The Progress of the Marbling Art Part 8

While making experiments in this field, by accident I came across some edges without having an idea of the effect of the combination which so astonished me by its beauty.

It would be endeavoring too greatly to describe the method of producing all effective marbled-edges which came to my knowledge in my many years'

experience, I therefore name but a few which will certainly invite imitation and study.

Marble is the design of an edge of a book, which has a ground or back color and over which a net of veins of different colors is stretched.

For the production of marbled edges, the following preparation of size is advisable and in general use: boil 7 quarts of water and 3-1/5 ounces of carrageen moss, after boiling add 1 quart of cold water, in which one ounce of common soda has been dissolved, allow it to stand for 12 hours, and filter it through a linen cloth when it will be ready for use.

The preparation of colors is effected as with drawn marbles on a small surface of size, but it is necessary, that the colors for marbled edges expand more than the others. As first color, black is generally used, which is thrown on by a brush in the same way as in making nonpareil marble, but the other colors must be thrown on by a broom-corn whisk and the more colors are used, the smaller must be the drops of the colors which are thrown on the size, and it is further essential that they should be evenly divided around. Then use gall-water which consists of 10 parts water and 1 part gall and serves to arrange the different colors so that one color can be concentrated in one point, secondly, it has the effect of forming a white network of veins, which enhances the effect of the other colors, and finally, the ground color comes into play, putting the whole carpet of colors into motion. This color is nothing but a common nonpareil color and is used either by itself or in a mixture with other colors.

In preparing the ground or body color, enough of gall is added so as to slightly force the other colors into veins. An equal part of sprinkling-water is added to it, to give it the energetical power of spreading out essential to the formation of a beautifully veined net.

The body-color is thrown on by a medium sized bristle brush, which must be tied near the end for this purpose. This brush is to be equally moistened with the body color, the best would be to moisten it by the aid of a common brush. When this is done throw the color by beating the bristle brush on a small board upon the carpet of colors. By this process larger or smaller specks of the body-color are formed.

THE DARK-RED MARBLE.

The marbled edges are always named from the body-color, as the latter always occupies the largest s.p.a.ce on the edge. For dark-red marble the following colors are used: black, light pink (10 parts white, 1 part safflower-carmine), light-grey (10 parts white, 1 part black), gall-water and, finally, the ground color.

The latter is composed of 2 parts carmine-lake, 1 part black and 3 parts sprinkling-water.

THE PLAIN-GRAY MARBLE.

This kind of marbling is the most profitable of the veined marbles because it can be produced very rapidly.

For this purpose prepare the black color with gall in such a way, that a drop will spread out on the size to a spot of about 5-1/2 inches in diameter, then add an equal quant.i.ty of sprinkling water, dip a large broom-corn whisk or a bristle-brush into the color and throw it by beating on a board upon the size which has been cleaned off by a strip of paper. The color appears on the size a gray color with white veins, from which the edge can be taken.

THE BLUE MARBLE.

To produce this use the following colors; black, orange or citron yellow, Indian red with a little black and Oriental blue, finally adding gall water and the body color. This ground color consists of 1 part Indigo and 1 part sprinkling water.

THE BROWN MARBLE.

This marble is one of the most common, but if the colors are well selected as given in the following paragraph it will give a fine effect.

Black first, Havana brown second, chamois third, gall water, and, as ground color, humin-brown with a little carmine lake and one part sprinkling water.

THE GRAY MARBLE.

To produce this the following colors are necessary, black, dark purple, light bluish green, gall-water and a mixture of black with sprinkling water, by which the ground shade, gray, is obtained. A lighter or darker gray is obtained by adding more or less sprinkling water to the ground color.

THE OLIVE-GRAY MARBLE.

This marble has a very beautiful effect although in producing it but three colors are used. It belongs to the so called large-veined marbles and forms an olive grayish ground with a fine net of veins of black, dark-brown and white. It is produced in the following way; first black is put on with the brush, then brown is squirted on by the aid of a broom-corn whisk and then gall water and finally the body color is added. The body color consists of 2 parts black, 1 part green and the necessary sprinkling-water. If the shade of the body color is too deep, some pure water is added. For producing large veined marbles, the brush must be well filled with color, so that in throwing on of the color quite large drops will fall.

THE BLACK MARBLE.

It was formerly an unknown thing to produce a black marble over which a net of light-colored veins was stretched. My investigations have resulted in my becoming able to produce this brilliant and effective marble.

The colors used are scarlet-red, bluish-green and gall water, the latter representing the white, this network of veins comes out excellently from the dark ground-tone. The scarlet-red color is first taken and must spread out in a like way, as the black in the other two marbles. Then follows bluish-green and gall-water and finally the body color is added.

The latter makes a special preparation necessary. Take 3/5 of an ounce of ivory-black add 1/6 of an ounce of a thick solution of gum, grind the whole mixture with a mixture of sh.e.l.lac-ammonia which has been diluted with a little water. If the color is ground perfectly fine it is diluted with the solution of sh.e.l.lac-ammonia and is ready for use. Should it not be powerful enough to force the colors into veins, a few more drops of gall must be added. This body color is likewise thrown on by the aid of the large bristle brush as all other body colors.

As beautiful as this kind of marbling may be, there is a disadvantage in its use as the body color must always be newly prepared, because on the second day after standing it curdles, and cannot be used any more.

THE BLUISH-GRAY MARBLE.

By mixing the colors very beautiful effects may be obtained. One of these fine marbles is the bluish-gray. To prepare it the following mode is used; claret red (2 parts carmine-lake and 1 part black) and as body color, Oriental blue mixed with black and sprinkling-water.

GRAY MARBLE WITH A NET OF COLORED VEINS.

To produce this the following colors are used; black, yellow, cinnabar-red or Indian-red, Oriental blue and gall water and finally the gray body color.

The colors are put on in the following way; first black with the brush into a ribbon-like form, then yellow is squirted on in small drops by means of a broom-corn whisk, then follow red, blue and gall water which are treated like yellow, and finally, the body color is squirted on by the aid of a whisk or the large brush. The latter forces the colors by its great spreading power into beautiful veins, after which the edge can be taken off. The body color consists of 1 part black and 2 parts sprinkling water.

THE GRAYISH GREEN MARBLE.

This is one of the most beautiful specimens of marble and according to the shading of the body color most beautiful effects can be produced by it. The following colors are used to produce it; black, carmine-red (1 part carmine lake and 1/2 part black), gray (1 part black and 10 parts white), finally gall-water and the body color.

The mode of producing it is the same as described before. The body color consists of 1 part black, 2 parts of sprinkling water and as much green as is necessary to produce the desired shade.

Before adding sprinkling water to the body color, black, only so much gall is added that it will but slightly push the different colors thrown on.

HAIR MARBLE.

THE HAIR MARBLE.

(SEE SPECIMEN PLATES.)

These marbles are in great use and are much liked on account of their rapid and easy production, especially when many books are to be marbled; they appear very elegant on account of their fineness.

For hair marbles but one or two colors are employed which are diluted with water to 1/3 their volume. Add enough of gall to the first color so that in throwing the same on the size it will spread sufficiently to form a ribbon from 5 to 6 inches wide. Take a whisk and throw on the second color in drops that are not too large and as nearly as possible, equally distributed, then, with the bristle-brush, or sieve and brush throw sprinkling water on the colors. In this way hair veins are formed, showing more or less ground according to the quant.i.ty of sprinkling water thrown on.

The size is produced for all hair-marbles alike. In the morning boil 3-1/5 ounces of carrageen moss in 7 quarts of water and after the boiling add 1 quart of cold water, stir the whole mixture several times and allow it to stand during the day until it is fully cooled off. In the evening the size must be again diluted by another quart of water and it is then filtered through a piece of linen and left to stand over night. The next day it is ready for use. This holds good during the summer months as the temperature of the air will just make the size useful for this purpose. During the winter months the size must be allowed to stand for 36 hours before use.