The Progress of the Marbling Art Part 13

To avoid this the edges must be moistened with a thin paste to which some alum is added. It is still better to use the grounding substance manufactured by William Leo, of Stuttgart.

If beautiful edges are to be produced, then, in cutting the book it is necessary to see that the knife of the machine is free from nicks, so that the cut is clean and smooth.

At the fore-edge of the book there will always appear some small parts of the different sheets protruding slightly. If this is to be overcome, these edges are to be treated as hollow edges which means that they must be sc.r.a.ped hollow before coloring and must be burnished with the round-burnisher.

The use of colored edges is always left to individual taste. The following rule may be of some advantage; colored edges must have a binding of an opposite color. A red edge will appear to most advantage with a white, gray, dull-green, dark-brown or antique binding.

Bindings of a reddish-brown color would lose in their general aspect by the employment of a red edge.

If books with red edges are to be covered with red, it is then essential that the colors of both are corresponding.

GILT EDGES.

GILT EDGES.

In the production of gilt edges, there have not been any essential improvements noticed.

If the gilt-edge is to-day produced more beautifully and perfectly than formerly, it is due in part to a more extensive experience and practice, and also to the excellent quality of gold-leaf now on the market.

No edges contribute so greatly to the generally elegant appearance of a book as gilt-edges; they are l.u.s.trous and rich and are more pleasing to the eyes of most men than the plain and unseemly colored edges, though a great deal of trouble and industry is necessary to the production of these beautiful effects.

A princ.i.p.al condition in the production of gilt-edges is the utmost cleanliness and skill in executing the necessary manipulations.

In cutting the book, great care must be taken that the cuts are entirely smooth and clean, without any blemish. Sharp knifes are therefore indispensable in this kind of work.

Gilt-edges demand an entirely smooth surface which is only produced by carefully sc.r.a.ping the surface with a steel sc.r.a.per. The edge must be sc.r.a.ped perfectly smooth so as not to show the marks of the knife in cutting or those of the sc.r.a.per. To this end the books, the edges of which have already been cut, are placed between gilding-boards in hand presses in such a way that the fore-edge protrudes but slightly over the cheeks of the press. After the press has been tightly drawn down and has been fastened firmly, the sc.r.a.ping of the edges can be begun. When this tiresome work has been finished, and an entirely smooth surface has been obtained, the surface is moistened with a paste-water and rubbed dry with clean paper-shavings. By this grinding and rubbing off, the edge becomes shiny and dry, and gains in the power of resistance, which is of great importance for the burnishing that occurs in the later stage of gilt-edging.

The smooth, hard ground of paste is not sufficient for the production of gilt-edges that are perfectly beautiful.

They must be colored lightly with bolus or chalk, (the most adapted to this work is the finely washed Armenian bole.)

The book-binders supply establishment of Wm. Leo, of Stuttgart, provides an excellent article.

This bole after it has been finely ground and sc.r.a.ped, must be mixed with a solution of alb.u.men (the white of the egg) such as is used for laying on gold leaf, and must be spread lightly and evenly over the edge by a fine broad hair brush or with a fine sponge, to prohibit the scaling off of the gold.

This process must be repeated. The ground of bole gives the gilt-edge a dark shade and a high l.u.s.tre and glow.

When the grounding of bole is entirely dry, and all the parts clinging to the edge have been carefully brushed off, we begin the most difficult part in the production of gilt-edges, the laying on of the gold.

As binding medium between the gold-leaf and the edge of the book, a solution of the white of the egg is used. Carefully separate the white of the egg from the yolk and dilute the same with 1 pint of water and stir until a perfect mixture of the two results. After this fluid has stood for several hours, it becomes perfectly clear, the froth of the egg floating upon the surface is removed and the solution is ready for use.

Paper containing lime makes a stronger size necessary.

To transfer the gold-leaf, which has been cut on the gold cushion to the size required, on to the edge, a rectangular light wooden frame of wood or paste board is used, across which two horse hairs or silk threads are stretched parallel to the long sides of the rectangle in such a way that they can be moved at will nearer to or farther from one another.

LAYING-ON APPARATUS.

THE LAYING-ON APPARATUS.

[Ill.u.s.tration]

Much more practical than this frame is the laying-on apparatus. It can be more easily and securely handled, and the laying on strings can be more easily set.

By means of this simple instrument the sheets of gold-leaf which are laying ready on the cushion and which must be so wide that they not only cover the edge entirely but also protrude about 1/8 inch beyond the gilding boards are transferred on to the sized edge. The sizing must be done with a soft camels hair brush, not too thin and it is essential that the gilding boards also become moistened.

The strings of this laying on apparatus or of the frame must be so far distant from each other that they reach from gilding board to gilding board.

The sheets of gold leaf that have been cut before must then be carefully transferred, one by one, on the sized edge.

To make the gold-leaf adhere to the strings of the frame, the strings are rubbed slightly upon the hair of the head by which means they absorb sufficient fatty substance to hold the light sheets of gold.

If after the gold is laid on it should contain any imperfections or breaks, other portions must be applied to these abrasions. The press is then placed aside until the edge is entirely dry. In treating the upper and lower edges i. e. after the book has been rounded, care must always be taken that in sizing, not too much moisture impregnates the back part of the edges as there is no pressure to prevent the size from running in.

If the gilt-edge is to have l.u.s.tre and glow by burnishing, great care must be taken to dry the edge well.

An edge, which is not sufficiently dried, will exhibit breaks in the gold on burnishing, and an edge which is too dry will never have the desired l.u.s.tre.

It is impossible to name the time within which gilt-edges become dry.

This depends upon the temperature of the room, the quality of the paper in the book and on the quant.i.ty of alb.u.men solution which has been put on the edge.

The safest way to find out whether the edge is dry or not is to blow upon it. If the l.u.s.tre of the gold is dimmed for several seconds, the edge is still too moist, but if the cloud vanishes immediately the edge is sufficiently dry.

We can also determine by a careful easy burnishing whether the edge is dry enough to be worked further.

The burnishing should always be executed with a flat agate burnisher, and afterwards followed by a flat blood stone. The burnishing should be commenced by covering the edge with a piece of thin smooth paper that has been rubbed with wax.

First burnish the gold laid on slightly, afterwards continue with greater force.

By this the edge acquires a uniformly dull aspect but a strong union of gold and paper is thereby established.

Before beginning the real burnishing rub the edge with a soft rag upon which a small quant.i.ty of pure white wax has been rubbed. This thin film of wax renders the burnishing much easier because the burnisher is made to glide more readily and securely over the edge.

The burnishing must first be executed lightly and then with greater force.