It is easy to make any article ofpapier-mâchéif the mere beginning of a form has once been shaped; because, after that is set, all that we have to do is to gradually paste one piece of paper on, here and there, till it is finished. This beginning is very easy if we have an object on which to begin. Thus take a vase or cup. Oil this, and then lay on and all around it soft, damp paper. Newspaper will do—asoft, white printing paper. Then, with a broad brush, lay on paste, and apply a second coat of paper. Press it meanwhile as hard as you can. Continue this till thepapier-mâchéis thick enough. When dry, take a penknife and cut a line through from top to bottom. Scale it off, and reunite the edges with strong glue; then paste over the line of junction a strip of paper. Then you will have a cup.
If it be rough, cut it smooth and use glass-paper. When finished it may be painted or covered with wet leather, which can be worked into relief. Or it may be made to look like ivory by the process elsewhere described. Paper may in this process be combined with soft leather rags; as, for instance, pieces of old gloves out of which the thread has been taken, old chamois, bookbinders’ clippings, or the like. This forms effectively leather.
Carton-pierre, or stone-paper, is a very useful composition, which is very fully described byGeorge ParlandinWork, July 2, 1893. It consists of paper scraps, in the proportion of an ordinary washingboiler or copper one-half full of boiling water and about one-half paper waste. Add two pounds of best flour-paste; also, in a separate vessel, a quart of water, into which sprinkle a handful of fine plaster of Paris. Let it stand ten minutes before mixing it. “When the paper in the copper has become a fine pulp add the flour-paste, keeping the whole well stirred. Fifteen minutes after add the plaster, and a few minutes later rake out the fire from under the boiler. Have ready three pails of fine ground whiting; pour in one pail of whiting and stir up well, adding more whiting till the stick used to stir will stand of itself in the mixture. Let it cool, and it will be ready for use.
“Some firms,” writes Mr.Parland, “add powdered alum in the boiling process, others add one pint of boiled linseed-oil; but if made according to the previous directions, an excellentcarton-pierrewill result, which gives very fine impressions from moulds. If it be cast in a plaster mould, the latter should have two or three coats of shellac varnish, and then be well oiled.... In using thecarton, sprinkle some fine plaster of Paris on a bench, and taking a lump of the newly madecarton, mix it well with dry plaster, adding more plaster, as bakers would add flour to their dough. Having worked it well in this way until it will not stick to the fingers, with clean hands roll pieces very smooth in the palms, or on a smooth level board, and press each roll into the cavities and hollows of the mould,often wetting the edges of the cartonin the mould before adding a fresh piece to it. The casts must not be more than from an eighth to a quarter of an inch in thickness, except at the outside edgesof the mould.... The casts must stand about twenty-four hours, and then be baked in not more than 100° heat.”
The reader who is specially interested inpapier-mâchéwill find a series of articles on the subject inWork, Nos. 3, 6, 12, 17, 22, 25.
Pipeclay, to which calcined magnesia, whiting, or baryta may be added or omitted according to the body required, may be combined withpapier-mâchéand gluten, such as gum-arabic or dextrine or flour-paste, which will form under pressure, or even by hand-rolling, a very hard and finely grained substance, which is specially adapted to painting pictures. Plates ortavoleare sold very cheaply in Florence ofpapier-mâché, which are as hard, heavy, and glossy as ebony. It is not generally realised that an expensive hydraulic-press or steam-engine is not needed by the amateur to hardenpapier-mâché. A common bread-roller, passed many times over the material, will work it “down and in,” quite as well as direct pressure, and very often much better.
Papier-mâchémixed and macerated with indiarubber or gutta-percha and benzole (videIndiarubber) forms in many cases a very good substitute for leather. It can also be combined withflexiblevarnish to make leather. Very valuable soles can be made, or broken ones repaired, by taking card or pasteboard and soaking it in a hot solution of indiarubber. These waterproofed soles, whether of cardboard or leather, are easily prepared, as easily applied and renewed, and they will keep the true sole from wearing out forever, if renewed.
Singular as it seems, there are not many personswho are familiar with the properties or texture of so familiar a substance as paper. We know that if wetted it grows soft, but still remains, as it were, knotty, and that when chewed it does not properly dissolve. Yet if the reader will take a piece of thoroughly wetted paper, and knead or macerate it with a knife for some time with gum in solution, he will find it gradually becomes a soft paste, as flexible and as capable of moulding as putty or clay. This is not the same aspapier-mâché, which consists of paper merely wet or mixed and boiled with paste, and contains fibre and knottiness. The finely macerated paper, combined with an adhesive, is ductile, impressionable, sets well, and readily receives pressure on rolling, under which it becomes extremely hard. Paper thuscompletely softenedis readily made into sheets, and may be easily applied not only to fill up worm-holes in leaves and completely torn-away corners, &c., but is very useful for cracks and cavities in wood and other substances. It may be made up with any gums, such as gum-arabic, dextrine, fish-glue, and also with caseine, gutta-percha, varnish, and most of the substances used in cements. Paper when thus softened and mixed with,e.g., fine glue and glycerine, or with flour-paste, can be moulded and applied in ornamental forms to any surface.
There is this great difference between simplywetpaper, however wet it may be, and that which is completely softened by maceration. The former is always lumpy, the latter passes under the blade of a knife like soft clay or putty. When made up with gum, glue, and glycerine, or strong paste, it is, when dry, like light wood, but less brittle. Kneaded with Indiarubbersolution and glue, it becomes like leather, and can be used in several varieties of repairs. Rolled into sheets, this composition makes very good and cheap artificial leather for hangings. To manufacture these, spread the composition with a broad brush or dabber on a slate or marble table, and when rather dry pass over it a wooden roller. Some practice is needed not to roll it when too soft. If intaglio patterns are cut in the roller, the sheets will give them in relief. It is worth noting here that a great many pieces of old hangings sold as leather are really only made ofpapier-mâché, orcarton-cuir, and glue. These hangings, whether of leather or counterfeited, can be often bought in a damaged condition very cheaply, and can be easily restored with this composition, to great profit. When mixed with white lead, or oil paint and glue, soft paper becomes harder and firmer, and under pressure is as hard and heavy as any wood. White paper with holly wood or white larch or lime-tree wood in powder, and white gelatine—better if bone or ivory dust be added, with a little Naples yellow (oil)—forms a beautiful cement.
It will be seen by what I have written that cavities, holes, cracks, and defects in most substances, including wood and leather, can be perfectly remedied with paper in combination with glue, gum, or other substances; and as it is always to be obtained, a knowledge of its nature and applications cannot fail to be of value to all menders and restorers.
Papier-mâché, like all substantial or putty-like cements, involves moulding or casting. This subject is exhaustively treated in theVollständige Anleitung zum Formen und Giessen, by Eduard Uhlenhuth;Vienna, A. Hartleben, price 3s. On the subject of paper consult theHandbuch der praktischen Papier-Fabrikation, by Dr. Stanislaus Mierzinski, three volumes, which is not only the latest, but by far the most comprehensive, work on the subject with which I am acquainted. And here I may observe in this connection that if my references have been chiefly to German works, it is because, in the minor technical applications of chemistry to the arts, and in preparing intelligible practical treatises on such subjects, the Germans have been, especially of late, by far the first nation in Europe.
I may mention that since writing the foregoing passages I purchased, for a mere trifle, in Florence two carved heads of the fourteenth century in walnut wood. They had suffered very much from time and wanton abuse, their noses having been hacked off. I made a mixture of soft paper-paste and gum-arabic, working the two thoroughly in together with a knife-blade till the composition was as soft as butter. This thorough maceration is essential to produce a durable body. With this I filled up the holes, made new noses, and painted the whole with Vandyke brown, or brown-black. In a few minutes the restoration was complete, and the heads which had cost one franc each are now worth at least thirty francs. I should say that the portions restored are as hard as the original wood.
It is not always an easy matter to reduce paper to a perfectly soft paste, such as is called in Frenchpapier-pourri. A small quantity can be mashed with a knife-blade and flour-paste or gum. A large quantity is prepared as follows:—
Take clippings of paper and leave them a long time in water, which must be occasionally changed. When quite dissolved or soft, bray the paper in a mortar, and finally boil in very hot water. To give it consistency, add flour-paste or gum. This makes a very fine cement, which will receive the most delicate impression. It is invaluable for all kinds of dry mending.
As I have shown, it can be applied to make or mend defective leaves of books, to fill up worm-holes in leaves, to repair drawings and pictures on wood or canvas, and when mixed with any gum which sets hard, to restore, add to, fill, or imitate woodwork. Under pressure and combined with different powders it becomes as hard as ebony and fire-proof. Its extraordinary value and general utility are as yet very far from being much known.
Mending or repairingstone, involving its imitations, is a widely extended branch of technical science, and one which has of late years called forth much invention. The most widely spread and ancient means of uniting and repairing this material is mortar, or the mixture of burned and then slacked lime with water. Lime is made most commonly from limestone or marble. It improves in quality when carbonate of lime in organic formation, such as sea-shells, is used; and there are degrees of excellence in these, from common oyster-shells to others of a finer kind, such as those with which the brilliantly white and hardchunamof India is made. In certain places mortar, when well made, becomes with age as hard as flint. In American towns, where anthracite coal is burned, it rots away in chimneys under the influence of sulphurous acid with great rapidity. In the Pacific Islands, where lime is made from delicate small sea-shells or coral, and mortar is like a paint or enamel, a missionary has recorded that, when he taught the natives how to make it, they whitewashed everything, even to the children, who thus became white people.
The misapplied wordmastic, which suggests a gum, refers to certain modifications of mortar into whichoilenters; also the oxides of lead or zinc. “Oil forms with these an insoluble soap, which includes or binds the other materials, forming, after one month’s drying, a very hard substance,” which some say is as hard as stone, but which depends entirely on the quality and combination; for I have seen so-calledmasticapplied to coating cheaply built houses, which cracked or crumbled away like mere plaster of Paris.
To thoroughly amalgamate mastics, it is usual to put their ingredients into casks which are two-thirds filled, and then revolved by machinery. The oil is then added. At least two days are required for the process. The following recipes for mastics are among the best, having been approved byLehner. It may here be remarked, once for all, not only as regards mastics, but all recipes in this work, that unless the materials indicated are of the very best quality, and the processes be most thoroughly carried out, the experimenter cannot expect complete success. More than this, the experimenter must not be satisfied with a single trial. If every recipe could be at once executed by every cook, we should find the most exquisite cookery on every table in Europe. I once published the correct recipe for making objects of a peculiar kind ofpapier-mâchéhardened. It was very easy to make. I had seen specimens of the ware, and I received the recipe from the inventor. Moreover, a great deal of money had been made by it. However, soon after I had published it I received an indignant letter from the head of a large manufacturing house,stating that they had tried my recipe and utterly failed!
French Mastic:—
Paget’s Mastic:—
The paste or “dough” thus formed should be ground with horizontal rollers in a mill, such as is used for chocolate, until all the ingredients areverythoroughly amalgamated.
A very good cement for mending, especially where the objects are exposed to water, whether they be of stone or earthenware, is made as follows:—
The powdered glass is prepared by heating glass red-hot, casting it into water, grinding and sifting it. This powder is saturated with the linseed-oil varnish, and heated in a kettle. This cement sets hard in three days.Lehnerobserves that glass-powder serves in such recipes to resist the action of acids, &c.,since it forms in combination on the surface a glaze of great hardness; that is, the glass and lead form a chemical combination. Pulverised calcined glass therefore acts not as an “indifferent” but as a chemical ingredient.
Caseine, or Cheese, forms the basis of several recipes for mending stone, as when there are holes in a block or the mortar has given way. To prepare it for use (Lehner), we let milk stand in a cool place, skimming away with the utmost care all the cream. Place this on a filter, and pour on it rain-water till it is purified from every trace of lactic acid; then tie it in a cloth, boil it in water, and spread it on blotting-paper in a warm place, when it will be a horn-like substance. This will keep for a long time. To prepare it for use, rub it in a saucer with water.
To mend stonemake the following:—
Another recipe:—
Boil new cheese in water till it draws out in threads, stirring in slacked lime and sifted wood-ashes in the following proportions:—
This may also be used to close cavities in trees or in wood.
A cheese cement for stone, and for many otherpurposes, is made as follows. It may be kept for a long time, and is very durable (Lehner):—
This must be closely incorporated and kept well corked. When it is to be used mix it with water, and apply at once.
The following cement was used by the Romans especially in setting mosaics. It becomes as hard as marble, and sets with great rapidity:—To one quart of milk add the white of five eggs, and stir in powdered quicklime till a paste is formed. This composition may be used to repair or makescagliola, which is fragments of marble or stone embedded in a hard mass. When it sets, polish the surface with rasps, and rub down with a rough stone, and finally polish with marble dust, and then emery or tripoli. Beautiful slabs for tables, columns, floors, and walls can thus be made. It is valuable for repairing.
Ceresais allied to this. We make a basis of this or any other cement which willhold firmly, and press into the surface powdered glass, which may be fine or of any degree of coarseness. Coarse grains shine most brilliantly; fine powder is best adapted to delicate shading. The effect is best when mosaic stones and gold cubes are sparingly introduced. To make the gold cubes, take two small panes of window glass, cover one side of each with varnish or mastic cement, lay between them gold-leaf, and join them. Very beautiful pictures can be made in this manner. Nor is it at all necessary that they should be finely executedfor ordinary decoration. All that is needed for this beautiful and little-known art is the cement, a quantity of glass or stone of different colours, and a mortar and pestle. The mosaic cubes, with those of gold, can be bought in London.
Allied to this is an art which I believe I can claim to have invented. It consists of breaking waste chinaware, crockery, or fictile ware into small squares or triangles, and setting them as mosaic in cement. The advantage of it is the cheapness of the material, and the infinite number of shades of colour which can be selected for it. Its disadvantage is, that it will not wear as a pavement, but it is perfectly adapted to walls.
A strong, coarse cement for brick or stone workin building is made as follows:—
The blood is stirred as it comes from the slaughtered beast with a broom for ten minutes to break the fibre. It should then be mixed with the water and kneaded with the powder. Glue may be substituted for the blood. This cement, if properly made, sets very hard and adhesively.
For tiles, bricks, or composition:—
It may be observed that many of the cheaper cements can be employed to form large bricks by combination with broken stone or rubble, gravel, pebbles, brickbats, &c. Another method, calledConcrete, is to make cases of boards, and to form a solid wall by pouring in the mixture, or ramming it down, according to its hardness. Thus a house is made entirely in one piece; but its excellence depends entirely on the quality of the cement employed, and on the care taken in building. Simple lime mortar, if not of a superior quality, hastily formed, as I have seen, is very apt to crack and break off. Where hydraulic cement is cheap and good, houses can be built as firm as granite. A good and strong cement of this kind can be made as follows:—
The proportions may be very much varied in such cements according to their price, but generally with a satisfactory result.
Fractures or discolorations in marble, as in statuary, are so perfectly repaired in Florence that the juncture is not perceptible. Even dark spots are drilled out. The process is to drill a round concave hole, and cut the piece to be inserted so as to exactly fit as a convex plug. It is then fastened in with transparent mastic or other clear cement. It will be seen, on due consideration, that this is extremely ingenious, because by it alone can a perfectly tight fit be secured. By turning the plug in the hollow it speedily grinds itselfinto an accurate plug; so when the cement is applied it can be reduced to a minimum—in fact, by this means the line of junction is reduced to its finest limit.
Where a very strong cement is needed for stone-work, it can be prepared by mixing a fine cement powder—e.g., Portland cement—with liquid silicate of soda. As it dries almost at once, it must be promptly applied. It is particularly well adapted for building under water, since it then becomes extremely hard. Before applying it smear the stone with pure silicate.
The following is highly commended byLehner:—
Mending statues of gypsum or plaster of Paris is allied to stone-work. The broken edges are washed with water till no more is absorbed and the surface remains wet. Then stir fresh calcined white plaster of Paris with much water to a thin paste, and continue to stir this till it is cold. Then rapidly paint this paste on the broken edges, continuing to press the two together till they set hard.
It is, saysLehner, a peculiarity of gypsum that when mixed withalumdissolved in water it takes a much longer time to harden, but is very much harder in the end. Thus, if we let the powdered gypsum lie for twenty-four hours in alum-water, dry it, and then calcine it again, the powder when mixed with water sets to a stone as hard as marble.
Plaster of Paris and alum, combined with the fine powder of calcined glass, form a very hard and durable cement, of very general utility in all mending of stone-work.
For an exhaustive work on the subject of not onlymending stone-work, but also of making artificial stone and many cements, as well as combining and adapting to use paper, cellulose, sawdust and shavings, gypsum, chalk, glue, &c., including not only ancient but also the most recent recipes, consultDie Fabrikation künstlicher plastischer Massen, by Johannes Hofer; Leipzig, A. Hartleben, price 4s.
Works of art in carved ivory or bone are very valuable when perfect, yet when broken or defective they may very often be purchased for a trifle. Yet the process of mending them or restoring the missing portions is not difficult.
The first thing to consider is the colour. When old ivory has only acquired a delicate hue, as of Naples yellow, this adds to its attractiveness; nor are the brownish shadows and marks which gather in the angles of the reliefs repulsive. These may be left untouched, and even imitated. But a great deal of old ivory becomes of blackish bistre, or of a dirty, spotted brown or neutral tint, which has nothing in common with artistic effect, and suggests, like old slums in cities, more that is repulsive than picturesque. To clean such pieces, dissolve rock-alum in rain-water till it is white or forms a full saturation. Boil this, and keep the ivory in the boiling solution for about an hour, taking it out from time to time and cleaning it with a soft brush. Then let it dry in a damp linen or muslin rag; it will then be cleaned.
Ivory is often bleached by the simple process of damping, or wiping it with water and then exposing it to the rays of the sun; which must, however, befrequently repeated. According toLehner, the only perfect and certain process by which any ivory can be cleaned is to steep the article for some time in ether or benzole, in order to extract any fatty matter, then to wash it in water, and finally keep it in super-oxide of hydrogen (Wasserstoff, super-oxide) till it is bleached, after which wash again in water.
To supply Missing Portions.—Take ivory-dust, such as can be bought of every ivory-turner, sift it to an impalpable powder, or else levigate or grind it down under water as fine as flour in a mortar. Then combine this with gum arabic, in alum solution, or the silicate of potash. Egg-shells, levigated, may be substituted for the ivory-dust, and are even less likely to turn grey; and very fine white glue or gelatine of the clearest kind may be substituted for the gum-arabic.
Louis Edgar Andés, in his able work on Ivory, Horn, Mother-of-Pearl, and Tortoise-shell, explains a process much like that already described. According to him, take finely powdered bone (or ivory-dust), combine it with white of eggs, and the result will be an intensely hard substance, which can be turned or carved like ivory. To perfect this the mass should be subjected to a heat of from 50° to 60° centigrade, and then to strong pressure. Gelatine or best glue, with glycerine, is quite as good as the white of eggs, and it may to advantage be combined with the latter. Having very thoroughly mixed the composition, take the broken ivory article, repair the missing portions, and fill the cavities with the paste. Though not equal to celluloid as an imitation of new and fresh ivory, this cement is very much like old bone andivory, andafter a little experimentingthe artistic amateur may succeed in so blending thebinderor adhesive with the dust as to take casts which are almost perfect imitations of the originals. But let it be observed in this, as in everything, one must not expect perfect success at a first trial, as too many do.
When the paste is dry, smooth the surface with a sharp cutter, so as to remove any small projections, and then polish it, first with fine emery or tripoli, then with a burnisher, finally by hand.
If you have, for example, an old flat plate of ivory, like one of the fourteenth century now before me, which I bought for a mere trifle because it was broken, lay it in an exactly fitting box—a strip of tin in a square will answer—and fill in the vacancy. The missing ornament on the upper side can be carved, or even supplied from a hardened stamp or mould of rolled soft bread-crumb. This bread-crumb can be made very hard by admixture with a very little nitric acid and water. Imitation meerschaum pipes, which are rather like ivory or bone, are made from this composition by pressure.
I may here mention that this ivory or bone cement, which is little known, is admirably adapted to repair broken inlaying. There was in Florence, in the sixteenth century, an extensive manufacture of delicate bas-reliefs for small caskets fromlime and rice, which greatly resembled bone or ivory. It was extremely durable, probably from being extremely well worked. Specimens of it bring a high price.
A very slight infusion of Naples yellow, to which a suspicion of brown, reduced in Chinese white, has been added, gives to the paste an old-ivory colour.The corners and outlines may be shaded in Vandyke brown.
Before attempting to glue or mastic fractured ivories, they should always be washed in the alum solution, else they will often refuse to adhere.
When there is a little addition of whiting and a little oil, very well worked into the ivory paste, and it is allowed to dry thoroughly, it may be cut or carved into any shape.
Ivory or bone when very old becomes brittle or crumbling and falls to powder, because certain organic substances dry out of it, leaving chiefly lime as their residue. When the ivories from Nineveh were brought to the British Museum the celebrated Sir Joseph Hooker suggested that they should be steeped in gelatine. This effected a perfect restoration. When a case occurs in which an ivory article, a bone, or skull is so fragile that it will not bear the slightest touch without falling to dust, it may often be saved by gentlysprayingon it water in which gelatine or glue has been dissolved. As the glue may be made by boiling old gloves, and as a spray can be easily improvised, it will be seen that excavators and openers of ancient tombs might by this means save thousands of curious relics which are allowed to perish. As it is certainly a species of mending or of restoration, it is in place in this work. This is especially to be desired as to skulls of the earliest ages, which are of inestimable value, of which we have so very few, and of which thousands have perished which might have been preserved in the manner which I have indicated.
Spraysfor spreading perfume or medicated liquids,which can be adapted to thin liquid glue, may be had of all chemists. But we can effect the purpose better by taking a tooth-brush, or any brush of the kind, wetting, and then drawing it over a dull edge of a knife or a strip of tin. According toJ. C. Wiegleb, a Frenchman in his time received a very large pension for this invention, which was applied to spraying pastels. The Romans made a spray, very imperfectly, by suddenly squeezing or throwing liquids from a sponge.
Ivory handles to knives and forks, when loose, can be best reset by first pouring in a little strong vinegar. When dry use acidulated glue. A common recipe for this purpose is the following:—
Heat, and use while soft.
In repairing ivory it is often necessary to stain it of different colours. Most of the old works on recipes contain directions for this. In that ofRis Paquotthey are given as follows:—
First prepare a mixture of copper filings, rock-alum, and Roman vitriol. Boil it, let it be for six days, then add a little rock-alum. The piece of ivory to be dyed is kept in this solution for half an-hour.To dye Red.—Boil logwood chips or cochineal in water; when hot add lead dross (cendre gravelée) about 25 grammes, keep it in the fire till the colour has taken, then add rock-alum. This is strained through linen, and the ivory to be dyed is put into this liquor.Green.—Take one quart of lye made from vine-ashes(cendre de sarment), 7 grammes of powdered verdigris, a handful of common salt, with a little alum. Boil it to one-half; as soon as it is taken from the fire place the ivory in it, and leave it till properly coloured.Blue.—Dissolve indigo and potash in water, and then mix this with a quart of vine-ash lye.Black.—Boil the ivory in the following composition:—Vinegar, 500 grammes; gall-nuts pulverised, 12 grammes; nut-shells, 12 grammes. Boil down to one-half. These are all very strong dyes, which may be used for other substances.
“Ivory can be softened and made almost plastic by soaking in phosphoric acid. When washed with water, pressed, and dried, it will regain its former consistency.” Ivory-dust thus treated can be really rendered plastic. The process requires care.
In theMagia NaturalisofHildebrand, a work of the sixteenth century, we are told that ivory can be imitated or repaired with a cement made of powdered egg-shells, gum-arabic in solution, and the white of eggs. Dry it in the sun.
Allied to ivory is Horn. Deer-horn was frequently used as a material whence to make a substance which was moulded into many forms. For this purpose the hardest part of the horns was selected and filed or powdered, and then boiled in strong potash lye. Thus it became a paste, which was promptly pressed into moulds. When dry the figures were carefully polished. Ox-horn can be treated in the same manner. When cracked, carved horns or powder-flasks can be mended with this paste; also with mastic andwhiting. Horn in a soft state is easily coloured by mixing with it any dye.3
It has been recently complained in a leading review, in an article on sales of ancient works of art, that imitations of antique works of ivory are now carried to such perfection that even the learned in such matters have been deceived. This is perfectly true, and therefore it is the greater pity that such imitation, which is not necessarily very expensive, cannot be extended to our great museums, the wealthiest of which thus far seldom get beyond rough, plain plaster-casts to make duplicates of ivory-work. The artists in imitation seem to be entirely in the employ of the people who deliberately sell counterfeits for genuine relics of antiquity. But, as Martin Luther or some one once remarked in reference to adapting hymns to popular airs, “There was no reason why the devil should keep all the good tunes to himself,” so is there none why duplicates of thousands of exquisite works in ivory, bone, and horn should not be better known to the world. It is possible that, to the world at large, there is littlerealinterest in such works; but interest will come in time with familiarity.
Aproposto ivory, or horn, there is a process of applying an imitation of them to any kind of surface, which is, when executed with skill, remarkably effective. It is chiefly executed in Vienna, where it is applied to leather, plaster of Paris, wood, and wall-paper. With variations, it is essentially as follows:—
Cover the ground with flexible varnish, then paint over this with light Naples yellow, graduated as nicely to some old ivory model as possible. It is best not to have it all too uniformly of one tone, since old work often has its shades. The object here need not be to ape or copy old work, but to catch what is beautiful in it. Then fill in the outlines of the pattern, and the dots and irregularities near it, or anywhere, with brown more or less dark. For this, study old ivory. Then varnish withSoehnée, No. 3. A great deal depends on the quality of this second coat. Finally rub down very thoroughly with chamois and hand, and repeat the process more than once if you want it very much like ivory. Very extraordinary and perfect imitations of ivory, bone, worn and glossy parchment and brown leather, wood, marble—in short, of any kind of work of art which has been rubbed and worn smooth by hand during centuries, can be made by this process of ivorying with alternate layers of varnish, colour, varnish, and so on.
When there is no relief the paint itself can be worked with wheel and tracer, and then repainted and varnished. This is a very beautiful art, specially applicable to book-covers, and often useful in repairing old work. I would here repeat what I said, that the object of imitating effects in old works of art, or in other kinds of art—which is so staunchly repudiated by mere artisans who themselves are generally only imitators of the designs of others—is not to make counterfeits, but to take from age or art beautiful effects, however produced, and apply them to work. Those who are too conscientious to execute stencilling on a wall, or to use moulds for leather-work, woulddo well to first consider whether theyknow enoughto design a really good or admirable stencil, or an excellent mould, for it is in the genius which originates and executes, not in the mere means, tools, and materials employed, that art consists. Art does not depend in the least on either making skill difficult or in rendering its methods easy; it displays skill, but scorns the Chinese standard of mere industry. An artist likeAlbert Dürerwould never have prided himself on only using certain tools as being “artistic;” he would, however, have made designs which would have forced originality and art into a photograph. There are marvellous effects of corrugation in ancient walls, plays of light and shade and colour and polish in rock and strand and heaps of ashes, whichLeonardo da Vinciknew how to catch and transfer to different subjects, and at which perhaps the artisans of his time sneered as “not artistic.”
Age, which gives a certain exquisite charm to wine and words of wisdom, has done the same to all material things, of which, indeed, it may be strangely said that wherever it does not destroy a charm it confers one, like moonlight, which renders nightly shadows more terrible or else more beautiful.
It is to be regretted that this principle, which is a very important one, is but little understood. The manufacturers of all decorative art work at present endeavour without exception to make everything staringly, cruelly brand new, or else a mere copy of old work. What they need is to draw, asRembrandtdid, from age so much of its peculiar charm as is adaptable to modern work.
I have introduced these remarks because the menderand restorer of old ivories and bookbindings and pictures, if he regards his occupation as an art—which it really is—is peculiarly adapted to fully appreciate them. Restoring, like copying, leads to creating new work. I think that any person of ordinary intelligence can, with zeal and application, learn to mend anything as described in this work, and from such mending it is much easier to learn to make works of minor art. “Short the step from senator topodestá—shorter the step frompodestáto king.”
A great merit and peculiarity of ivory, as of horn, is that it is tough and elastic, as well as of a beautiful transparent or diaphanous quality. These characteristics have, with the exception of its graining or texture, been well imitated thus far only incelluloid, which is unfortunately too expensive for very general use, and, what is worse, too liable to destruction. I, however, confidently anticipate that ere long some substance will be discovered much superior to celluloid as a substitute, and probably much cheaper and less perishable. TocelluloidI may, however, add the sulphuretted preparations of caoutchouc and gutta-percha, known as vulcanite or ebonite. These are indeed hard, tough, and elastic to perfection, but very dark and opaque.
Lehner, in his workDie Imitationen, observes that imitations of ivory must be varied to suit the colour and quality of originals. This requires a study, firstly, of the adhesive or glue which is to be used. This, when colourless, is known as French gelatine, and is very expensive. In lieu thereof the experimenter may take best white Salisbury glue or gum-arabic prepared with alum-water. Secondly, thebody, which may be of carbonate of magnesia, carbonate of lime, such as powdered marble, sulphuretted lime, or powdered gypsum, chalk, starch, or flour, white oxide of tin, zinc, sulphate of barytes or Chinese white, white oxide of lead. In combining,e.g., magnesia with the glue, an addition of ten per cent. of glycerine gives elasticity and a horn-like clearness. To harden artificial ivory made with glue, the objects are dipped into strong solution of alum or tannin for about four minutes. The tannin is best made from gall-apples. Objects thus made have an antique ivory, yellowish hue. Red chrome alkali may be used in solution with water instead of tannin, but it gives a stronger yellow.
According toHyatt’spatent, artificial ivory is made by combining a syrup made of eight parts shellac and three parts of ammoniac with forty of the oxide of zinc. This is heated and subjected to pressure.
Celluloidis the best material for making artificial ivory. It is made by the combination of cellulose or vegetable fibre in the form of cotton-wool treated with acid; that is to say, gun-cotton and camphor. It is sold in thin leaves, &c., which can be softened at from 100° to 125° centigrade, so as to be moulded to any form. By infusion of colouring matter, such as oxide of zinc, cinnabar, &c., celluloid is made to resemble ivory, coral, or tortoise-shell. It has often been applied to making a perfect imitation of Florentine mosaic, and of course serves admirably to repair such work when broken.
A very strong cement for ivory, bone, or fine wood is made by boiling transparent gelatine in water to athick mass. Add to this gum-mastic dissolved in alcohol, this solution being one-fourth, and stir into it pure white oxide of zinc till it forms a fluid like honey. This is also of itself an artificial ivory, when prepared and dried in the mass. Another can be made by combining diamond cement (videGlass) with powdered ivory and a little glycerine. Also with the same, or very strong white glue and powdered egg-shells, which latter should have been boiled. Also white of egg, gum-arabic, a very little strong vinegar, and levigated egg-shells.
Another recipe for such mending or making of ivory and similar substances is to take soft and very white paper in pulp, combined with cotton-wool, treated with very dilute acid orstrongvinegar. To this add powdered egg-shells, made into paste with a little glycerine; amalgamate this with the paper and cotton mixture as thoroughly as possible, and submit to strong pressure or rolling.
Cellulosein any form, whether made from cotton, linen, wood, or other vegetable fibrous substance, affords a basis which can be treated with dilute acid to produce a horny or parchment-like substance. A modification of this is seen in making celluloid with camphor. These modified forms of organic creation can be combined with other organic substances or minerals in great variety. Thus glycerine, and at times oil of different kinds, in such admixtures confers elasticity, or a diaphanous appearance; ivory-dust has an affinity for oil and glue; and these all combine with parchment, boiled ivory-dust, and fibrine or cellulose.
Certain marine plants, such askelp, yield a fibroussubstance which has very peculiar qualities, and which admits of ingenious combination. Certain experiments and observations convince me that there is here a vast field, as yet unexplored, in which science will yet make discoveries and afford valuable contributions to technology.
The reader who is specially interested in this subject may consult to advantageDie Verarbeitung des Hornes, Elfenbeines, Schildpatts und der Perlenmutter, &c., von Louis Edgar Andés; Vienna, A. Hartleben, price 3s.
Amber has been admired in all ages and everywhere from its exquisite colour and semi-transparency. Many superstitions were attached to it, and many still believe that to carry a bead made from it is good for the eyesight. It is principally found on the Prussian coast, off the German Ocean, but is also picked up in considerable quantities on the English shore. It is the gum or resin of a now extinct species of pine, which was probably much like that in New Zealand, which produces the gumkauri, which so much resembles amber.
Some amber is yellow and clear like lemon-candy. This is extensively imitated for cigar-holders and pipe-mouthpieces, beads, &c. Then there is the clouded, varying from white to straw-colour, and the beautiful golden-brown, which appears so rich in sunlight; also the dark-brown and black. These dark-brown ambers are generally seen in old ornaments, and are of a kind which is dug out of the earth. Light amber can be darkened to brown by an artificial process.
Gumcopal, which comes from Africa, much resembles amber, but is less beautiful and more brittle. Gumkauri, from New Zealand, is very much like it. Both are used to imitate amber.
There are not many who know how to mend amber when broken. I am assured that the following is a trustworthy method:—Warm the pieces, dampen them with caustic potash (ætz-kali), and then press them together. When well done the joining will not be perceptible. It is said that by this process small pieces of amber, amber-dust, &c., can be made into blocks.
In imitating amber, the best pieces of copal are picked out, put into an air-tight vessel, and dissolved in petroleum, sulphuric ether, or benzole. After being dried in blocks this is submitted to a great pressure. As it dries the pressure is increased.
It occurred to me many years ago that the proper way to unite copal to a tough body like amber would be to use a tough or flexible varnish as a binding medium. I find by the work ofLehneron Imitations that he has verified this by experiment. What is also important is, that the process of hardening by pressure is by this means very much facilitated. I should judge, by all chemical laws, that a varnish infused with glycerine in combination with copal, kauri, or amber-dust would, even without pressure, form in time a substance quite as hard as amber, and much less brittle. It is to be desired that some technist would experiment on a variety of gums in this manner, and thusfixor render permanent their beauty. There is a wide field here to be worked. The subject of meerschaum and amber is fully treated in a workentitledDie Meerschaum- und Bernstein-Fabrikationen, von G. M. Raufer; Vienna, A. Hartleben, 2 marks.
I may add that carving amber is a very elegant art, yielding beautiful results. I have known a young lady, the late Miss Catherine L. Bayard, who excelled in it. It is effected chiefly with fine files and emery or glass paper, as, owing to its extremely brittle nature, there is much risk for any save experts to use cutting tools. Amber is a very expensive material, but objects made from it are of more than proportionate value. Those who would practise carving it should begin with pieces of copal. As I have already explained, small fragments and the dust of both amber and copal can be melted and combined with clear turpentine into large masses, which are even tougher than the native gums.
An inferior, but still very pretty, imitation of amber can be made by combining almost any gum properly clarified and coloured; as, for instance, gum-arabic or dextrine with gelatine (best quality white) and glycerine. If thoroughly well combined and dried, this will wear as well as amber. Some of the gums of fruit-trees—e.g., of the peach and cherry—are very beautifully coloured and clear, and seem to be admirably adapted to be hardened by the same process. They occur very frequently in old books of recipes as adhesives or cements. Perfectly clear glue or gelatine with glycerine and transparent dyes form an excellent imitation for beads.
Indiarubber or gutta-percha enters into so many familiar and useful objects that there are few people who would not like to know how to repair them when injured.
Like the brittle or non-elastic gums, caoutchouc (with which I include the nearly allied gutta-percha) is greatly modified by admixture with certain pulverised substances, which form with it a partly mechanical, partly chemical, combination. Those who would thoroughly study the subject in all its relations may consultKautschuk(Caoutchouc)und Guttapercha, von Raimund Hoffer; Wien, 1892, Hartleben.
Caoutchouc is partially soluble in carburetted sulphur, ether, pure petroleum, or benzole, but gutta-percha is perfectly so. In this state it may be applied as a varnish or coating for repairs, as it hardens by exposure to the air. When mixed with sulphur and exposed to a heat of 110° to 115° centigrade, gutta-percha becomes what is called “vulcanised,” assuminga very light grey colour, is more elastic, and retains this elasticity at a much lower grade than before. When the heat is raised to (maximum) 180° the mass becomes very hard, tough, and black, or like horn. The conditions of its toughness, elasticity, and hardness depend upon the amount of sulphur used; as in other combinations, the harder the material becomes the less elastic it is—that is, the more brittle.
Eboniteis extremely hardened caoutchouc. It is first treated with chlorine, washed with sulphate of soda infused in water, and finally mixed with hardening substances and submitted to severe pressure.
As indiarubber or “gum” shoes are in general use, most people would consider them the proper objects to begin with. To do this, first make two separate preparations as follows:
I.
II.
No. I. is simply kept for a time in a bottle or tightly closed jar by itself. No. II. is made by cutting the gum very fine, mixing it with the resin, then adding the turpentine, and finally dissolving the whole in the oil of turpentine. Then combine I. and II. To repair the shoe, take a linen patch, steep it in the mixture,and place it over the rent. When this is dry apply one or more coats.
It may be observed that this preparation may be used not only for indiarubber shoes, but many other objects. Applied to the soles of leather boots, and then heated in, repeating the process a few times, they become perfectly waterproof. This is better when the shoemaker makes a coating of it between the two soles. I have tested this often. The inner sole may be made by simply dissolving the indiarubber in benzole or ether. A solution for ordinary repairing can be made by simply steeping the indiarubber in benzine.
Rents or holes in ordinary leather shoes or other objects can be very well repaired in this way. A piece of leather can in this case be substituted for the linen rag. Boots or shoes which will be very much exposed to wet should be warmed and then soaked or permeated with a solution of indiarubber. Preparations for the purpose can be bought of all dealers in gum and gutta-percha.
Cloth is generally waterproofed by steeping it in a slight solution of caoutchouc.
Another recipe (Lehner) is as follows:—
This is used to cork or close bottles. To render it more resistant, substitute pipeclay for the lime. Or if in place of either we use red oxide of lead, it will form in time an extremely hard and perfectly waterproof cement of great value.
A strong indiarubber cement:—
This is specially commended as useful to close tins containing fruits, &c. It is simply vulcanised indiarubber.
Marine glueis a very valuable and generally useful cement. It is so called because, being perfectly waterproof, it is used for many purposes in ships. It is applicable not only to repairing indiarubber or gutta-percha garments, but also to objects of metal, wood, glass, stone, paper, or cloth; as, for instance, umbrellas, on which, when torn, a patch or strip of silk or muslin may be gummed, which will last as long as the rest. It is also good for waterproofing shoes. It is sold by dealers in ships’ stores, chemists, and others. “It is a good thing to have in the country.”
Hard marine glue:—
To prepare this, the caoutchouc should be hung in a linen bag in a cask with a very large bung, or in a large jar, so that the bag shall be only half immersed. This is kept in a warm place for from ten to fourteen days, till the solution is effected. Then the asphaltum may be melted in an iron kettle. Let the rubber solution slowly run into the kettle over a gentle heat, and stir in the one to the other till the mass is thoroughly preserved are put in the bag; the edge is then turnedincorporated. When this is effected pour the mixture into moulds which have been oiled to prevent adhesion. The result is dark brown or black thin cakes, which are broken with difficulty. The excellence of this cement is somewhat counteracted by the difficulty or care which must be observed in using it. To do this, put the vessel in which it is to be melted in another or abalneum mariæ, as for glue, filled with boiling water. When fluid take the kettle from the fire and subject it directly to heat till it attains a temperature of 150° centigrade. When it is possible, heat the object to be glued to 100°. The thinner the coat and the hotter the surface the better will it adhere, unless the objects be such as hard boards. In all cases as strong a pressure as possible should be employed to bring the two parts together, which should be continued till the glue has dried. Boxes which are cemented together by means of marine glue and are also nailed are of extraordinary strength, and may be thus made air-tight and waterproof. Those who intend to send articles which can be affected by sea-air, such as silks and tea, which change their colour and quality even when packed in the tightest ordinary cases, should employ boxes well secured with good marine glue. It is also invaluable to secure clothing against moths, for if anything be very thoroughly dusted and there are no moths in it, none can get in if it be enclosed in a box rendered air-tight.
Aproposof which I would say that in America moths, which are far more of a pest than in Europe, are effectively excluded by means of bags of strong paper, well tarpaulined or tarred. The objects to beover and warmed, so that it seals itself up. Strong paper bags are better than any trunks to exclude moths, but they must always be well gummed up. Tobacco is no protection at all against these insects. I have even had an old woollen Turkish tobacco-bag which had been in use ten years, and which was partly full of tobacco, almost devoured by moths, which must have eaten no small quantity of tobacco in so doing. Nor is camphor or any other scent half as effective as hermetic closing in some substance which insects will not eat.
Lehnergives a suggestion regarding the rendering walls air-tight which is of such remarkable practical utility that it ought to be enforced by health laws in every house. Whenever walls have any tendency to absorb dampness—and all have it in damp weather, especially in underground rooms—it isfarmore dangerous than is generally supposed to put paper on them. This is so much the case that where workmen, from carelessness, paste one coat of paper over another on a damp wall, the mass in time gives out a very poisonous exhalation, so that an instance is recorded in which several people died, one after the other, in consequence of sleeping in such a room. To prevent this take the following waterproof cement:—
These are combined in a large flask, kept in a moderately warm place, and often shaken till well incorporated. The wall to be covered should be brushed and wiped, and in some cases heated, until extremely dry. Then, using the cement, apply the paper in the ordinary way. It will stick with great tenacity, this being a very tight and strong glue. All wall-paper whatever is more or less productive of malaria in damp weather, as is the smell of adamplibrary, or one where the scent of old paper is rankly and offensively perceptible. Therefore every precaution should be taken to render it innocuous.
Even if no paper be applied, this cement is very valuable when simply used to coat the interior or exterior of damp walls. It can, of course, be used to repair many articles of indiarubber, and to mend shoes, tan garments, &c.Aproposof which latter I may here remark that all persons who intend to rough it in the bush as colonists, or go into any region where mending or getting mended is difficult—as I myself have many a time experienced—would do well to carry a tight tin box of waterproof glue, with which torn shoes, and very often torn clothes, can be promptly repaired. In fact, with the aid of a little rough stitching, or even without it, garments of leather, muslin, and even of cloth can be made to hold together with certain cements, which will literally bind anything.
It is well worth while for those who propose to live in the wilderness, wherever it may be, to know how to prepare or make indiarubber garments. The recipe is very easily made:—
The gutta-percha is dissolved in the benzine; the solution, when clear, is poured into a bottle already containing the varnish, and all is then thoroughly shaken. This mixture, when spread on woven fabrics of any kind, renders them completely waterproof. The garments can then be cut out and “sewed;” that is, bound together with the same cement. According toLehner, this cement can be used for making the soles of shoes, and is marvellously elastic. All travellers, and assuredly all housekeepers, should have this cement among their possessions.
It may also happen to a traveller to find himself with an aching hollow tooth in a region where no dentist is accessible. Should he have with him some gutta-percha (bleached is best for this purpose) he may combine it with very finely pulverised glass. (Tolevigateor powder anything as fine as flour, it must be pounded in a mortar, or on metal or hard stoneunder water.) Then warm and thoroughly mix the gutta-percha and glass. Make it into little pencils, which, when they are to be used, must be dipped in hot water. This cement may be also used for a great variety of other purposes.
A very admirable cement, which should be found in every stable and known to every one who owns a horse, is made as follows:—
Heat the gutta-percha to 90°-100° centigrade, and thoroughly incorporate it with the powdered resin. The chief use of this admirable composition is to fill up cracks or splits in horses’ hoofs. It may also be used for plaster on occasion. To apply it to hoofs, warm it and spread it in with a warmed knife. It sets so hard that it will hold nails.
In mending or making, it may be observed that a very little indiarubber or gutta-percha may be combined with benzole or ether, or rectified petroleum in large amount, which soon becomes dense. Therefore, to produce a surface or a skin, we first spread athincoat over the object or mould, and then apply another with a broad, soft brush or “dabber” with great care, so as to make it of uniform thickness. It is, therefore, best to have the preparation always rather thin, and use it at the right time, and not when it has become dense by long keeping. In the latter case add more of the solvent.
Glass bottles or vials containing liquids are often broken, even by the pressure of soft objects, such as clothing, when placed in trunks. It is therefore advisable to dip or coat them with this solution, which forms a bag which will contain the fluid; that is, unless it be of a nature which will soften it. I have known a bottle of hair-oil to be packed in a valuable cashmere shawl, which was almost ruined by its breaking, and which could have easily been prevented by this easy precaution.
Any apothecary will make up these recipes.
A very curious and valuable imitation of indiarubber waterproof cloth is made as follows:—Caseine is macerated with water and with borax to a solution. The cloth is dipped in this, and when quite dry, againdipped into a strong infusion of gall-apples. This is a kind of tanning.
For exhaustive information on the subject of indiarubber the technologist may consultKautschuk und Guttapercha, by Raimund Hoffer, Leipzig, 1892, which is, I believe, the latest and best work on this important subject.