substituted for the hot solution of cyanide, but the results
are not so sure, and the expense is greater. Both these methods
are tedious, and only give approximate results.

3. Remove one dish of an ordinary pair of scales substitute for
it a metallic frame which supports the articles to be silvered, and
communicates through the beam and the column with the negative
electrode of a battery ; connect the soluble anode with the positive
pole. When the articles are suspended to the frame, and are in
the bath, the equilibrium of the scale is established by weights
upon the other dish ; add to this a weight equal to the silver it is
desired to deposit. The operation will be finished when the
equilibrium of the beam is re-established. This method is not
mathematically accurate, but is sufficiently exact for all practical
purposes. An automatic arrangement, by which the electric
current may be broken at the time the articles in the bath have
received a sufficient deposit of silver, is easily arranged, and
saves time and metal.

anodes.

Should the anodes become black during the passage of the
electric current, the solution contains too little cyanide of potas¬
sium and too much silver. In this case the deposit is adherent,
but too slow, and the bath loses more silver than it can gain from
the anodes. Carefully add sufficient cyanide of potassium. If
the anodes remain white during the current, the proportion of
cyanide of potassium is too great, the deposited silver is often
without adherence, and the anodes lose more metal than is de¬
posited ; add silver salt until it dissolves with difficulty. When
in good working order the soluble anodes become grey duringthe
passage of the electricity, and white when the circuit is broken.
The specific gravity of the bath may vary from 5° to 15° of the
Baume hydrometer for salts, and still furnish good results.

THE GILDER’S MAHUAL.

There is a simple and rapid process for ascertaining the state
of the bath, and establishing the proper ratio between the silver
and the cyanide. About half a pint of the liquor is put into a
tall glass, and a solution of one-third of an ounce of nitrate of
silver in 3 oz. of distilled water is poured into the former, drop
by drop. If the white precipitate produced is rapidly dissolved
by stirring, the liquor is too rich in cyanide, or too poor in sil¬
ver ; should the precipitate remain undissolved after long stir¬
ring, the liquor is too rich in silver or too poor in cyanide of potas¬
sium. When the precipitate is dissolved but slowly, the liquor
is in the best condition.

BURNISHING.

By burnishing, the roughness of an object is flattened down
until the surface is smooth and polished, like a looking-glass
Burnishing is an important operation for electro-deposits which
consist of a multitude of small crystals with intervals between
them, and with facets reflecting the light in every direction.
The deposited metal is hardened, and forced into the pores of
the underlaying metal, and the durability is thus increased to such
an extent, that with the same amount of silver a burnished article
will last twice as long as one which has not been so treated. The
instruments employed for burnishing are made of different mate¬
rials, and must be of great hardness and a perfect polish. Such
are hardened cast steel, agate, flint, and blood-stone.

For metallic electro deposits steel and blood-stones are espe¬
cially employed. There are several qualities of blood-stone ; its
grain should be close, hard and without seams or veins ; it should
leave no white lines on the burnished parts, nor take off any metal,
and its color should be of an intense black-red. The steel must
be fine and close grained, and perfectly polished. Should the polish
of any burnishing tool alter by use, it is restored by friction upon
a skin or leather attached to a wooden block, which is fixed to
the bench. The leather is covered with polishing rouge in im¬
palpable powder, or, preferably, with pure alumina obtained by
calcining ammonia alum in a forge fire. Venetian tripoli, rotten-
stone, tin putty, emery, or many other hard substances finely
powdered may be employed.

The burnishing tools are of various shapes, such as a lance, a
tooth, a knife, a half-sphere, or a dog’s tongue, and a considerable
stock is necessary. The burnishing is divided into two distinct
operations ; the first consists in roughing, and the second in finish¬
ing. The tools for the first have a sharp edge, whilst for the
second operation they have a rounded surface. The tools for the
hand or the lathe are fixed by copper ferules into the short round

THE GILDER’S MANUAL.

wooden handles, so that the hand is not influenced by thels
weight ; the tools for the arm or the vice are fastened to wooden
handles sufficiently long to rest their slender part upon the arm
or the shoulder, the stouter lower portion is grasped by the hand.

The burnishing tools and the objects must be frequently wetted
by certain solutions, some of which facilitate the sliding of the
instrument, or with others which have a chemical action upon
the shade of the burnished articles. Of the first are pure water,
solutions of soap, decotions of linseed, and infusions of the roots
of marsh-mallow or liquorice ; the second includes wine-lees,
cream tartar, vinegar, alum in water. When burnishing gold
applied upon electro-deposits of copper, as in gilding with a dead
luster by that method, use pure water for fear of producing a
disagreeable red shade. A solution of new soap is sometimes
preferred by operators, although when old it imparts an unpleas-
int tinge, owing to the sulphides of the liquor. When the burn¬
ishing is completed, the surface is wiped longitudinally with a
soft and old muslin rag.

The polish obtained by burnishing is called black, -when it
reflects the rays like a mirror ; and should the presence of mer
eury or a bad deposit prevent the tool from producing a brigh
surface, the object is said to be greasy. Articles which have been
previously polished, and which generally receive a very trifling
deposit, are not burnished, but rubbed with chamois leather and
the best quality polishing-rouge. Too thick or too rapid electro¬
deposits cannot be burnished, but must be polished by rubbing
with a leather and a mixture of oil and powdered pumice-stone,
tripoli, or tin putty. Coarse powders are used at the beginning,
and impalpable ones at the end of the operation. Polished silver
deposits are more agreeable to the eye than burnished ones ; but
the hardening of the latter renders them more durable.

TO DISSOLVE SILVER FROM SILVERED ARTICLES — COLD BATH.

For dissolving silver in the cold the objects are hung in a large
vessel filled with the following mixture : — Sulphuric acid at 00°
Baume, 10 parts ; nitric acid at 40° Baume, 1, in which they re¬
main for a greater or less length of time, according to the thick¬
ness of the coat of silver to be dissolved. This liquid, when it
does not contain water, dissolves the silver without sensibly cor¬
roding copper and its alloys ; therefore avoid introducing wet
articles into it, and keep the liquid perfectly covered when not iu
use. As far as practicable place the articles in the liquid so as
not to touch each other, and in a vertical position, so that the
silver salt will fall to the bottom. In prooortion as the action ol
the liquor diminishes, pour in small and gradual additions u i

A M

THE GILDER’S MANUAL.

nitric acid Dissolving silver in the cold is regular and certain,
but slow, especially when the proportion of silver is great. The
other more rapid process is then resorted to.

HOT BATH.

Nearly fill a flat pan of enameled cast iron with concentrated
sulphuric acid, and heat to a temperature of 300° to 400° Fahr. ;
at the moment of using it, pinches of dry powdered saltpeter are
thrown into it ; then hold the article with copper tongs in the
liquid. The silver rapidly dissolves, and the copper or its alloys
are not sensibly corroded. According to the rapidity of the so¬
lution more or fewer pinches of saltpeter are added. All the
silver has been dissolved when, after rinsing in water and dipping
the articles in the cleansing acids, they present no brown or
black spots, that is, when they appear like new metals. These
two methods are not suitable for removing the silver from
wrought and cast iron, zinc, or lead ; it is preferable to invert the
electric current in a cyanide bath, or to use mechanical processes.
Old desilvering liquors become green after use ; to recover the
silver they are diluted with four or five times their volume of
water, then add hydrochloric acid or common salt. The precipi
tation is complete when the settled liquor does not become tur
bid by a new addition of common salt or hydrochloric acid
The resulting chloride of silver is separated from the liquid
either by decantation or filtration, and is afterwards reduced to
the metallic state by one of the methods which will be described.

RESISTS AND RESERVES.

By reserves, certain parts of a metallic article, which may be
already covered with an electro-deposit on its whole surface, are
coated with another metal. To gild the parts in relief of an ob¬
ject of which the body is silvered, make a gold reserve, and use
a silver reserve for silvering of certain parts of a body already
gilt. This requires a little practice and care, and a firm hand to
make thin lines with the hair pencil. Thoroughly scratch-brush
and wipe the object ; the parts intended to have the primitive
color must be covered by a brush with a resist varnish ; dry in
the air, or in a stove, or upon a gentle fire until it no longer feels
sticky. Place in the bath ; the galvanic deposit will only coat
those parts unprotected by the varnish. The temperature of the
bath should be low, and the current weak, for fear of having
rough lines where the deposit touches the varnish, from the latter
becoming softened, or from bubbles which are disengaged at the
negative pole under the action of a strong electric current.

When the deposit is completed, remove the resist varnish with

90 THE GILDEli’s MANtJAU

warm spirits of turpentine, and afterwards with tepid alcohol ;
naptha or benzole are preferable, as they rapidly dissolve in the
cold nearly all resinous and fatty bodies, or the varnish may
be destroyed by a brief immersion in concentrated sulphuric acid
when cold. It often happens that several colors and metals have
to be placed upon the same object, such as silver with both bright
and a dead luster, and yellow, green, red, white, or pink golds,
or platinum. Varnishes are also employed for avoiding the
deposit of the precious metals upon those parts which do not
need them.

RESI8T OR RESERVE VARNISHES.

Dissolve in boiled linseed oil or spirits of turpentine, resin, or
copal ; these varnishes are not sufficiently colored to distinguish
the places where they have been laid on, mix with them therefore
a certain proportion of red-lead, chrome yellow, or Prussian blue,
which at the same time facilitates their drying.

OLD SILVERING.

To imitate old artistic productions made of solid silver, the
groundwork and hollow portions not subject to friction are cov¬
ered with a blackish red earthy coat, the parts in relief remain
with a bright lead luster. Mix a thin paste of finely-powdered
plumbago with spirits of turpentine, to which a small propor¬
tion of red ochre may be added to imitate the copper tinge of
certain old silverware ; smear this all over the articles. After
drying, gently rub with a soft brush, and the reliefs are set off
by cleaning with a rag dipped in spirits of wine. Old silver is
easily removed, and the brightness of the metal restored, by allot
solution of caustic potash, cyanide of potassium, or benzole. To
give the old silver book to small articles, such as buttons and
rings, throw them into the above paste, rub in a bag with a large
quantity of common dry saw-dust until the desired shade is ob¬
tained.

OXIDIZED SILVER.

This is not an oxidization, but a combination with sulphur or
chlorine. Sulphur, soluble sulphides, and hydros ulphuric acid
blacken silver, and insoluble silver salts, and particularly the
chloride of silver, rapidly blackens by solar light. Add four or
five thousandths of hydrosulphate of ammonia, or of qnintisul-
phide of potassium, to ordinary water at a temperature of 160 8 to
180° Fahr. When the articles are dipped into this solution an
iridescent coating of silver sulphide covers them, which after a
few seconds more in the liquid turns blue-black. Hemove,

THE GILDER’S MANUAL.

Hnse, scratch-brush, and burnish when desired. Use the
solution when freshly prepared, or the prolonged heat will
precipitate too much sulphur, and the deposit will be wanting in
adherence ; besides the oxidization obtained in freshly-prepared
liquors is always brighter and blacker than that produced in old
solutions, which is dull and gray. If the coat of silver is too
thin, and the liquor too strong, the alkaline sulphide dissolves the
silver, and the underlaying metal appears. In this case cleanse
and ilver again, and use a weaker blackening solution.

Oxidized parts and gilding may be put upon the same article
by the following methods : After the whole surface has been
gilt, certain portions are covered with the resist varnish ; silver
the remainder. Should the process of silvering by paste and cold
rubbing be employed, the gilding should be very pale, because it
is not preserved, and deeply reddened by the sulphur liquor.
When this inconvenience occurs from a too concentrated liquor,
it is partly remedied by rapidly washing the article in a tepid
solution of cyanide of potassium.

Deep black is thus obtained upon cleansed copper ; — Dissolve
3 or 4 oz. of blue ashes, (hydrocarbonate of copper), in sufficient
quantity of aqua ammonia, place the cleansed copper in thissolu-
tion, cold or tepid, it will be instantaneously covered with a fine
black deposit. This coat is so thin that burnished articles look
like varnished black.

NIELLED SILVER.

This is a kind of inlaid enamel work, and is obtained by the
sulphuration of certain parts of a silver object. But instead of
being direct, this is produced by inlaying the silver surface with
a sulphide of the same metal prepared beforehand. For prepar
ing the niel, heat a certain proportion of sulphur in a deep cruci
ble ; heat a certain quantity of silver, copper and lead in anothei
crucible, and when melted pour into the fused sulphur, which
transforms these metals into sulphides ; then add a little sal am¬
moniac, remove from the crucible and pulverize for use.

First crucible — flowers of sulphur, 27 oz. ; sal ammoniac, 2f oz.

Second crucible, which after fusion is poured into the first-
silver, oz. ; copper, 1| oz ; lead 2f oz.

1. After having reduced the niel to a fine powder, mix with
a small proportion of a solution of sal ammoniac, hollow out the
engraving upon a silver surface, and cover the whole, hollows
and reliefs, with the composition. The article is then to be heated
in a muffle until the composition solders to the metal. Uncover
the pattern by a level polish, when the silver will appear as over
a black ground. Tins method is costly, as each article must
engraved.

THE GILDER’S MANUAL.

2. Engrave in relief a steel plate, and press it against the silver
plate between two hard bodies. The copy is hollow, and ready
to receive the nieL A great many copies may be obtained from
the same matrix.

SILVERING LOOKING-GLASSES.

The metal used is quicksilver. The substance employed to
make the mercury or quicksilver adhere to the surface of the glass
is tin-foil, as thin as paper, and which has a strong attraction for
mercury. A drop of mercury combines with the tin-foil, and
they become as one substance, which adheres pretty firmly to glass
The glass to be silvered is made perfectly clean on both sides,
particularly on that which is to be silvered. If the slightest
speck of dirt be allowed to remain on the surface, it will appear
very conspicious when the glass is silvered. The tin-foil is gene¬
rally made in sheets about 0 ft. long and of various widths, vary¬
ing from 19 in. up to 40, the diversity of widths being to enable
the silverer to cut out small pieces suitable to various-sized glasses.
For larger sizes, the foil is generally made to order, and of a greater
thickness than for smaller glasses. A sheet of tin-foil being un¬
rolled, is laid down flat, and cut to the same shape as the glass,
but an inch larger each way. It is then laid down as smoothly as
possible on the silvering stone, which is a very large and care¬
fully prepared slab of slate, porphyiy, or marble, perfectly flat
and smooth.

The foil is worked out level and smooth on the silvering stone
by means of a smooth wooden roller, which is worked over it in
every direction. The silverer pours some mercury into a wooden
bowl, and then, by means of an iron ladel, pours the mercury
over the whole surface of the foil till every part is covered. The
glass plate is then laid upon the liquid mercury ; but it is not
laid at once flat down on it, being made to slide on the edge of
the glass first coming in contact with the mercury. As it is slid
along, it pushes before it the greater part of the mercury, because
the edge of the glass almost scrapes along the foil as it passes,
that al. air-bubbles and impurities may be pushed off, allowing
only a thin film of very pure mercury to remain between the
glass and the foil. In this much care and delicacy are required.

It is a matter of considerable difficulty to clean the glass so
perfectly as not to show any marks or streaks after it is silvered.
It is often necessary to remove it from the foil two or three times
after it has beeu laid down, to wipe off specks of dirt which are
visible when the glass is silvered, however diflicult of detection
they may previously be ; this is especially the case in damp

THE GILDER’S MANUAL

weather. This renders it necessary that the foils for large glasses,
which necessarily require a longer time than small ones to per¬
form 'he different processes, should be thicker than those for
smaller ; for such is the attraction between the mercury and the
foil, that if a glass after having been removed for further clean¬
ing, is not speedily replaced on the mercury, the latter will com¬
bine with the foil, and give it a rottenness which will prevent its
adhesion to the glass ; the thicker the foil, the less likely is tb it
to occur.

When the glass is properly place 1 on the tin-foil, and it is ascer¬
tained that all specks and air-bubbles are removed, it is covered
almost in every part by heavy iron or leaden weights ; so that a
large glass will have several hundredweight pressing upon it.
This pressure is to force out from between the glass and the foil
is much mercury as possible, so that the thinnest film only shall
remain between them. To effect this more completely, the silver¬
ing stone is made to rest on a swivel, underneath, by which it can
be made either perfectly horizontal, or thrown into an inclined
position. While the glass is being laid on the foil, the silvering
hone is horizontal, to prevent the mercury from flowing off ; but
when the superfluous mercury is to be drained off, the stone is
made to assume an inclined position, so as to ensure one general
direction for the flow of the mercury.

A hollow groove runs round the sides of the stone, into which
the mercury flows as it is forced out from between the glass and
the foil. A pipe, descending from one corner of this trough,
conveys the mercury into a bottle placed beneath to receive it.
Although an immense weight of mercury must be poured on the
foil for the silvering of a large glass, yet the quantity which actu¬
ally remains between the glass and the foil is extremely small.
The glass, with the weights upon it, is allowed to remain in the
inclined position for several hours, or, if the glass is large, it is
allowed to remain until the next day, in order that as much as
possible of the mercury may be pressed out before the weights
are removed.

On the removal of the weights, one end of the glass is tilted up
and supported by the blocks, the other end still remaining on the
stone. A piece of foil is then laid on the lowest corner, to draw
off the mercury which collects in a little pool at the bottom of
the glass. In this state the glass remains from a few hours to 3 or
4 days, according to its size. When as much of the mercury as
possible 1 as drained from the glass in this way, the glass is taken
up, when it is found that the two metals have combined together,
and in the combined state adhere to the glass, which neither the
one nor the other would have done separately. The removal of

THE GILDER’S MANUAL.

the glass from the stone is effected in three different ways, accord¬
ing to its size. If it is not too wide for the arm-span of the sil-
verer, he takes it bv the two edges, lifts it from the stone, and
places it edgeways on the shelf or on the floor of the silvering
room, resting its upper edge against the wall, and allowing one
corner to be lower than the rest, so as to facilitate the draining
toward that corner. If the glass is long and narrow, two men
take it up instead of one, but in the same manner. If however,
the glass is very large, the following mode is sometimes adopted.

The draining room, and an opening in the floor of the latter is
so arranged that a portion of the silvering table can be let down
through it, on account of its facility of motion round the swivel.
By a gradual turning of the silvering table, the stone and the
glass upon it can be brought into a nearly perpendicular position.
In this position of the glass, several men in the lower room grasp
it by the edges, and place it against the wall of the room, where
it is left to drain. When the plate is thus placed against the wall
of the room, it is left to drain for a time, varying from one day
to several days, according to its size, in order that any remaining
superfluous mercury may become still better attached to the sur¬
face of the glass. When the draining appears to be complete, the
glass is ready to be applied to its intended purpose. The above
is the process for silvering plate glass. But there is an important
reason why common glass, used for cheaper purposes, such as the
inferior sort of dressing-glasses, cannot be silvered in this way ;
for any heavy pressure on such glass breaks it at once, on account
of its thinness and crookedness. These common glasses, which
are always small in size, arc not silvered on a stone, but on a
board or flat box. The foil is cut to the requisite size, and laid
on the board and covered with mercury, as in the former instance.

But instead of sliding the glass on the mercury, a piece of clean
paper is laid on the mercury, and the glass is laid on the paper.
The silverer now, laying one hand pretty firmly on the glass,
takes hold of the edge of the paper with the other, and by a quick
motion, draws out the paper from between the glass and the foil,
and with it the greater part of the mercury, together with air-
bubbles and impurities, — leaving the glass resting on a thin but
brilliant film of mercury ; this is a process requiring manual
dexterity.

The common glass employed for these purposes is always irre¬
gularly bent at its surfaces ; it is a general rule to silver the con.
cave side, when one side is more concave than the other. The
crown glass now made is better that that which was produced
a few years ago, and although it is always curved, yet the curva¬
ture is pretty nearly the same in different tables from the same

THE QILDElt’s MANUAL.

crate. This circumstance assists the silvcrer, for each silvered
glass acts as a weight to another of the same size. It is usual to
silver a great number of the same size at the same time ; and as
each one is silvered, it is placed llat down on a shelf, or in a shal¬
low box ; and on it the others are successively laid as they are
silvered. The concave side of each is silvered, and as the con¬
cavity is nearly equal in all, each one helps to press out the super¬
fluous mercury from the one beneath it. The silvering in com¬
mon glasses is seldom found to be so perfect as on plate glass,
from the impossibility of giving equal pressure in every part.

SILVERING BY PRECIPITATION.

Place a sheet of glass, previously washed clean with water, on
a table, and rub the whole surface with a rubber of cotton, wetted
with distilled water, and afterward with a solution of Rochelle
salts in distilled water, 1 of salt to 200 of water. Then take a
solution, previously prepared by adding nitrate of silver to am¬
monia of commerce ; the silver being gradually added until a
brown precipitate commences to be produced ; the solution if
then filtered. For each square yard of glass take as much of
the above solution as contains 20 grammes, about 300 grains, of
silver, and to this add as much of a solution as contains 14 gram
mes of salt, and the strength of the latter solution should be so
adjusted to that of the silver solution that the total weight of the
mixture above mentioned may be GO grammes. In a minute or
two after the mixture is made it becomes turbid, and it is then
immediately to be poured over the surface of the glass, which
has previously been placed on a perfectly horizontal table, but the
plate is blocked up at one end, to give it an inclination about 1 in
40 ; the liquid is then poured on in such a manner as to distribute
it over the whole surface without allowing it to escape at the
edges. When this is effected, the plate is placed in a horizontal
position at a temperature of about 68° Fahr.

The silver will begin to appear in about 2 minutes, and in about
20 or 30 minutes sufficient silver "will be deposited. The mixture
is then poured off tne plate, and the silver it contains afterward
recovered. The surface is then washed four or five times, and
the plate set up to dry. When dry, the plate is varnished, by
pouring over it a varnish composed of gum dammar, 20 parts •
asphalt of bitumen, 5 ; gutta-percha, 5 ; and benzine, 85. This
varnish will set hard on the glass, and the plate is then ready for
use.

PARTIALLY RESILVERING PIER GLASS.

Remove the silvering from the injured part, dean the glass,

THE GILDER’S MANUAL.

form a wall of beeswax round the spot, pour on it some nitrate
of silver, and precipitate the silver by sugar, or oil of cloves and
spirits of wine. This does not leave a white mark round the
prepared place.

SILVERING CURVED GLASS.

This is a French process, used not only for flat surfaces, but
also for those which are curved, or cut into patterns. Dissolve
GOO grains of neutral nitrate of silver in 1200 grains of distilled
water, add 75 drops of a solution composed of 25 parts of distilled
water, 10 of sesquicarbonete of ammonia, and 10 of ammonia, sp.
gr., .980 ; add also 80 grains of ammonia, samesp. gr., and 1800
grains of alcohol sp. gr. .85. When clear, the liquor is decanted
or filtered, and mixture of equal parts of alcohol and oil of cassia
added to the silver solution in the proportion of 1 of the essence
of cassia to 15 of the silver solution ; the mixture is agitated and
left t o settle, then filtered . Before pouring upon the glass surface
or into the glass vessel to be silvered, the solution is mixed with
l-78th of its bulk of essence of cloves, (1 part oilof cloves, 3 parts
a'cohol.) The glass is thoroughly cleaned, and the silver solution
applied and warmed to 100° Fahr. for about 3 hours ; the liquid
is poured off, and the silver deposit washed, dried, and var¬
nished.

silverino glass— drayton’s process.

A mixture is made of 1 oz. of coarsely pulverized nitrate of sil¬
ver, ^ oz. spirits of hartshorn, and 2 oz. of water ; which, after
standing for 24 hours, is filtered, the deposit upon the filter, wThich
is silver, being preserved, and an addition is made thereto of 3 oz.
of spirits of wine, at G0° above proof, or naphtha ; from 20 to 30
drops of oil of cassia are then added ; and, after remaining for
about 0 hours longer, the solution is ready for use. The glass to
be silvered with this solution must have a clean and polished sur¬
face ; it is to be placed in a horizontal position, and a w all of putty
or other suitable material formed around it, so that the solution
may cover the surface of the glass to the depth of from one-eighth
to onc-fourth of an inch.

After the solution has been poured on the glass, from G to 12
drops of a mixture of oil of cloves and spirits of wine, in the
proportion of 1 part, by measure, of oil of cloves to 3 of spirits
of wine, are dropped into it, at different places ; or the diluted
oil of cloves may be mixed vrith the solution before it is poured
upon the glass ; the more oil of cloves used, the more rapid will
be the deposition of the silver ; but the operation should occupy
about 2 hours.

When the reouired deposit has been obtained, the solution hi

THE GILDER’S MANUAL.

poured off ; and as soon as the silver on the glass is perfectly dry,
it is varnished with a composition formed by melting together
equal quantities of beeswax and tallow. The solution, after being
poured off, is allowed to stand for 3 or 4 days, in a close vessel,
as it still contains silver, and may be again employed after filtra¬
tion, and the addition of a sufficient quantity of fresh ingredients
to supply the place of those which have been used. About 18
grains of nitrate of silver are used for each square foot of glass ,
but the quantity of spirit varies somewhat, as its evaporation de¬
pends upon the temperature of the atmosphere, and the duration
of the process. By the addition of a small quantity of oil of car-
raway or thyme, the color of the silver may be varied. The oil
of cassia of different manufacturers varies, so on its being mixed
with the solution it must be filtered previous to use.

SILVERING LARGE MIRRORS FOR PHOTOGRAPHY.

Dissolve 150 grains of nitrate of silver in 6 oz. of distilled water,
and to this add ammonia, drop by drop, until the precipitate at
first thrown down is redissolved. Now, having made a solution
of caustic potash, in the proportion of 2^ oz. of the potash to 50
oz. of water, add 15 oz. of this to the above solution of silver ;
and add ammonia as before, until the deep-brown precipitate again
Ilirown down is redissolved. Now add 29 oz. of distilled water,
after which allow some solutiou of silver to be dropped in, gently
stirring all the while with a glass rod, until a precipitate begins to be
formed. Previous to the immersion of the glass to be silvered,
dissolve 1 oz. of sugar of milk in 10 oz. of water. This must be
filtered and kept in a separate bottle. Have ready a clean glass
vessel of a size sufficient to contain the glass plate to be silvered ;
when everything is ready, mix together the silver solution with
that of the sugar of milk, in the proportion of 10 of the former to
1 of the latter. Lower the glass down in the solution until it is
a little distance from the bottom, and allow it to remain there for
a period of time, varying from 15 to 4 hours, according to the
thickness of the coating of silver desired.

After removing it from the bath, wash with distilled water,
and, when dry, polish by means of a soft pad of cotton-velvet
charged with rouge. An intensely brilliant surface may be thus
obtained on both sides of the glass plate. Make a 3-grain solution
of ammojio-nitrate of silver. Render it slightly turbid by excess
of nitrate >f silver, and then filter it. Just before using it add to
each ounce of the foregoing solution 2.V grains of Rochelle salt,
immerse the glass as before, and expose to a subdued light while
it remains in the bath. In about 2 hours the deposit of silver will
be sufficiently thick.

THE GILDER’S MANUAL.

TO SILVER GLASS SPECULA.

Prepare three standard solutions. Solution A — Crystals ol
nitrate of silver, 90 grains ; distilled water, 4oz. ; dissolve. Solu¬
tion B — Potassa, pure by alcohol, 1 oz. ; distilled water, 25 oz. ;
dissolve. Solution C — Milk-sugar, in powder, | oz. ; distilled
water, 5 oz Solutions A and B will keep in stoppered bottles
for any length of time ; solution C must be fresh.

THE SILVERING FLUID.

To prepare sufficient for silvering an 8-in. speculum, pour
2 oz. of solution A into a glass vessel capable of holding 35
oz. Add, drop by drop, stirring all the time with a glass rod,
as much liquid ammonia as is just necessary to obtain a clear
solution of the gray precipitate first thrown down. Add 4
oz. of solution B. The brown-black precipitate formed must
be just redissolved by the addition of more ammonia, as be¬
fore. Add distilled water, until the bulk reaches 15 oz. and add,
drop by drop, some of solution A, until a gray precipitate, which
does not redissolve after stirring for three minutes, is obtained
then add 15 oz. more of distilled water. Set this solution aside
to settle. Do not filter. When all is ready for immersing the
mirror, add to the silvering solution 2 oz. of solution C, and stir
gently and thoroughly. Solution C may be filtered.

TO PREPARE THE SPECULUM.

Procure a circular block of wood, 2 inches thick, and 2 inches
less in diameter than the speculum. Into this should be screwed
three eye-pins, at equal distances. To these pins fasten stout
whipcord, making a secure loop at the top. Melt some pitch in
any convenient vessel, and, having placed the wooden block face
upward, on a level table, pour on it the fluid pitch, and on the
pitch place the back of the speculum, having previously moist¬
ened it with a little spirits of turpentine to secure adhesion. Let
the whole rest until the pitch is cold.

TO CLEAN THE SPECULUM.

Place the speculum, cemented to the circular block, face up¬
ward, on a level table ; pour on it a small quantity of nitric
acid, and rub it gently all over the surface with a brush made by
plugging a brass tube with pure cotton wood. Having perfectly
cleaned the surface and sides, wash well with common water,
and finally with distilled water. Place the speculum face down¬
ward, in a dish containing a little rectified spirits of wine, until
the silvering fluid is ready.

THE GILDER’S MANUAL.

SILVERING GLASS GLOBES.

1. Take | oz. of clean lead, and melt it with an equal weight
of j ure tin ; then immediately add | oz. of bismuth, and care¬
fully skim off the dross ; remove the alloy from the lire, and
before it grows cold add 5 oz. of mercury, and stir the whole
well together ; then put the fluid amalgam into a clean gla>s and
it is fit for use. When this amalgam is used for silvering, let it
be first strained through a linen rag ; then gently pour some
ounces thereof into the globe intended to be silvered ; the alloy
should be poured into the globe by means of a paper or glass
funnel reaching almost to the bottom of the globe, to prevent its
splashing the sides ; the globe should be turned every way, very
slowly, to fasten the silvering.

2. Make an alloy of 3 oz. of lead, 2 oz. of tin, and 5 oz. of
nsmutli ; put a portion of this alloy into the globe, and expose
it to a gentle heat until the compouud is melted ; it melts at 197°
Fahr. ; then by turning the globe slowly round an equal coating
may be laid on, which, when cold, hardens and firmly adheres.
This is one of the cheapest and most durable methods of silver¬
ing glass globes internally.

3. Nitrate of silver, 1 oz. ; distilled water, 1 pint ; strong liquor
ammonia, sufficient quantity, added very gradually, to first pre¬
cipitate and then redissolve the silver ; then add honey, ^ oz.
Put sufficient quantity of this solution in the globe, and then
place the globe in a saucepan of water ; boil it for 10 to 30 min¬
utes, occasionally removing it to see the effect.

MISCELLANEOUS.

ANOTHER DIPPING BATH.

1. Take \ lb. of cyanide of potassium and £ oz. of nitrate of
silver ; dissolve all the cyanide in 16 oz. of distilled or boiled
water, and the silver in a similar quantity in another vessel. Into r
the vessel containing the silver throw a spoonful of common
salt ; stir this up well with a clean piece of wood and let it settle ;
dissolve some salt in water, and after the silver solution is settled
mix a few drops of the salt water in it. If there is any cloudi¬
ness formed it proves that all the silver is not thrown down, and
more salt must be added, and then stir and allow to settle. If
the addition of salt and water has no effect, the wrater may bf
decanted off. carefully preserving the white deposit. Now pour
some boiling water on this deposit ; let it settle, and pour off as
before. Do this at least three times ; pour off as dry as possi¬
ble, and add about a pint of clean water, and then by | oz. at a

TOO

THE GILDER’S MANUAL.

time, the cyanide solution, till all the white precipitate is dii
solved ; add enough water to make half a gallon. Stir well aftei
each addition of cyanide solution.

If on dipping the article, which must be well cleaned with
brick-dust and water, into this solution the silver deposits on im¬
mediately and in a dark powder, it must be weakened by adding
more water ; if it coats slowly, more white precipitate must be
prepared, washed, and added to it. This must also be done
when the solution is getting short of silver. It works best at
about GO or 70 degrees of heat ; a dry, warm room suits the ope¬
ration.

Brass and copper only can be silvered ; other metals require a
battery. This method gives a beautiful result when the work is
polished and burnished.

2. Clean the articles thoroughly, and then immerse them for a
few seconds in a solution of cyanide of silver, which will plate
them without any further trouble.

SILVERING FOR BAROMETER AND THERMOMETER SCALES.

Take \ oz. of nitrate of silver ; dissolve in half a teacupful of
cold water; add| lb. of cream of tartar, with 1^ lb. of common
salt, beaten or ground fine. Mix and stir well together, adding
water until it attains the consistence of a thick paste. Now lay
the scale on a board, the brass or copper being previously wel
cleaned and castoff from fine sand-paper; rub the silvering on
with your hand until it attains the appearance of silver, which
will be a minute or so ; now take the work off the board and rub
a little wet whiting over it, wash out in clean cold water, and dry
in saw-dust. If varnished with a thin coat of white hard var¬
nish, reduced in spirits of wine, this will last for years. The
above quantity of silvering used with care will silver six dozen
brewers’ thermometers, 14 inches long.

OXIDIZING SILVER ARTICLES.

Oxidize silver-plated articles by dissolving sulphate of copper,
2 dwts. ; nitrate of potash, 1 dwt. ; and muriate of ammonia, 2
dwts. ; in a little acetic acid. Apply with a camel-hair pencil ;
but warm the article first, and expose the article to the fumes of
sulphur in a closed box ; the parts not to be colored must be
coated with wax.

SILVERING POWDER.

Take 40 grains of silver dust ; cream of tartar, 3 drains ; com¬
mon salt, 2 ; and 40 grains of powder of alum. Polish silver
articles with this powder and a soft leather.

101

THE OILDEE’3 MANUAL.

SILVERING rOWDER FOR COATING COrPER.

Nitrate of silver, 30 grains ; common salt, 20 ; cream of tartar,
fty drams. Mi*, moisten with water, and apply.

SILVERING CAST IRON.

Fifteen grammes of nitrate of silver are dissolved in 250 gram¬
mes of water, and 30 grammes of cyanide of potassium are added ;
^Len the solution is complete, the liquid is poured into 750 gram¬
mes of water, in which 15 grammes of common salt have been
previously dissolved. The cast iron intended to be silvered by
this solution should, after having been well cleaned, be placed for
a few minutes in a bath of nitric acid of 1.2 sp. gr., just previous
to being placed in the silvering fluid.

PLATING PASTES.

1. Nitrate of silver, 1 part ; common salt, 1 ; cream of tartar,
7 ; powder and mix.

2. Nitrate of silver, 1 part ; cyanide of potassium, 3. Both are
applied by wetting with a little water and rubbing on the article
to be plated, which must be quite clean. Plating done by the
above will be very thin, but it will be silver.

3. Get a glazed earthen vessel, put in 1 oz. of nitric acid, place
it on a slow fire, it will boil instantly, and then throw in some
pieces of real silver ; this will be dissolved at once. As soon as
dissolved, throw in a good handful of common salt to kill the
acid, then make into a paste with common whiting. The article
required to be silvered to be cleaned from grease and dirt, and
the paste to be applied with a little water and wash-leather. This
paste will keep for years.

TO SEPARATE SILVER FROM COPPER.

Mix sulphuric acid, 1 part ; nitric acid, 1 ; water, 1 ; boil the
metal in the mixture till it is dissolved, and throw in a little salt
to cause the silver to subside.

TO BRIGHTEN TARNISITED JEWELRY.

First wash the articles in this cleansing solution -Liquor
potas5C, 1 fluid oz. ; water, 20 fluid oz. ; mix. Rinse them in cold
or warm water, and then immerse them in the following gilders'
pickle ; — Common salt, 1 part ; alum, 1 ; saltpeter, 2 ; water, 3
or 4 ; mix. Let them remain, stirring them now and then, until
the surfaces assume a bright golden appearance. Five minutes
at most "will suffice, less time is generally required. Wash them
again in cold or warm water, and dry them with chamois leather
In hot boxwood saw-dust.

102

THE GILDER’S MANUAL.

FROSTED SILVER.

Dip the article in a solution of nitric acid and water, half and
half, for a few minutes, then wash well in clean water and dry
in hot saw -dust. When thoroughly dry brush the saw -dust away
with a soft brush, and burnish the parts required to be bright.

SILVERING CLOCK DIALS.

Rub the dial with a mixture of chloride of silver, tartar, and
sea-salt, and afterwards rub off the saline matter with water.
This silvering is not durable, but it may be improved by heating
the article, and repeating the operation, once, or oftener if thought
neccsoary.

DESILVERING.

The following is a liquid which will dissolve silver without at¬
tacking copper, brass, or German silver, so as to remove the sil
ver from silvered objects, plated ware, &c. It is a mixture of 1
part of nitric acid with G parts sulphuric, heated in a wTater-bath
to 160° Falir., at which temperature it operates best.

HARD-SOLDER PLATING.

Sheet silver is forced into a die, similar in shape to the article
It is destined to cover, but of course only of one side jx »t ; it is,
therefore, necessary to repeat the process in order tc produce a
shell to fit the other side. Next, cut the edges of the shells level,
and brush over the insides with a solution of water containing
borax in excess, which has been boiled fifteen minutes, well stir¬
ring it with the brush every time it is used, and to anneal the
shells by holding them over a clear fire until red hot, in the same
manner as the sheet of silver was previously ; then after slitting
the edges by small scissor cuts about an eighth of an inch long,
at intervals of about half an inch, lay the shells aside in a clean
place, until the article is prepared to receive them, which is
done by first heating it to a dull red heat in order to remove
grease or rust ; next carefully file the part on which the silver is
to be fixed, using a medium cut file called a bastard, rubbing it
occasionally with a piece of borax, and taking care not to handle
the article with the fingers where filed, but to use pincers or tongs
to shift it when required. Now, with the sharp point of a clean
knife, carefully remove any granules of calcined borax found ad¬
hering to the inside of the shells, using the most extreme caution
on this and on all other occasions to handle them on the outside
only ; and after lightly brushing the outside, to remove any dust

the gilder’s manual.

103

which may possibly be deposited there, adjust them on the article
(which should be first rubbed with borax all over) allowing the
edges of one shell to slightly overlap the edges of the other ; and,
supposing it to be a kidney link belonging to harness hanies we
are hard soldering, cramp them on about every two inches with
very tine soft iron wire, about 24 or 23 gauge ; next wind loosely-
twisted twine, about five or six strands thick, very tightly ovei
all, putting the winds very close together, in fact it would be
better if they overlapped each other a little ; next fix in the
vise a small lmrd-wood block, and, holding the work on this,
thoroughly beat it all over, turning it about frequently, so that
every part may be equally beaten ; the tool used for this purpose
is called a madge, and is a lead hammer about three pounds in
weight, with the face covered with six or seven thicknesses of
stout woolen ; the object of this beating is to cause the silver
shells to grip the article very closely. The solder, which is sup¬
plied to the operative in thin sheets, must now be well scoured
with emery cloth, brushed over with the borax solution, and
annealed in the same manner as the silver sheets ; cut it into
strips rather less than an eighth of an inch wide, and bind it into
the work all along those parts where the edges of the shells meet,
by winding over with fine iron wire the same size, or a little finer,
'ban that used tor the cramping ; take the cramps off one by one
as the winding progress. When adjusting the solder on ready for
binding, take notice to lay it on the shell that has its edge over¬
lapped with the other shell, and, in afterward putting the work
into the fire, let it be in such a manner that what we may call the
underlapping shell is uppermost in the fire.

Next heat the wrork rather hotter than the hand can bear, and
thoroughly brush it over with the borax solution ; the heat imme¬
diately dries out the water, and leaves it covered with a thin
stratum of borax, but, as we do not require the borax all over,
take a dry hard brush and brush off a portion of it, leaving it only
on the overlapping shell edges and solder.

It will be seen from the foregoing that it is essential that the
silver should lie as closely to the work as possible, and that ex¬
treme care should be taken to keep the metals mechanically, and
by means of borax chemically, cl. an, and free from films of air
or oxide, which would prevent the junction of the metals by the
firing process, which next follows, being sound and good.

T. e first must be clear and bright, and be composed of coke or
charcoal in pieces of a uniform size ; this precaution is most
essential, as a regular heat cannot be otherwise insured. Place
the work in the fire, heap some firing lightly and carefully on the
top of it, and bring it to a good red heat as possible by blowing

104

THE GILDER’S MANUAL.

with bellows, taking extreme care to heat it equally all o*er, in
order that all the solder may melt and flow equally at the time ;
continue the heat for a few moments after the solder has flowed,
then, taking the work from the fire, allow the solder to set, that
is, to solidify, and quickly unwind the wire from off it, while it
is still hot, otherwise the wire will be difficult to get off ; a coat¬
ing of excessively hard fused borax will now be found adhering
to the outside of the article, which can be removed by immersion
in a strong solution of muriatic acid and water. The article, if a
small one, is now virtually hard-solder plated, the remaining pro¬
cesses being simply to test the soundness, that is, the perfect ad¬
hesiveness of the silver coating, and the polishing off ; but if a
large one, such as we are supposed to be plating, it is done in two
portions, called by the workmen first end and last end, respective¬
ly, experience having shown that this method is most conducive
to success — in fact, kidney links must of necessity be done so,
the first end being done before the link is welded into the hame,
and the last end afterward. Pole chains also have to be plated
in separate links, one-half of a link only being done at one time,
and, as they usually contain about thirty links, it follows that the
whole process has to be repeated some sixty times for one pole
chain, thus explaining why hard -solder plating pole chains is
such a long and expensive job. Solder used in liard-solder silvef
plating usually contains about 7 parts of silver to 3 of brass

The processes now being described assume that silver is the
metal used to plate with, but they apply equally to other metals
suitable for hard solder work, such as German silver and brass.
A composite metal, termed gold-colored or gilding metal is occa¬
sionally hard soldered with, but it is very refractory in the work
ing, as the proportion of alluminum it contains, although very
small, renders it extremely hard and springy when rolled into
sheets. Gold is rarely hard soldered with, mercurial gilding
answering the same purpose.

The work having remained in the solution some 15 or -0 min¬
utes, we now take it out, remove the borax, and dry it, and the
next process tells if the former ones have been skillfully and
cleanlily performed ; this is the hammering, and to execute it,
take a small iron block about an inch square, by four or five
inches long, fix it in the vise, and after lightly filing off the
small projecting pieces of silver or solder, of which a few almost
invariably occur in the firing, give the work a rub or two with
emery cloth, and, laying it on the block, hammer it all over,
with a flat-faced blight steel hammer, about six or eight ounces
in weight ; this levels and hardens the silver, und shows if it is
•oundly fixed, because the moment an unsound place is struck

105

THE GILDER’S MANUAL.

mritli the hammer it rises up in a blister. Then comes a most
i roublesome and delicate job, for the blister must be filed off, and
i i patch put on in place of it, and when the work is fired a sec¬
ond time it is apt to rise (as the the technical term goes) in other
olaces, and so the unskillful or unlucky workman has got into a
mess from which he is fortunate if he escapes without sacrific¬
ing all his previous labor and materials. However, we have sue*
cessfully surmounted all our difficulties, and find our work turn
out sound, so will now take a smooth file and smooth the silver
ill over, and afterward rub it well with emery cloth to prepare
it for the final polishing processes, which are effected by prepar¬
ing finely-powdered pumice-stone, by mixing it with animal oil
in such proportions that when squeezed in the hand it will be of
just sufficient consistence to hold together ; next take a strip of
buff leather, about an inch wide by a foot long, and glue or nail
it tightly on a strip of wood about three-quarters of an inch
thick, in such a manner that the buff leather projects an eighth
of an inch over the edge of the wood — this is technically called
a buff ; take a pinch of the prepared pumice, spread it on the
buff, and rub the work with it all over, repeating the operation
until all the file or other marks are rubbed out of it ; next, use a
strip of woolen material moistened with a mixture of oil and
powdered rotten-stone, using with all these three concluding pro
cesses a large quantity of what our forefathers termed elbo\*
grease ; and now we have produced a sound and workman-lik%
piece of hard-solder silver plating.

SOFT-SOLDER PLATING.

Hard-solder plating is preferred where there is very much weal
and knocking about of the plated object. Soft-solder, or Close
Plating, as it is generally called, answers very well for inside or
top work — where there is little wear and few blows. It is called
close plating probably because it is not liable to blistering during
process but adheres easily and completely to the metal base. The
following is the process :

The article being filed clean and smooth, and polished with
emery cloth, is next well tinned by being dipped in a melted
mixture of lead one part, and tin three parts. Give the objects
tinned a smart jerk when lifted so as to leave an even coating of
tin all over it, then lay the sheet silver upon the object, and giv¬
ing it a blow with the “ madge” obtain the shape of the object
or the shape of the half of it to be plated at one time. Cut out
the silver foil to the shape and then with a well-tinned copper bit
rub the silver upon the object to be plated, beginning gently-
holding the object and silver in a ^air of tonga. The solder (tin

THE GILDER'S MANUAL.

revering the object) melts and holds the silver. The copper bit
eiu>4 be skillfully urged over the whole surface until the work is
finished. If a blister rises cut it across (not out) let out the air
and rcsolder with the bit and burnish it down. German silver
and brass foil can be plated upon iron as well as silver by this
process. The finishing is done in the same way as in hard-sol-
dei plating. Solder-plating of cither kind is more lasting than
that in which the foil is merely rubbed on a hot foundation of
met&L

PICTURE FRAMING

AND

General Information for Picture Dealers.

It is oftentimes the case that both frames and oil paintings are
left with the gilder to renovate, and it is highly important that
ho should be informed as to the best methods in use for cleaning,
re mounting, varnishing, &c., and also to know some of t^e best
receipts used in the various processes. It may be as well to cau¬
tion the inexperienced, not to attempt too much, as an error in
judgment, or careless manipulation, may entirely ruin a valuable
picture, and those who wish to undertake the restoration of oil
paintings must, in the first place, be careful , and then try some
of the most simple processes, before trying those which even tax
the skill of the experienced.

The cleaning and restoration of paintings is usually paid for
most liberally, und to the man of business, this chapter will be
worth gold and silver, while the amateur who wishes to try his
on one of his own pictures, will be delighted with his success, if
he possesses the skill and judgment to follow the instructions
laid down.

Oil paintings come to hand for restoration, in almost every
stage of decay ; and where a valuable work of art has been neg¬
lected, with the canvass rotten, or worm eaten, or where the body
of paint has parted from the canvass, or where the picture is
cracked badly, and pieces of the picture fell away ; it requires
thought, judgment, and a careful and skillful man to treat these

107

THE GILDER’S MANUAL.

works of art, so that succeeding generations may be delighted
with their beauty. We will begin by describing some of the more
simple processes, in cleaning, repairing, varnishing, &c.

CLEANING.

Sometimes a painting simply requires cleaning, when a soft
sponge used with soap and soft water, will accomplish all that is
required.

Cleaning Varnished Pictures.— There are conditions where
the above simple process will not accomplish what is required ;
whe.e a thick coat ng of varnish has been applied to the picture
and h has been hung in a smoky room, and dust and dirt has been
allowe. ( to gather and remain ; then it is that no high lights will
be visil le, the sky will be dirty, no distance visible, and perhaps
the figures in the foreground, but very indistinct. Under Jiese
conditions the varnish must be either removed or the smoke and
dirt musi be brought out of the varnish. If it is thought desira¬
ble to try the latter, the following receipt will be found valuable
for the purpose : — 2 oz. wood naptha, 1 oz. muriatic acid, \ pint
of linseed oil.

Mix the above well together, and before using shake the bottle.
It can be used as follows : — Get some soft linen rags, and make up
a soft pad, winch place on the mouth of the bottle and shake up
some of the mixture into the pad, then commence rubbing the
picture with a circular motion, and when nearly dry give the
pad another dressing of mixture, and continue this mode of pro¬
cedure for some time, when the picture will gradually come out
in al.1 its detail.

Removing the varnish requires care that the picture is not
damaged, and must be watched as you proceed, as follows:- With
the third finger of the right hand commence rubbing the varnish
in a circular form, when it will be found (if the picture has b«mi
varnished with the right kind of varnish) that a fine dust or powT-
der begins to come oii the picture, and will continue to rub oil
till the whole of the varnished surface has disappeared, and the
surface of the picture can then be sponged.

LINING.

Old pictures in time require lining when the canvas is rotten,
torn, or damaged, and if not repaired rapidly go to decay. A
new stretcher and canvas is usually prepared the size required,
when the picture is carefully cut from the old stretcher, and with
thin glue (not too hot) cover the back of the picture, and lay it
down on the new corners, taking care to lay it ut first in its proper

108

THE GILDER*8 MANUAL.

place, as it would be impossible to raise it again without damage.
The picture must not lie in the glue too long.

BLISTERED PAINTINGS.

Oftentimes in old paintings the paint will become disengaged
from the priming of the canvas through damp and other causes
in blisters, and if not seen to is liable to get broken out of the
picture. A successful method employed has been to puncture
the blister with a pin in numerous holes, and then rub in some
good paste carefully, and when enough of the paste has been in¬
troduced the surface is scraped clean, and rubbed over with an
oil rag moistened with linseed oil. Cover the part with a white
sheet of paper, and pass over the spot a flat iron, not too hot,
when it will be found the detached part will be firmly adhering
10 the canvas.

TO SMOOTH A DAMAGED PICTURE.

Paintings sometimes get convex and concave patches on their
surface, owing to pressure on one side or the other, and these
Inequalities cause a great deal of trouble to bring out. The most
successful way is to well wet the picture both sides on the spot,
and keep it under pressure till dry. With small pictures the
quickest way would be to take them off the stretcher and lay
them in a press, with a light pressure between soft sheets of
paper.

VARNISHING.

Care should be taken that the best mastic varnish only should
be used, and laid on with a flat ground hog’s hair tool in tin.
Pour on the center of the picture a supply of varnish, and com¬
mence at one edge and work over to the other side, and then re¬
peat this operation from the other edges, so as to cross the var¬
nish and get it laid evenly.

FIELDING ON RESTORATION OF OLD PAINTINGS.

The usual commencement is with soft water and common yel¬
low soap, with soft soap and water, or with ox-gall and water ;
the latter being stronger than soaps. When these have been well
applied with a very soft sponge containing not the least parti¬
cle of grit or sand, the picture is to be washed with clean water,
and made perfectly dry with old linen cloth or silk handker¬
chiefs, the latter are preferable. In using the ox-gall the best
method would be to lay it on the picture (which is to be placed
horizontally) with a brush, and when the first layer is dry add
another afterward, allowing the gall to remain on the picture for

THE GILDER’S MANUAL.

109

two or three days ; then with a sponge and a plentiful supply of
clean water, it will be perceived that a considerable quantity of
various impurities have attached themselves to the gall, and are
removed at the same time with it, leaving the picture so consid¬
erably improved in appearance as sometimes to require little or
nothing more. Before much water is used in the first stages of

, picture cleaning, the state of the pointing must be considered, for
if the color be much broken up, or cracked over the whole sur¬
face, it might be rather dangerous to apply much water in the
first instance. In cases of this kind we recommend that the
back of the picture be well saturated with copal varnish by sev¬
eral applications with a strong brush previous to its being lined.
This will in a great measure assist in attaching the ground od
which the picture has been painted to the cloth, and perhaps en¬
tirely prevent the tendency that grounds much broken into have
to leave the cloth ; yet, when all has been done that can be, by
varnishing the back, it will be still necessary to use no more
water than is absolutely necessaiy, unless well assured that no
size or glue has been used in the composition of the ground. If
more be necessary after these washings, as the removal of the
varnish, &c., use a little smart friction with the finger, dipped
previously into a box of impalpable pumice-stone powders ; this
will ascertain by the peculiar smell produced whether the varnish
that has been used be mastic or not. If it be mastic, it may by a
continuance of the same process, be rubbed olf all the delicate
parts of the picture without much risk of taking up the colors,
as the varnish rises under the finger in the form of a white pow¬
der, which ceases to rise after the whole has been taken off. We
must add, that after the varnish has begun to come off freely in
powd's-, no more pumice-powdei need be used.

TO REMOVE VARNISHES.

J In removing varnishes of a recent date, pumice-stone powdei
may be employed, and a very soft and fine bottle cork will save
the fingers, but nothing will answer so well as the finger on the
more delicate tints, for the removal of a strong varnish, as copal,
&c., a mixture of spirit of wine and spirit of turpentine will be
required. To make these two spirits unite, a small quantity ol
salt of tartar (tartrate of potassa) is to be added. Every time this
is used the bottle is to be well shaken, very little poured on the
picture, and rubbed on with a small piece of flannel ; then lay on
the part rubbed a few drops of olive oil to retard the action of the
spirits. These operations are to be repeated over the whole pic¬
ture, frequently changing the pieces of fiannel, and as frequently
applying the olive oil in order to see what progress has been

110

THE GILDER’S MANUAL.

made. The picture, lastly, is to be washed with a sponge, soap,
and water, afterward with clean water, and then covered with a
fresh varnish. If any stains should be found on the picture so
unconquerable as to remain after the above process, a little oil of
spike lavander will certainly remove them ; but the greatest care
must be taken in using this essential oil ; it softens old paint so
quickly that there is scarcely time to apply it and the olive oil
before it has gone too far ; it is better to reduce its strength with
spirits of turpentine if it should happen to be too genuine. Many
use lancets and small scrapers, but this operation has also its risks
from scratches, &c.

Another Method. — Soluble varnishes (as sugar, glue, gum-
arabic, honey, isinglass, and white of egg) and dirt generally may
be removed with hot water. To ascertain whether the painting
be coated or varnished with such materials, moisten some part
with water and try if it is clammy to the touch. To clean the
picture, lay it horizontally upon a table or some convenient stand,
and go over the surface with a sponge dipped in boiling water, the
process to be continued till the coating begins to soften, when the
heat must be gradually lowered as the varnish is removed. If,
however, the coating stubbornly adheres, gentle friction with
stale bread crumbs, a damp linen cloth, or the end of the forefin¬
ger, will generally effect the object or assist in doing so. White
of egg, if not coagulated, may be removed by heat, by using an
excess of albumen and cold water; but if coaugulated, by employ¬
ing a weak solution of a caustic alkali, as potash. Coated dirt is
removed by washing with warm water, then covering with spirit
of wine, renewed for ten minutes, and washing off with water
without rubbing. Spots or stains should be washed with water,
dried with soft linen rags, and covered with olive oil, warmed ;
after the oil has remained on for twenty minutes, gentle friction
with the finger should be used, the foul oil wiped off, and fresh
oil laid on until the spots disappear. Should this fail, spirits of
wine, essence of lemon, or oil of turpentine, may be carefully ap¬
plied, observing that the stained parts only are to be covered.
These applications should be cleaned off, first with wTater, then
with olive oil. Sometimes even these means fail ; in such cases
strong soap suds should be applied to the spots and retained there
until they disappear. The parts must then be washed with water.
To restore an oil painting, clean the decajred picture thoroughly,
and spread it, face downward, upon a smooth table ; wrell moisten
the back with boiling water, and when the canvas is sufficiently
moistened, turn the picture face upward, stretch it tightly and
nail it down to the table all round the edges. Then cover the
painting with very hot strong glue, and over this, nearly all round

THE GILDER’S MANUAL.

Ill

the border, linen cloth, somewhat worn, of the same size as the
picture. The picture should then be exposed to the sun to dry as
quickly as possible. When dry detach it from the table, and
nail it down again face downward. Then place a slightly raised
border of wax all round the edges, and placing the table on a per¬
fect level, pour over the picture a mixture of nitric acid and
water. Care must be taken that this mixture be not too strong .
this is ascertained by dipping the finger in it, and if the finger
does not turn yellow immediately, the mixture is in due propor¬
tion. Suffer this fluid to remain upon the canvas till the tex¬
ture is quite dissolved and the thread rotted ; then pour it off,
and detach the threads of the canvas with a spatula ; thus, the
crust of the painting will alone remain glued face downward to
the linen cloth before mentioned. Then wash the crust with pure
water, wipe it with a fine sponge and leave it to dry. When dry,
cover it with glue, mixed with a little spirits of wine, coat a piece
of new canvas about the size of the picture with this, and spread
it smoothly, and press it upon the back of the picture. The
pressure may be accelerated with plates of lead or marble slabs,
these being cleaned from time to time of any particles of glue that
may adhere to them. All that now remains to be done is to re¬
move the linen cloth and glue from the face of the painting. As
soon, therefore, as the last glueing is dry, detach the whole from
the table, and turn the linen cloth up and moisten it with the
mixture of aquafortis and water ; by this means its texture will
soon be destroyed, and may be broken away, the glue being re¬
moved with hot water. The painting will then be transferred
perfect and entire to a new canvas. When the painting is on wood
the wood must be pared until it be very thin, and the mixture of
aquafortis and water being poured upon the remaining portion,
will speedily dissolve its texture, and render the picture easy of
removal. This is a delicate process and requires great care and
experience.

TORN CANVAS.

A torn canvas may be repaired by cutting a suitable sized piece
of close canvas, and dipping it into melted wax, applying it hot
at the back of the picture to be repaired. The torn part must be
carefully brought together and smoothed down. As the wax
chills the canvas adheres firmly, and the superfluous wax at the
back and front of the picture must be taken off. When dry fill
up the interstices with compo used by gilders, and it will be found
that the paint will adhere readily.

It is not expected that any of the foregoing methods will restore
the colors of old pictures, for in course of time the colors gradu-

112

THE GILDER’S MANUAL.

ally become darker ; the flesh tints particularly take a reddish
yellow color, by which the truth of the picture is very much in
jured. The fault is in the oil with which the colors are made,
for all kinds of oil become yellow in time. Nut oil is most com.
monly made use of, with which the colors are dissolved and
ground, and which is drying in its nature.

Alkali of any kind should be cautiously applied, such as soap,
pearlash, soda, if the picture is not varnished • but in experi¬
enced hands spirits of wine, oil of turpentine may be us: d to take*
out dirt or stains in the subject. Unvarnished pictures must not
lie under treatment too long, or they will be liable to come up
from the canvas.

TOOLS REQUIRED.

The tools required by the picture frame maker may soon be
enumerated.

Miter Block. — This block is made to guide the saw in cutting
np mouldings. It consists of a thick piece of wood glued in a
food bottom, with saw cuts in it at an angle of 45 degrees, so that
the moulding, when cut off, will form a square frame. Eighteen
inches long will be found a convenient length. (See fig. 7.) Miter
boxes, may be purchased of dealers in carpenter’s tools of differ¬
ent sizes. Langdon’s being favorably known to the trade.

Shooting Board - This board is made with a ledge, screwed on
at an angle of 45 degrees, and a flat run for the plane laid on its
side. The use of the shooting board is to “shoot” or plane the
ends of the mouldings to bring the miters close together. (See
fig. 8, page 113.)

Shooting Planes. — Planes about 15 inches long, and the width
3£, without handles, the plane iron without a guard, used for
snooting the ends of the moldings on the shooting board.
Smoothing and other planes are sometimes required.

Saws. — Those used for cutting up moldings are called tenon
or back saws, and are supported at the back by a piece of bras*
or iron to prevent the thin blade of the saw from bemjing.

THIS GILDER’S MANUAL.

113

Hammers, various sizes, and not too heavy.

Chisels, different widths ; Bradawls and Gimlets , various sizes.

Screwdrivers, large and small.

In addition to which a few small tools, such as pincers, scis*
sors, punches, squares, &c.

There must also be cut brads, from | to 3 inches long, picture
rings of all sizes, nails, screws, &c. There is also a useful imple¬
ment known as the Banks & Seger clamp, for clamping the frame
while the corners are being secured. It is a useful and not
costly implement, and is sold by dealers in tools.

Glue is also used, and as its strength is dependent upon quality,
we will give a little information upon the subject, as the strength
of the work is only secured by a good article.

In applying glue, the hotter the glue the more force it will
exert in keeping the united parts together ; it should, therefore,
be applied immediately after boiling. Glue loses much of its
strength by frequent re-melting. Glue should be purchased in
dry weather, for that which is then soft is not of so good a
quality as that which is crisp. The most transparent is the best.
Good glue, if immersed in water for two or three days will not
dissolve, but swell ; if of inferior quality it will partly or wholly
dissolve. Again, that glue is the best which, being dissolved in
water by heat, may be drawn into the thinest filament, and does
not drop from the brush as oil or water, but when falling extends
itself into threads. Glue made from the skin of old animals is
much stronger than that of young ones.

PASTE.

Mix one tablespoonful of wheat flour with half a pint of cold
water, adding the latter gradually, and thoroughly stirring in
each portion before pouring in more, place the vessel over the
fire and stir the whole assiduously until it boils ; great care
should be taken to prevent caking or burning on the bottoni.

114

THE GILDER' S MANUAL.

An addition of half a teaspoonful of powdered alum will
strengthen the product. The addition of a few grains of corro
sive sublimate, or a few drops of creosote, will prevent it from
turning mouldy and preserve it for years. When too hard or
dry it may be softened by beating up with a little hot water.

MITERING PICTURE FRAMES.

Tn order to get instruction in the art of making picture frames,
we will go into a shop where the frames are mitered together,
fitted up, and turned out to be hung in cottage or mansion, and
where all the frames from the gilder’s shop adjoining come to be
bitted up and completed. As we see two or three very busily en¬
gaged in various occcupations, we will not interupt them for the
present, but take a critical survey of the shop. It is lighted by
windows on two sides, and a stout wide bench runs under
the windows round two sides of the room. At certain distances
we see bench vises fastened, at some of which we see men busily
at work. Down the middle of the shop is another wide bench,
and on it we see rolls of engravings, and some are fitted into
frames. At the end of the room is a small circular saw driven by
the foot, and on the opposite side of the shop a good stock of
moldings are arranged on bars let into the wall. We see four
or five sizes and qualities of O. G. maple, a variety of patterns of
inside slipping, beads, Ac., in German moldings, and a good
stock of moldings in the white ready to be joined before going
to the gilder ; also gold moldings packed in white paper.

In a room adjoining this shop a man is seen busily employed
packing a lot of pictures in cases ready to be sent out. The oc¬
cupations of the men are various, and a division of labor seems
to be the order of the day, as we see one actively employed in
joining a large lot of maple frames with a large number down by
his side ; another is “shooting” the moulding, while a third is
cutting up mouldings. But we see a man in the center of the
shop looking over a book, and as he has a good natured open
countenance we will draw near and see what he will say to us in
answer to inquiries as to what his occupation generally is. He
informs us that he is constantly employed in “fitting up ” all the
best of the miscellaneous work, and that in consequence of his
work requiring great care he does not get through so much. He
fits up the gold frames finished in the gilder’s shop with expens¬
ive chromos, proof engraving, oleographs, and oil paintings ; he
also fits up the best work in water-color drawings, and is trusted
with proofs and pictures to mount.

He informed us that he was called a “ fitter-up,” and that it
was not his work to make frames, although he might be able to

THE GILDER’S MANUAL.

115

do it, and as he had satisfied himself as to the work in hand, he
was about to hand the book over to a man in another room who
did “mitering-up,” and he offered to show us the way.

Our friend, the “fitter-up,” not aware we had been engaged
for a number of years in gilding and in a fine art repository, so
treated us to a sight of some of the best chromos he was fitting up,
little thinking they were old acquaintances, and that we had times
before taken a pride in turning them out as he would do — first
class.

We were received by the man about to execute the orders in the
book, with civility, and as we stayed with him some time we
will describe the execution of the work required.

As “Frith’s Derby Day,” was wanted at once, he set to work
to cut out out the best O. O. G. maple, with a broad gold flat and
hollow inside and the picture mounted on a stretcher. The sight-
edge of the inside gold, to allow of the requsite margin, must be
57| by 29, and unpapering some broad gold, flat and hollow, he
carefully cut out on the saw block four pieces a little longer than
the required length to allow of “shooting.” He next selected
some of the best maple, O. O. G., and cut one end off on the saw
block to the required angle. He next took one of the pieces of
gold flat and hollow, and placed it on the rabbet of the maple, and
marked the length a little beyond the gold flat, and cut of the
length. This he did with the three other sides. The “shooting
board” was next required, when he placed the first maple in
position, and with his plane, which had a good edge, took off
enough to secure a good surface, and in the next place a clean top
edge to the moldings. The next piece selected for the same ope¬
ration was the piece corresponding in length, and after planing
to his satisfaction, he measured the two pieces by putting the two
sight edges together and making them exactly of a length.

Before shooting the gold flat and hollow, he said he should put
the maple together so that he could more easily make the miters
in both to run straight,

Taking the four pieces of molding, he went to the bench vise
and fastened^ one of the long pieces therein with the rabbet out¬
side, and the right hand very near the jaws of the vise. He next
took up one of the short lengths on the left hand, and placed the
two ends together. The two pieces were not placed exactly to¬
gether, but the piece in the left hand was brought back from the
sight edge about one-twentieth of an inch- When he had sat¬
isfied himself as to the exact position, holding the two tightly to¬
gether, he, with a bradawl, decisively made a hole longenoughto
go into the molding in the vise.

When this was done he enlarged the hole in the piece he held

116

THE GILDER’S MANUAL.

by a gimlet, so that the size cut brads would drive easily through
it without much friction or danger of splitting the wood. A little
thin glue was then applied and the molding placed together as
before, holding it very tightly together, when a brad of the re¬
quisite length, about 2^ inches long, was inserted and driven
home. In driving home the brad the molding held by the hand
was found to have moved forward a very little by the force of
the blows, and thus a capital miter was made ; a second brad was
then driven home and both punched below the surface. Had the
brad been driven home with the moldings exactly level this would
not have been the case.

The other two pieces were then joined in the same way.

Two miters having been made, two more remained to be put
together. He then took one-half of the frame and fastened it in
the vice near one of the unmitered ends, and with the assistance
of a lad on the other side of the bench he brought the two joined
pieces together in their proper places, and with the bradawl and
gimlet made the hole as above described ; he then took the half

Fig. 9. — Fitting the Frame Together.

out of the vice and put in the other half in the same way and
made the hole in the fourth miter. He next glued the two ends
of the piece out of the vice, and with the help of the lad brought
the two halves together, and quickly and steadily drove home the
brad. The frame was then taken out of the vise, and the other
miter attended to in the same way and a second brad inserted,
and the two punched below the surface. The frame was aga;a

THE GILDER’8 MANUAL.

11?

put in the vice for the third miter to have a second brad driven
in, when both was punched below the surface, and the frame was
iound to be well and neatly put together. Rather thin glue was
used, and he was careful not to put too much on, so that it woul'?
appear on the top of the miters.

Sometimes with O. G. maple the lengths are found to be warp
ed, and when cut into the required lengths by the picture framt
makei and made up, the frame is found to be twisted and th€
miters bad. Moldings should be kept flat before they are used.

Having so far completed the maple frame, he at once proceeded
to miter up the inside gold flat. Before taking it in hand he put
on his left hand a glove made of chamois leather, explaining at
the same time that in shooting and mitering up gold moldings,
some of which were gilt down to the back edge, it was necessary
,o protect the gold from the heat of the hand, as inattention to
this would be sure to damage a frame which was expected to be
turned out in the best manner. He said also that a piece of soft
cloth was glued down on the shooting board to prevent any
scratches on the gold, and that he was particular to keep it free
!rom shavings and grit.

After seeing to his plane-iron, the gold flat was soon ready for
inhering, and it was noticeable that he was very particular to get
the length of the pieces so that the frame would just take half of
the rabbet, and the miters by that means would range exactly.
With his left hand still covered by a glove, he handled the mold
ing and mitered it up in the same way as before mentioned for the
maple frame, and when completed the miters looked like a hair.

He next took the rabbet measure of the frame just mitered, and
at once proceeded to cut out a stretcher from a large number of
lengths of pine cut ready for the purpose.

In marking out the stuff for the stretcher he explained that
there was no waste as in an ordinary molding, as the length was
cut from one side and the other, avoiding the cutting out of the
triangular piece necessary to make the miter. He also informed
us that he knew it was the fashion in many country shops to make
a stretcher by halving it together, but that a mitered stretcher
was stronger, more expeditiously made, and was much neater
than those made in such a way.

He then “shot" the lengths as usual, and soon put them to¬
gether in the vise as before described, not troubling to put any
slips into the vise to protect the pieces, and fitted it into its place
in the rabbet of the gold flat.

The three frames placed one in the other was ready to go in to
the fitter up.

When gold moldings are mitered down the back edge, it will

118

THE GILDER’S MANUAL.

be necessary to lay in the vise some slips of wood covered with
cloth to prevent marking the molding.

We have described mitering up a large frame, but smaller ones
will not require the gimlet to be used before joining, as there is
not the danger of the molding splitting where small brads are
used.

Gilt slipping or inside edging for the inside of the maple, rose¬
wood, oak, or other frames, requires care in mitering up, owing
to the thinness of the wood. In mitering sometimes the wood
will split, therefore the brads selected must not be too large, and
the mitered pieces must be handled tenderly till the glue is
dry. Where it is twisted or warped it is almost impossible
to make a neat miter, which is often the case with German
moldings.

MOUNTING PICTURES.

A picture badly mounted is oftentimes a source of annoyance
to its possessor, and spoils what might be otherwise a good sub¬
ject. A picture of little value, if neatly mounted, really looks
superior to one of greater value where little care has bee£ be¬
stowed upon it.

Engravings, chromos, photographs, oleographs, each require to
be treated in a different manner, and we will describe what should
be done to make them look well and preserve them in good con¬
dition for a great length of time.

ENGRAVINGS.

If it is an ordinary engraving it is best to prepare a stretcher
as before recommended, by mitering up, and stretch evenly
thereon a piece of muslin by means of tacks round the edge. The
tacks should not be too wide apart or the calico will not be so
firm.

The engraving is laid on the bench face uppermost, and the
edge of the stretcher laid across it from edge of the picture, when,
with a rule, the width of both margins can be ascertained. By
halving this the exact width of margin can be seen, and marking
the picture in two places on each side a straight edge can be used
and a line drawn where the picture must be cut. The margin
on the top and bottom of the engraving can be easily decided, as
the top must be measured oil the same width as the sides, and the
bottom can be marked by putting the edge of the stretcher on the
top line and marking the picture by the other edge of the stretcher.
The engraving when cut, is just the size of the stretcher.

On a good smooth surface, sheets of clean paper should be
laid, and the engraving turned over on its face. With a clean

THE GILDER'S MANUAL.

119

sponge and water go over the back of the picture till it has ab
sorbed almost as much water as it will take, when, after lying in
the water a short time a good coat of paste must be laid on very
evenly, taking care that it contains no particles of grit The
stretcher must be evenly laid on and well rubbed down by the
hand over the muslin at the back of the stretcher. The picture
now on the stretcher can be turned up, and with a clean sheet
of paper in the left hand laid on the outsides of the picture, rub
well down on the stretcher.

Should there be any grit under the picture, which will be easily
seen by the unevenness of the surface, it would be advisable to
pull up the picture from one corner and remove it. If there is
any dirt on the margin now is the time to remove it by applying
the sponge with clean water, or it will not be removable when
dry. Stains must be removed before mounting. The franpn
should be ready to receive the stretcher, and it should at once do
tacked in and stood up to dry. If not tacked into the frame the
stretcher will twist with the drying of the picture, which tacking
in the frame prevents.

Should the engraving be on India paper it will not be advisa¬
ble to damp it so much nor let it lie in the paste, but proceed as
quickly as possible, as the India paper sometimes comes up,
when it is a difficult matter to lay it again properly.

Many other pictures are mounted in the same manner as before
mentioned, but where it is an old engraving, stained and discol
ored, it will be necessary to clean it before mounting.

Where gilt slipping is laid in a maple or other wood frame, the
stretcher may be omitted by mounting the picture on the inside
slipping in the following manner : — The picture must be well
damped with a sponge and clean water. The frame made of
slipping must be well glass-papered down, and glued and laid on
the picture in its proper place and well rubbed down. When
dry it will be found to be well stretched, and the gilt will go
under the glass. It should be tacked in the frame to dry, and
when fitted up a backboard used. This method is not suitable
for large pictures.

PROOFS.

Sometimes valuable artist proof pictures come into the hand9
of the picture frame maker, with special directions as to their
mounting, &c., as many gentlemen are most particular not to
allow the fine lines of the engraving to be touched, and on no
account to be pasted on the back.

When this is the case the proof must be carefully measured
up for the stretcher as before mentioned, and marked on the back.

120

THE GILDER^ MANUAL.

but not cut. It must then be turned on its face on soft tissue
paper, and moderately damped with clean sponge and water.
The stretcher, covered with paper, must now be laid on the back
of the proof in the place whero it is meant to bo mounted, and
the outside edges must be glued and turned over on to the back
of the stretcher, and well nibbed down and tacked into tne
frame. It will dry, and present a well-stretched picture, and the
paper used will prevent the wood of the stretcher from staining
a valuable picture, and keep the dust from the back. If it is im¬
portant that the proof should not touch the glass it will be nec¬
essary to have two rabbets to the frame — one for the glass and
the other for the picture.

PHOTOGRAPHS.

Photographs are usually mounted on card-board, and the great
fault is that the majority are on thin board, and through bad
mounting the picture is pulled out of shape, and it is difficult to
fit it upon the frame to present a workman-like appearance.

The photograph should first be squared up by cutting the cages
with a sharp knife guided by a straight-edge, when it should be
put into clean water for an hour or two, and laid between blotting
paper for a short time before mounting. Some thin starch should
then be made and brushed over the back of the photogragh very
evenly, which is then laid on the board so as to give equal margin.
After well rubbing down with a sheet of paper it should be laid
in a press or under weight to dry. If it is required to mount a
picture with cold starch it will be found to roll under the brush,
and the fingers of the right hand will best rub on an even coat.

Where a cut mount is ordered tiie photograph may be mounted
on cardboard a little larger than the picture, placed behind the
cut out mount and pasted in its place.

WATER COLORS AND CHROMOS.

Water colors require careful treatment, as it is not advisable to
make them wet by paste, or the colors may be affected. After
careful squaring up, the edges should be gone over with thin
glue, and laid in its place on the mounting board. If a cut out
mount is required it must be placed in front of the mounted
water color.

Chromo lithographs do not require the care advisable for water
colors ; the colors on the picture being oil, will not readily be dis¬
turbed. They may be mounted with thick paste and laid under
pressure, and if a cut out mount is necessary the mounted picture
must bo pasted in its place at the back of it. The edges of the
fron4 card are cut slanting toward the picture, and may be brushed

THE GILDER*8 MAtftTAL. 121

with gold size rather thin and real gold powder or gcod bronze
put on with good effect.

OLEOGRAPHS.

Oleographs are pictures printed in oil color to represent oil
paintings, and are mounted in the following manner. A stretcher
is made the size of the picture with wedges at the corners as oil
paintings. It is then covered with a smooth stout canvas or un¬
bleached Holland, when the picture receives a coat of thin glue,
the stretcher is laid on the picture and well rubbed down and left
to dry. The stretchers should be stouter than ordinary as they
require to be strong. After the picture is dry two coats of parch¬
ment size is laid on and then varnished with mastic.

These pictures are sometimes mounted as chromos with margin,
and many subjects look very well.

MAP8.

Good muslin or fine canvas must be strained on a smooth clean
board by tacks, and the map damped with a clean sponge on its
back, and then well pasted, taking care that the edges are weL
Baturated. The map must then be laid on the canvas, a sheet of
paper on the top, and well rubbed down ; when dry two coats of
parchment size must be laid on, and one or two coats of paper
varnish. When thoroughly dry the tacks may be taken out and
ihe maps squared up with a straight-edge and knife, enough can¬
vas being left on the top and bottom to attach to rollers. The
sides are then bound with silk ribbon and the bottom tacked on
to a roller, while on the top a moulding is usually secured.
Sometimes the roller is cut in half and the map secured between
by screws at the back.

Where the map is in several sheets they must be carefully joined
in mounting, and edges well rubbed down, or the varnish may
get under and stain the paper.

MARGIN, MOUNTS, PITTING UP, ETC.

There has hitherto been no rule for the width of margin on
pictures, but it is usual to give a good broad margin to a valua¬
ble work of art, such as water colors, chromos, proof engravings,
and even photographs looks best with a good margin. We have
seen pictures framed with narrow margins according to the whim
of their owner, and it has very much taken away from their ap¬
pearance when framed. Commou pictures or pictures of but lit¬
tle value do not require wide margins, and in measuring up pic
lures for framing this should be borne in mind. Engravings with

122

THE GILDER^ MANUAL.

India paper are usually measured for a margin beyond, and where
there is no India paper the picture is measured for the top and
two sides to be equal, and the bottom margin considerably more
to allow for the title. The plate mark on the picture sometimes
is a guide. Large subjects require broader margins than sma.l
ones.

Water colors and chromos can be measured up for equal mar
gin all round, as also photographs if the margin is wide, but
should it be narrow a little deeper margin may be left at the
bottom.

There is a circumstance which sometimes decides the width of
margin at the bottom of the subject, and that is if the picture
measures nearly square it is measured up so as to bring the frame
a little longer, as many dislike a square frame.

MOUNTING BOARDS AND MOUNTS.

Mounting and card board may be had almost any size and
quality. Mounting boards, technically so called, are commoner
than card boards, as they will be found on examination to hare
an inferior brown paper for the inside of the board, while the
cardboards are white throughout and a whiter and better surface,
Cut out mounts are usually made of the latter.

Mounts, with or without gold line and bevel, may be had of
any size, quality, or pattern. Sizes suitable for photographs are
often required.

CLEANING ENGRAVINGS.

The frame-maker, in receiving orders for frames, is sometimes
tequired to clean the engravings before putting them into the
frame. Valuable old pictures are often discolored with age,
smoke, dirt and dust, so that the title is scarcely legible, and the
picture lost in the stained condition of the paper. A method
thiit will be effective and still preserve the lines of the engraving
perfect, will prove valuable when it is required.

The engraving must be laid down on a smooth board, with a
clean sheet of paper underneath, and with a clean sponge and
water carefully wet the picture on both sides, and then saturate
it well with a soft sponge with the following mixture: ^ lb.
chloride of lime, 2 oz. oxalic acid, 1 quart of water.

The above will be known to be the right strength by its turn¬
ing a magenta color.

The application must continue as long as there is any stain to
come out, and then sponged freely both sides with clean water.
We have cleaned engravings so stained and yellow that the pic¬
ture could scarcely be distinguished. The paper looked an clean

THE gilder’s manual. 123

as when it was made, and the engraving stood out brilliant on its
new back ground.

We must caution those who try this receipt not on any account
to use it on water color drawing or prints that have been colored
with water color, as in the first instance a clean sheet of paper
would be left plain. This receipt will not touch any color that
has been mixed with oil, as is the case with the ink the picture
is printed with. The above receipt loses its virtue when it has
been made some time.

FITTING-UP.

A picture badly fitted up will get discolored with the air and
dust, and will not look so well as if a little more care and time
had been spent upon it.

When the frame is made and the picture mounted it is ready
.'or fitting up, when the glass must be cut, care being taken to
select a piece free from defects.

Cutting glass is easily accomplished with a little practice, but
some of the foreign is brittle, and will sometimes crack across
the pane instead of the cut. The modus operandi is as follows .
A large pane is placed on the board covered with green baize,
md looked over to see there are no defects, when the frame is
measured and the the straight-edge is place 1 on the glass, making
due allowance for the room the diamond takes up in cutting.
A steady cut is given, holding it between the first and second
fingers of the right hand, and keeping it inclined toward the
arm. Then if it is a long cut on a large piece of glass the best
way will be to bring the cut to the edge of the board, and with
a steady downward jern of the piece in hand (if the cut has been
perfect) the glass will part evenly. With smaller pieces it will
part by holding the glass with the finger and thumb of each
hand on each side of the cut, and using a little downward force.

When the pane has been cut the required size it must be well
cleaned both sides with whitening, and fastened into the frame
by pasting strips of paper and laying them in so that one half lies
on the glass and the other on the side of the rabbet but not to
show in front of course. When this is dry it will be firm and no
dust can get in. The picture is then cut to the required size, at¬
tention being given that the margin is right all the way round.
As this is a matter of some little difficulty to the amateur we will
just say it can be quickly done by measuring the inside of the
frame and then by putting the rule across the picture you will
gee how much the margin on the two sides measure, when by
taking one-half and marking it off on the picture and drawing a
line across as a guide for cutting, the margin will be found to be

124

THE GILDER’S MANUAL.

equal. The picture must be measured in the dame way for the
two other margins. When it is cut it will be found to go into
the frame exact with the margin correct. If, on measurement, it
should be found a little out, a strip cut from the opposite side
where the margin is narrow will rectify the error.

If it is a medium-sized picture a back-board will fasten it in.
Back-boards can be had of any thickness. The back-board is
cut to the required size, and if not wide enough is glued up with
a piece of the required size, and, when dry, it is planed up and
outside edges beveled.

Now that the glass is pasted in, the picture cut to the proper
size, and the back -board ready, it can be bradded in, but before
this is done it will be necessary to see that the glass is quite clean
on the inside, that no dust or small particle of wood is between
the glass and the picture, and also that the picture is laid in its
proper place, when the back can be put in and bradded up. It
is advisable to put two or three brads in each side, and then satisfy
yourself by inspection that everything is right, or you may have
to take out the whole of the brads again to remove a particle of
dust or shaving.

The picture must now be backed up with brown paper, or nar¬
row slips pasted round the edge of the back.

If it is to be backed up with brown paper the sheet must be
cut the size required and damped with a wet sponge. The back
edge of the frame must be thinly glued and the paper at once
strained on. This will strengthen the frame, keep the dust out,
and perhaps hide a back-board not very smooth.

Strips of colored paper look clean pasted round when a smooth
back-board is in the frame. Where stretchers are used they are
backed up in both ways, according to fancy.

If it is a large picture on mounting board a panneled back-board
would be desirable.

In fitting up maple and gold frames, the inside gold must bo
blocked in tight, and when the gold is ordered under the glass,
the glass must first be cut. The stretcher with the mounted pic¬
ture will be bradded in last, and the back papered up. With
maple, rosewood, or any French-polished frames, it is necessary
to clean them down with a reviver before sending them out, as in
handling the molding it becomes dull. Receipts will be found
at the end of this volume.

OXFORD FRAMES.

These frames have become favorites within the last few years.
They are made of oak with cross corners and are got up in fancy
patterns, some of whieh are finished with ulti amarine on the

the gilder’s manual. 125

bevels. They can be had of the wholesale houses of assorted
sizes.

They should be rubbed over with linseed oil, which will ffive
the wood a richer appearance.

FRENCH POLISHING AND VARNISHING.

Frames made to order, of oak and other wood, require French
polishing or varnishing, when it will be convenient to know how
to lay on a lasting and brilliant polish. The following precise
directions, if followed, will give a satisfactory result.

FRENCH POLISHING.

The mode of application necessary for French polish differs
from that of ordinary varnishes, being effected by rubbing it with
a fine cloth upon the surface of the material to be polished and
using oil and spirits of wine during the process. In applying it
to large surfaces use a rubber formed of aflat coil of thick woolen
cloth, such as drugget, &c. , which may be torn off the piece in
order that the surface of the rubber, which is made of the torn
edge of the cloth, may be soft and pliant, and not hard and stiff as
would be the case were it to be cut off, and therefore be liable to
scratch the soft surface of the varnish. This rubber is to be se¬
curely bound with thread to prevent it from uncoiling when it is
used, and it may vary in its size from one to three inches in
diameter and from one to two inches in thicknes, according U
the extent of the surface to be varnished. The varnish is to be
applied to the middle of the flat face of the rubber by shaking up
the bottle containing it against the rubber ; it will absorb a con¬
siderable quantity and will continue to supply it equally and in
due proportion to the surface which is undergoing the process of
polishing. The face of the rubber must next be covered by a soft
linen cloth doubled, the remainder of the cloth being gathered
together at the back of the rubber to form a handle to hold it by,
and the face of the cloth must be moistened with a little raw lin¬
seed oil applied upon the finger to the middle of it, and the ope¬
ration be commenced by quickly and lightly rubbing the surface
of the article to be polished in a constant succession of small cir¬
cular strokes, if a flat surface, but if a molded face a light back
and forward stroke without lifting the hand will answer, and the
operation must be confined to a space of not more than ten or
twelve inches square until such space is finished, when an adjoin¬
ing one may be commenced and united with the first, and so on
until the whole surface is covered. The varnish is enclosed by
WlQ double fold of cloth, which by absorption, becomes merely

126

THE GILDER’S MANUAL.

moistened with it, and the rubbing of each piece must be con
tinued until it becomes nearly dry. The rubber may, for a
second coat, be wetted with varnish without the oil, and applied
as before. A third coat may also be given in the same manner ;
then a fourth with a little oil, which must be folio ived as before,
with two others without oil ; and thus proceeding until the var¬
nish acquires some thickness, which will be after a few repetitions,
find depends on the care that has been taken in finishing the sur-
lace. Then a little spirits of wine may be applied to the inside of
the rubber after wetting it with the varnish and being covered
with the linen as before ; it must be very quickly and uniformly
rubbed over every part of the surface ; this tends to make it even,
and very much conduces to its polish. The cloth must next be
wetted with a little spirits of wine and oil without varnish, and
the surface being rubbed over, with the precautions last men¬
tioned, until it is nearly dry, the effect of the operation will be
seen, and if it be found that it is not complete the process must be
continued, with the introduction of spirits of wine in its turn as
directed, until the surface becomes uniformly smooth and beauti¬
fully polished. The work to be polished should be placed oppo¬
site the light in order that the effect of the polishing may be better
seen. In this manner a surface from one to eight feet square may
be polished, and the process, instead of being limited to the polish
ing of rich cabinets or other smaller works, can now be applied
to tables and other large pieces of furniture with very great ad¬
vantages over the common method of polishing with wax, oils.
&c. In some cases it is considered preferable to rub the wooa
over with a little oil applied on a linen cloth before begiuing to
polish, but the propriety of this method is very much doubted.
When the color of the wood to be polished is dark a harder polish
may be made by making the composition of one part of shellac
and eight parts of spirits, proceeding as before directed. For work
polished by the French-polish, the recesses or carved work, or
where the surfaces are not liable to wear, or are difficult to be got
at with the rubber, a spirit made without lac, and considerably
thicker than that used in the foregoing process, may be applied
to those parts with a brush or hair pencil, as is commonly done
in other modes of varnishing. French polish is not proper for
dining tables nor for anything where it is liable to be partially ex*
posed to a considerable heat.

STOPPING FOR FRENCH POLISHING.

Plaster-of-paris, when made into a creamy paste, with water,
proves a most valuable pore-filling material. It is to be rubbed

127

THE GILDER’S MANUAL.

by means of a coarse rag across the woody fiber into the holes
and pores till they be completely saturated, and then the super¬
fluous stucco on the outside is to be instantly wiped olf. The
succeeding processes are technically termed papering, oiling, and
embodying.

When finely-pounded whiting is mixed with painter’s drying
ail, it constitutes another good pore-filler. It is applied in the
same manner as the preceding one, and it is recommended on
account of its quickly hardening and tenacious virtues as a ce¬
ment ; sometimes white lead is used in lieu of whiting.

Before using either of these, or other compositions for the same
purpose, it is best to tint them to correspond exactly with the
color of the article it is intended to size.

Holes and crevices may be well filled up with a cement that is
made by melting beeswax in combination with resin and shellac.

v AitNisnrx g.

Flat camel’s hair or hog’s hair brushes are generally used for
varnishing, and usually come varying in width one to four inches.
Turned and carved work require small tools to go over the mem¬
bers and sweeps. The best way to preserve them is to rinse them
after use in spirits of turpentine, wash in warm soap-suds and
hang them up in a dry place where no air is moving.

Where the brushes have been neglected they must be soaked
in varnish for an hour or two, but if wanted immediately they
can be softened in turpentine. For fancy work a good sponge
will sometimes be found preferable.

The varnish dish should be provided with a closely-fitting lid,
and a wire strained across the dish to scrape the brush over when
dipped, or too much will be laid on.

After dipping, the brush should be passed over the wire, and
the first coat may be laid on across the grain of the wood as ^
evenly as possible, but in the finishing the varnish must be laid
on with the grain. The tool should be lightly handled and not
slowly used, as some varnishes set very quickly. Varnishcrs
sometimes make a ground with a rubber full of French polish
before the application of the spirit varnish. The rubber must
be thoroughly dry before the application of the varnish. The
last coat applied should stand some time before receiving the
fine varnish. It should be finished off with a damp rubber The
Above will give brilliant and lasting work.

CHOICE OF IIAIU TOOLS.

Hound and flat brushes are used, but the flat are more useful.
They should be neatly made and yet very strong, and the hall

128

THE GILDER’S MANUAL.

should not be cut at the points, but smooth to the touch. They
should also be very elastic, springing back to their shape when
in use, and the hair should be silky- looking. There should be no
diverging hairs, but their shape should be wedge-like. Polished
cedar handles ensure thorough cleaning, and they are more pleas
ant to use.

Sable tools should come to a firm fine point, and the hair
must be of a pale yellow cast. They can be had both flat and
round.

Badger tools are superior when the hair is light, long, and
pliant, in color black with white ends. Instead of coming to
a point the hairs diverge. They seldom want cleaning as used
by gilders.

RULES FOR POLISHING.

Work to be dusted before commencing.

Every embodying must be allowed a proper time to harden and
absorb before re-application of smoothing stuffs or polishes.

The rubber must be covered with a clean part of the rag at each
wetting.

Rubbers must not be worked too long in the same direction,
nor heavily laid on when wet, or the work will be streaky.

Marks of the rubber may be smoothed by working in an oppo¬
site direction with a rubber nearly dry.

Large surfaces should not be gone over all at once.

Fine linen makes the best rubber coverings. Cheap cotton will
do as well after washing.

Carved work that has been finely varnished presents a brilliant
appearance after cleaning with an oiled flannel.

The only fixed oil used in French polishing is raw linseed oil.

Polishing rubbers should be preserved in close tin canisters.

Polishing and varnishing should be performed in a room, the
? temperature of which is about 60 degrees Fahrenheit, and it
should be free from damp.

* The most convenient way of laying matt or burnish gold size
on small work is to lay two or three brushfuls on the back of the
left hand when it will be found that the brush can be filled and
brought to a fine point very quickly, and the size is kept in a
workable condition by the heat of the hand.

USEFUL, RECEIPTS.

Compo. — One pound of glue must be dissolved in one gallon of
water. In another kettle boil together ^ lbs. of resin, 1 gill of
Venice turpentine, and 1 pint of linseed oil ; mix all together in
one kettle, and boil and stir till the water has evaporated. Turn

THE gilder’s MANUAL.

120

the whole into a tub of finely rolled whiting, and work it until
it is of the consistence of dough.

Another Receipt. — Boil 7 lbs. of the best glue in 31 pints ol
water. Melt 3 lbs. of white resin in 3 pints of raw linseed oil.
When the above have been well boiled put them in a large vessel
and simmer them for half an hour, stirring the mixture and taking
vire that it does not boil over. The whole must then be turned
mto a box of whiting rolled and sifted, and mix till it is of the
consistence of dough.

Polish Reviver.— Quarter pint of linseed oil, 2 ozs. wood
naptha, 1 oz. spirits of salts.

Bookbinders’ Varnish. — Quarter pint of methy. spirits, 1 oz.
gum juniper, 1 oz. orange shellac.

Partially Resilvering. — The silvering must be «t?moved
from the injured part, and the glass cleaned thoroughly. A wall
of beeswax must be formed round the spot, and nitrate of silver
poured on, and the silver precipitated by oil of cloves and spirits
of wine. This method is said to be most successful.

Brush Polish. — The following receipt must be used warm,
and laid on with a brush. If the article to be polished be held
to the fire before the application a better polish will be the re¬
sult : 2 ozs. shellac, 2 ozs. white resin, dissolved in one pint of
spirits of wine will be found to answer well for carved work or
Oxford frames.

French Polish Reviver. — Half pint linseed oil, 1 oz. of
spirits of camphor, 2 ozs. vinegar, $ oz. of butter of antimony,
1 oz. of spirits of hartshorn.

Another. — One lb. of naptha, 4 ozs. of shellac, 1 oz. oxalic
acid. Let it stand till dissolved, and add 3 ozs. of linseed oil.

Gold Ink.— 24 leaves gold, $ oz. bronze gold, 30 drops of
spirits of wine, 30 grains of honey, 4 drams gum-arabic, 4 ozs.
rain water. The gold must be rubbed with the gum and honey,
and the whole mixed with water, and the spirit added.

Gold and silver inks used for illumination, are simply the metals
powdered very fine, and mixed in weak gum water. Gold leaf
ground with honey and mixed with thin gum, will be found to
work well for illuminations.

Gilder’s Ormolu. — Quarter pint spirits wine, £ oz. garnet
shellac, 1 dram of red saurders wood, £ dram turmeric.

To Clean Looking Glasses. — Sponge down the glass with
gum and water, equal parts, then dust down with whiting, and
finish with a soft old silk handkerchief.

To Clean Marble. — Mix with \ pint of soft soap, £ gill of
turpentine, sufficient pipe clay and bullock’s gall to mako the
whole into a rather thiok paste. Apply it to the marble with a

(

130

THE GILDEK’S MANUAL.

•oft brush, and after a day or two, when quite dry, rub it off with
a soft rag. Apply this a second or third time till the marble is
quite clean.

Gold Color Copal Varnish. — Take one ounce of powdered
copal, two ounces of essential oil of lavender, and six ounces of
spirits of turpentine ; put the oil of lavender into a matrass of a
proper size placed on a sand bath subjected to a moderate heat.
When the oil is very warm add the copal from time to time in
very small quantities, and stir the mixture with a stick of white
wood rounded at the end. When the copal has entirely disap
peared put in the turpentine in almost a boiling state at three dif¬
ferent times, and keep continually stirring the mixture until the
solution be quite completed.

Cleaning Engravings. — Put the engraving on a smooth board,
cover it thinly with common salt finely powdered. Squeeze
lemon juice upon the salt so as to dissolve a considerable portion
of it ; elevate one end of the board so that it may form an angle
of about 45 or 50 degrees. Pour on the engraving boiling water
from a tea kettle until the salt and lemon juice be all washed off.
The engraving then will be perfectly clean and free from stains.
It must be dried on the board or some smooth surface gradually.
If dried by the fire or the sun it will be tinged with a yellow
color.

Another Method. — Immerse the print for an hour or so in a ley
made by adding to the strongest muriatic acid its own weight in
water, and to three parts of this mixture adding one of red oxide
of manganese. 4

A print, if not properly clean may remain in this liquid for
twenty-four hours without harm. Indian ink stains should in
the first instance be assisted out with hot water ; pencil marks
taken out with Indian rubber so carefully as not to injure the en¬
graving. If the print has been mounted, the paste on the back
should be thoroughly removed with warm water. The saline
crystal left by the solution may be removed by repeated rinsings
in warm water.

Ink Spots in Mahogany. — To take out ink spots in mahogany,
apply oxalic acid in water with a sponge till the ink disappears.

To Revive the Gilt op Picture Frames. — Beat up three ozs.
of the whites of eggs with one oz. of chloride of potash or soda.
Brush the frame carefully over with the above, when the frame
will have a much fresher appearance.

To Take Ink out of Paper. — Two drams of muriate of tio
mixed with double its quantity of water applied with a soft brush,
will bri ng out the ink. The paper must be well r psed in water to
wash off the stain.

THE GILDER’S MANUAL, 181

Another. — Citric or tartaric acids can be applied to the leaves of
books or engravings to take out ink stains.

To Remove Stains and Spots from Paper. — The clear solu¬
tion of chloride of lime diluted with twice its bulk of water, will
effectually and expeditiously remove stains from prints and printed
paper. First soak the paper in clear water till it becomes smooth,
then remove it into a dish large enough to hold it flat filled with
the solution diluted as above. The stain will disappear in a
few minutes, after that again soak the paper in clear water to
free it from chloride of lime, and dry it between sheets of
blotting paper.

To take Grease and Ink out of Paper. — Apply to it a cam¬
el’s hair pencil dipped in muriate of tin, two drams, water four
drams. After the writing has disappeared the paper should be
passed through water and then dried. To extract grease spots
from paper, gently warm the greased cr spotted part of the paper,
and then press upon it pieces of blotting paper one after another
to absorb as much of the grease as possible. Have ready some
fine clear spirits of turpentine, heated almost to boiling
state ; slightly warm the greased part of the paper, and with a
soft clean brush, wet both sides of the spot with the heated tur¬
pentine. By repeating this application the grease will be ex
tracted. Lastly, with another brush, dipped in rectified splits
of wine, go over the place, and the grease will entirely disappear
without the paper being discolored.

White Furniture Cream. — With the following receipt the
vinegar must be mixed with the linseed oil by degrees, and the
bottle well shook up. The spirit of antimony must afterward be
added, and well mixed. Six ounces of raw linseed oil, three ozs.
methylated spirits, three ozs. white wine vinegar, half an ounce
of butter of antimony.

Cement for Mounting Photographs. — Fine wheat starch,
four drams, beat into a paste with cold water, one oz. of best
Russian glue ; dissolve in a pint of boiling water ; while boiling
pour on the starch ; put the whole into a saucepan, and boil till as
thick as treacle. When required for use a small quantity is to be
melted in a little warm water.

Brushes for Varnishing. — Varnish brushes should be made
of long white hairs, have a good spring, and be of the best quality.
They should be worn fiat, sharp, and thin at the point, as they
will lay on the varnish so much more regularly. No oil brush
should be put in the varnish, if so they should be well washed first
in turpentine and well squejzed out. It is important to pay a
little attention to brushes when not in use, and oil varnish
brushes should be suspended in varnish of the same sort as used.

132

THE GILDER’S MANUAL.

care being taken that the varnish covers the hairs of the brush up
to the binding of the tin. The advantage is that they are always
clean, pliable, and straight. If brushes are kept in turpentine
they become hard and harsh, and the turpentine left in the ^rush
will cause the work to look cloudy or streaked.

To Silver Copper Work. — Dissolve in one ounce of aquafortis,
over a moderate fire, one dram of good silver in small pieces, when
dissolved take the vessel off the fire, and throw in as much white
tartar as will absorb the liquor, and make it into a paste. Copper
or brass work cleaned and rubbed over with this paste will have
a brilliant silver surface.

To Remove Varnish from Prints. — The varnish may some¬
times be removed by rubbing it up with the fingers ; a white
powder is produced, which must be dusted off. The print must
then be stretched, sized and varnished, as before directed. If the
varnish will not rise by rubbing, it has not been varnished with
nastic.

Another Method. — Blotting paper spread over the print and
saturated with pure spirit, will dissolve the varnish. The blot¬
ting paper should be changed and the process repeated if not effec
tual the first or second time.

Wood Stain eng. — Many of the cheap frames now sold are
stained wood, and walnut is imitated by darkening elm or beech
The more figure there is on the wood the better beech may be
made to imitate mahogany by the following receipt : — One or.nce
ff dragon’s blood, pulverized, put into one pint of rectified spirits
of wine ; keep it in a warm place until dissolved.

Oak stain may soon be made by adding to a quart of water two
ounces each of potash and pearlash. Tm's is a very good stain,
but should be used carefully, as it blisters the hands and softens
brushes. It should be kept corked up. A lighter stain may be made
by adding more water.

To improve the tint of any stain mix one ounce of nitric acid,
half a tea-spoonful of muriatic acid, quarter of an ounce of
grain tin, and two ounces of rain water. It should be kept in a
well corked bottle, and mixed two days before using. A little
of the above will render any stain more brilliant.

Imitating Rosewood. — 1. A transparent liquid rose pink, used
in imitating rosewood, consists in mixing \ lb. of potash in 1
gallon of hot water, and ^ lb. of red sanders wood is added there¬
to ; when the color of the wood is extracted, 2$ lbs. of gum shellac
are added and dissolved over a quick fir© ; the mixture is then
ready to be used on a groundwork made with logwood stain.

2. Boil $ lb. of logwood in 3 pints of water till it is of a very dark
red, add | oz. of salts of tartar. While boiling hot stain the

T WE GILDER’S MANUAL,

IBS

wood with two or three coats, taking care that it is nearly dry be¬
tween each ; then with a stiff flat brush, such as is used by the
painters foi graining, form streaks with black stain. This imita¬
tion will very nearly equal the appearance of dark rosewood.

3. Stain with black stain, and when dry, with a brush as above
dipped in the brightening liquid, form red veins in imitation of
the grain of rosewood. A handy brush for the purpose m iy be
made out of a flat brusn, such as is used for varnishing ; cut the
sharp points off, and make the edges irregular by cutting »ut a
few hairs here and there, and you will have a tool which will ac¬
tually imitate the grain.

Black Stain. — Boil 1 lb. of logwood in 4 quarts of water, add
a double handful of walnut peel or shells ; boil it up again, take
out the chips, add a pint of the best vinegar, and it will be fit for
nse ; apply it boiling. This will be improved, if when dry, a
solution of green copperas, an ounce to a quart of water, is ap¬
plied hot over the first stain.

Black Stain for Immediate Use. — Boil i lb. of chip log¬
wood in 2 quarts of water, add 1 oz. of pearlash, and apply it hot
to the work with a brush. Then take £ lb. of logwood, boil it
as before in 2 quarts of water, and add | oz. of verdigris and
i oz of copperas ; strain it off, put in I lb. of rusty steel filings ;
with this go over the work a second time.

Ebony Stains. — 1. Stain work with the black stain, adding
powdered nutgall to the logwood and copperas solution, dry, rub
down well, oil, then use French polish made tolerably dark with
indigo, or finely-powdered stone blue.

2. Hold an ordinary slate over gas, lamp, or candle, until it is
well smoked at the bottom, scrape a sufficient quantity into
French polish, and well mix ; then polish the article in the ordi¬
nary way. If there are any lumps gently rub them down and ap¬
ply another coat.

3. Prepare a decotion of logwood by adding a small handful of
chips to a pint of rain water. Allow this to simmer until reduced
one-fourth, and while the liquor is hot, dress the work to be ebon-
ized two or three times. To the remainder of the liquor add two
bruised nut-galls, a few very rusty nails, bits of iron hooping,
or a piece of sulphate of iron the size of a walnut, and as much
more rain water as will make about three-quarters of a pint of
liquor. Apply this, which will be a black stain, hot as before,
giving two coats, and when thoroughly dry, polish with ordinary
French polish, to which sufficient powdered thumb-blue has been
added to preceptibly color the polish. Use a glazed pipkin in
which to prepare the stain. Take care that no oil or grease comes
In contact with the brushes used or the surface of the wood until

134

the gilder’s manuai*

ready for polishing. Let each coat of stain dry before the next
is added, and rub down with well used, fine glass-paper. Syca¬
more, chestnut, and plane-tree, are the best woods for ebonizing
in the above manner.

4. Infuse gall-nuts in vinegar in which rusty nails have been
soaked, rub the wood with the infusion, dry, polish, burnish.

5. Stain in the first place with a hot saturated solution of log¬
wood, containing a little alum ; and, when dry, brushit over with
common writing ink.

Imitation Carved Oak Frames. — These frames may be made
to look very effective with a gold inside, and are suitable for
historical engravings.

They are made up from moldings in the white, and mountec
with composition ornaments, backed up as if for gilding. After
a coat of thin white, they must be glass-papered down, and then
toated with Venetian red and white. Black Japan thinned down
with turpentine, is then laid on, and combed for oak grain. Two
coats of oak varnish will be required to finish the work. If a
woody grain is required, mix chrome yellow with the color.

To Brighten Gold Frames. — Take sufficient flour of sulphur
to gi ve a golden tinge to about 1| pints of water, and in this boil
i or 5 bruised onions, or garlic, which will answer the same pur¬
pose ; strain off the liquid, and with it, when cold, wash with a
soft brush any gilding which requires restoring, and when dry it
will come out bright.

Gold Frames. — Frames that have taken the dust and lock dirty
may be brightened by going over them with a soft sponge and
water till the finish size is removed, and then size them again.
This should be done by a practiced hand, or the gold may be
rubbed off.

French Polish. — To one pint of spirits of wine, and half an
ounce of gum shellac, half an ounce of seed lac, and a quarter of
an ounce of gum sandarach ; submit the whole to a gentle heat, fre¬
quently shaking it, till the various gums are dissolved, when it is
fit for use.

Another. — Shellac 6 ozs., naptha 1 quart, «andaracli 1 oz., benzoin
| oz.

Another — Three ozs. shellac, 4 oz. of gum mastic pulverized,
and one pint of methylated spirits of wine added. Let it stand
till dissolved.

Another. — 12 ozs. shellac, 2 ozs. gum elima, 3 ozs. gum copal, 1
gallon of spirits of wine ; dissolve.

Another. — The following must be well mixed and dissolved : —
Pale shellac 2\ lbs., 3 ozs. mastic, 3 ozs. sandarach, 1 galL spirits
of wine. After the above is dissolved, add 1 pint of copal var-

the gilder’s manual. 135

nish, 11 ozs. shellac, £ oz. gum juniper, 1 oz. benzoin, } pint of
methylated alcohol.

AnotJier. — Gum mastic, seedlac, sandarach, shellac, and gum*
arabic, 1 oz. each pulverize and add f oz. of virgin wax. Dis
solve in 1 quart of rectified spirits of wine.

Strength op Gold Size. — As we before mentioned that refer¬
ence would again be made to the strength of size, with a view of
determining the right strength for the work, we will do so now
at the end of the volume.

Hitherto experience ha9 decided the strength of burnish gold
size, so that when the burnisher is applied it will not friz up ; and
even the man of experience is somewhat puzzled when he wishes
to get on with his work, and has hot size to make up his prepara
tions.

A few little experiments have been tried during the progress
of this volume through the press with a view to determine, a«
near as can be, the strength required for a good burnish, without
leaving it to an uncertainty.

There is a little instrument used to test milk called a Laciome
ter , which is a float that records the density of the milk.

By this little instrument the density and strength of size may
always be known exactly, without leaving any doubt on the
matter ; and as a standard to regulate the strength required, a
good burnish will be the result of size where the float registers it
a little weaker than three-quarters milk, and matt a little stronger
Matt should be stronger, and the float would register near the 2.

State op Oil Paintings to re Lined. — If an oil painting
requires lining, and is bud)y cracked or very rotten, a good sheet
of paper should be pasted on the face of the picture to strengthen
and preserve it during the operation ; and the stretcher should be
a little larger than the painting, so that the edges of the picture
will not tear up. The sheet of paper must be carefully sponged
off when the picture is dry.

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