Batiks, and how to make them

TRANSCRIBER’S NOTE
The new original cover art included with this eBook is granted to the public domain.
CHINESE SCREEN PANEL BY PIETER MIJER AND EMILE WEECKERS
BATIKS, AND HOW TO MAKE THEM
BY PIETER MIJER
WITH ILLUSTRATIONS From Photographs by G. W. Harting
NEW YORK DODD, MEAD AND COMPANY 1921
Copyright, 1919 By DODD, MEAD AND COMPANY, Inc.
First edition printed June, 1919 Second edition printed August, 1919 Third edition printed December, 1919 Fourth edition printed September, 1920
In writing the following pages on “Batiks, and how they are made” I had a double purpose in view. First, to make this ancient art more known to the public in general and to the many textile craftworkers in particular; secondly, to try to give some practical advice which will make for the better execution of the work.
Batik is not so crude a method of decorating material as many people have thought it to be. It is not a matter of smearing some wax on a piece of material with any old brush, dipping it haphazard into any kind of dye, leaving it to the gods to decide what colour it is going to be, and finally trying to sell it as a high-priced work of art. On the contrary, it is a craft which requires quite a good deal of skill and knowledge of design, as well as a good idea of colour.
The batik art has been much abused and it may be of interest to many to know something of its history, to read the description of the process as practised by the natives of Java, the method used in Holland, and the means now employed by some craftsmen and women in America.