A Manual of Mending and Repairing; With Diagrams

by Charles Godfrey Leland

REPAIRING IVORY

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, be frequently repeated. According to Lehner, 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 and ivory, and after a little experimenting the artistic amateur may succeed in so blending the binder or 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 from lime 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 gently spraying on 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.

Sprays for 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 to J. 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:—

Resin (colophonium)	20	parts
Sulphur	5	”
Iron filings	8	”

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 of Ris Paquot they 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 the Magia Naturalis of Hildebrand, 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 and whiting. 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 little real interest in such works; but interest will come in time with familiarity.

Apropos to 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 with Soehnée, 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, would do well to first consider whether they know enough to 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 like Albert Dürer would 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, which Leonardo da Vinci knew 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, as Rembrandt did, from age so much of its peculiar charm as is adaptable to modern work.

I have introduced these remarks because the mender and 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 to podestá—shorter the step from podestá to 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 in celluloid, 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. To celluloid I 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 work Die 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, the body, 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 to Hyatt’s patent, 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.

Celluloid is 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 a thick 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 (vide Glass) 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 or strong vinegar. 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.

Cellulose in 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 as kelp, yield a fibrous substance 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 advantage Die Verarbeitung des Hornes, Elfenbeines, Schildpatts und der Perlenmutter, &c., von Louis Edgar Andés; Vienna, A. Hartleben, price 3s.

REPAIRING AMBER
HOW TO PERFECTLY RE-JOIN BROKEN AMBER, AND TO IMITATE IT—HOW TO MELT AMBER IN FRAGMENTS TO A SINGLE BODY

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 gum kauri, 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.

Gum copal, which comes from Africa, much resembles amber, but is less beautiful and more brittle. Gum kauri, 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 of Lehner on 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 thus fix or render permanent their beauty. There is a wide field here to be worked. The subject of meerschaum and amber is fully treated in a work entitled Die 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 AND GUTTA-PERCHA
MENDING INDIARUBBER SHOES AND MAKING GARMENTS WATERPROOF, WITH OTHER APPLICATIONS

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 consult Kautschuk (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,” assuming a 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.

Ebonite is 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.

Caoutchouc	10
Chloroform	280

II.

Caoutchouc	10
Resin	4
Turpentine	2
Oil of turpentine	40

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:—

Caoutchouc	150
Tallow	10
Slacked lime	10

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:—

Caoutchouc, about	90
Pulverised sulphur	10
Or from 6 to 12 of the latter.

This is specially commended as useful to close tins containing fruits, &c. It is simply vulcanised indiarubber.

Marine glue is 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:—

Caoutchouc	10
Rectified petroleum	120
Asphalt	20

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 turned incorporated. 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 a balneum 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.

Apropos of 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 be over 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.

Lehner gives 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 is far more 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:—

Caoutchouc	10
Washed chalk	10
Oil of turpentine	20
Bisulphide of carbon	10
Resin (colophonium)	5
Asphalt	5

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 a damp library, 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. Apropos of 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:—

Gutta-percha	10
Benzine	100
Linseed-oil varnish	100

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 to Lehner, 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. (To levigate or powder anything as fine as flour, it must be pounded in a mortar, or on metal or hard stone under 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:—

Hartshorn and resin ammoniacum (Ammoniakharz)	10
Purified gutta-percha	20-25

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 a thin coat 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, again dipped into a strong infusion of gall-apples. This is a kind of tanning.

For exhaustive information on the subject of indiarubber the technologist may consult Kautschuk und Guttapercha, by Raimund Hoffer, Leipzig, 1892, which is, I believe, the latest and best work on this important subject.

MENDING METAL-WORK OR REPAIRING BY MEANS OF IT
FIREPROOF CEMENTS, WITH IRON BINDERS

Metal-work, especially in iron, requires so much forging and so many appliances that it is to a certain extent beyond the ordinary mender, who must in most cases have resort to the smith or artificer. But there is still much within the capacity of the amateur to effect, and this I will describe.

One of the commonest requirements in repairing trunks and many other objects is to make a strap or strip of metal hold either to a surface or to itself. This is to be promptly effected by riveting. If the iron band on a trunk is broken, you cannot well nail it again into its place. A nail will not hold in the thin side, possibly of pasteboard. To learn how to repair in such a case, take a piece of common hoop iron, lay it on a block of wood or a board, and with a fine nail or brad-awl and hammer knock a hole in it. Then take a rivet or any flat-headed tack, put it through the hole, lay it with the head of the tack down on iron or stone if possible, and then give the point a blow, a little sideways. The result is that the point will be flattened and the tack firmly held. The result will be the same if the rivet passes through two thick pieces of metal. In this manner the two ends of an iron hoop for a box are fastened. Therefore, if we take a piece of tin or sheet-iron, put it in the trunk against the side, and bring down the broken strip on the outside, we can, with a little care, rivet it. It is advisable, when this is done, to paste a strong piece of muslin or leather over the tin to prevent it from cutting anything in the trunk. These riveted strips are far better for surrounding and holding many bundles than cords. They are better for books, because they do not leave marks on the edges, neither do they untie nor are they hard to fasten, requiring no knotting.

Riveted bands, corners, or bent pieces of sheet-metal are more generally applicable to broken furniture than is generally supposed. The plate thus applied can generally be concealed either by chiselling a place for it or by hammering it into the wood, and then cementing and painting it over.

Wire is also very useful for mending of many kinds, either in metal or wood. To manage it we need a pair of cutting pliers or pincers, as well as the long-nosed and flat pliers. Thus, to attach two bodies—for instance, the two parts of a broken gunstock—begin by fastening one end of the wire in one piece, and wind it round both, drawing it as tightly as possible with the flat pliers. When united, fasten the other end by driving it under the twist or into the wood. This also can be so adroitly treated that the wire, flattened with a file and hammered down, can be concealed under paint and varnish. By means of wire passed through holes made with long brad-awls or fine gimlets, picture-frames can be firmly repaired. In many cases the wire should be brought round and the ends fastened or wound together; in others, make a double ring in one end of the wire and nail it down, then pass the wire through the hole and fasten the other end in the same way. Many kinds of broken implements may be thus mended. Endeavour to get strong, flexible wire for such purposes.

Boxes containing goods will be doubly strong when protected by strips of iron nailed round them. Hoop-iron is generally used for this purpose.

Soldering is, however, the best and most usual means of repairing all kinds of metal-work, and this is very far from being so difficult as is generally supposed; indeed, a lady-writer on metal-work goes so far as to declare that it is fascinating. As every tinker and tinman knows how to “sodder,” and will willingly give instruction for a trifle (children, indeed, often behold the whole process admiringly for nothing), and, finally, as it is most unlikely that any reader of this work should be in a place where neither tinkers nor tinmen are to be found—for I have read that a gipsy tinker was once discovered mending a kettle seated in the shadow of the Great Wall of China—it is hardly necessary to describe in detail processes which any one can take in at a glance. The principle is this:—As in cementing glass, the glue which binds requires powdered glass to be mixed in it, so that it may establish a quicker and closer affinity with the glass; so to unite two metallic surfaces we must have a flux or some fusible substance as an intermediary. For this purpose various substances, such as resin and borax, are employed with the solder, which is a compound of metals, which melts very easily, takes a firm hold of other metals, and sets hard at once. There are many varieties of it, adapted to different metals. It is generally sold in small sticks for use.

I lay some stress on the fact that there should be some one in every family knowing how to repair, especially in metal, because there is no household in which there is not damage of tin and iron ware, trunks, kitchen utensils, and often even of jewellery, which a clever youth or young lady could easily restore. A pin is detached from a brooch. You could repair it yourself in five minutes, at a halfpenny’s expense; but no, it must be sent to a jeweller’s to be mended for a shilling. It is the same with earrings and chains and bracelets and clasps and securing-rings. When they become shaky you fasten them with thread. It will hold for the present, of course; and then comes an advertisement in the Times: “Lost—Twenty-five Pounds Reward!” All because you never learned how to repair or solder.

But, as ’tis never too late to mend, and no one should be a mend I-can’t, or go begging to others to do for him what he can do for himself, I trust that reflection on this subject will induce many to become practical repairers. If you have a valuable coin, do not take half the value out of it, as most people do, by boring a hole through it. Make a simple twist and eyelet of a bit of silver wire and solder it on the edge. Do not tie a gold chain with twine; mend it properly. Rivet your broken scissors, and when hinges come out screw them on again. If there were really anything difficult in all this I would honestly say so, but there is not, and people who have received some education learn how to do it all with ease in a short time.

A recipe for a cement to attach metal to any other substance is made as follows:—

Purified flint-sand (or glass-powder)	10
Caseine or curd	8
Slacked lime	10

Mix thoroughly, and add water to a creamy consistency.

The following for metals is also very strong:—

Sturgeon’s bladder solution	100
Nitric acid	1

The acid is stirred in at the same time with the cement, which should be as dense as possible, and with this mixture the surfaces of the metal are covered. “The nitric acid is intended to make the surfaces of the metal rough, but it has the drawback that it hinders the drying of the glue” (Lehner). This slowly drying is, however, a great advantage. The same is found when it is mixed with common glue, which generally dries too rapidly. Cements which dry rather slowly take hold the most firmly and permanently. The acid hardens the mass by contracting the cellular tissue. To hasten the drying, the metallic parts, which should be very strongly compressed together, must be exposed to heat.

A simpler method for light articles of metal is to wet the surfaces with nitric acid for a few minutes till they are roughened, then wash away the acid in water, and cement the metal with sturgeon’s bladder cement.

A special cement for zinc is made by thickening very strong dense glue with powdered slacked lime, into which is kneaded one-tenth part of flowers of sulphur.

A so-called Jeweller’s Cement, which holds firmly, is the so-called Diamond, elsewhere given; also the following:—

Sturgeon’s bladder	100
Gum mastic varnish	50

The sturgeon’s bladder is dissolved in as little water as possible with strong spirits of wine (equivalent to ordinary spirits). To prepare the mastic varnish, mix finely powdered mastic with the most highly rectified spirits of wine and benzine, and use as little liquid as possible. The two mixtures must be then rubbed as intimately as possible together. When carefully made this cement will serve for anything—glass or china, &c.

A cement for zinc, especially for ornaments and small work:—In ten parts by weight of silicate of soda (solution) stir two parts of cleansed chalk and three of zinc in powder. This is kneaded for some time into a putty, with which defects, roughnesses, &c., can be remedied. After twenty-four hours, when polished with agate, this cement has all the appearance of zinc.

It may be observed that other metals in fine powder may be substituted for the zinc, and that with bronze powders, oxides of metals, and indeed with all the range of painters’ colours, combinations may be formed of infinite application in the arts. According to Lehner the silicate of soda should be of 33°.

A specially strong and valuable cement, capable of many uses in metal, wood, glass, or china, or to fasten glass to metal, is made as follows:—Take best purified litharge, stir it with glycerine until it becomes a thin homogeneous mass, which in less than an hour will become a very hard mass, which is of almost universal application. It is not affected by water, and resists the action (according to Lehner) of almost all acids, the strongest alkalies, as well as etherised oils and the fumes of chlorine and alcohol. The surfaces which are to be united with it must first be covered with pure, thick glycerine.

It will readily occur to the reader that in or to this, as in every recipe given in this book, modifications, alterations, and additions can be made, of very great value, adaptable to a great variety of substances. It is to be observed that in such cases as this, where one cannot be sure of the exact result, it is best, e.g., to first experiment with a very little finest pulverised oxide of lead with the glycerine.

Another form of this powerful metallic cement is given as follows:—

Concentrated glycerine		½	litre
Litharge	5		kilogs.

To make a cement to fill or close joints in zinc-work:—Soak three parts by weight of glue in water, pour off the superfluous water, dissolve the glue in warm water, stir into it six parts of slacked lime and one of flowers of sulphur.

When ironwork, as, for instance, window-bars, is to be set in stone, the following is commended as taking a firm hold:—

Calcined gypsum	30
Finely powdered iron	10
Vinegar	20

The following recipes, though I have found many of them in other works, are here taken, with acknowledgment, from Lehner, as his proportions are invariably accurate, or confirmed by experiment.

An iron cement which resists heat and moisture:—

Clay	10
Iron filings	5
Vinegar	2
Water	3

A very strong waterproof cement for iron:—

Iron filings	100
Sal-ammoniac	2
Water	10

This in a few days will begin to turn into a hard rust.

Another OXIDISED CEMENT, which holds like iron, is made as follows:—

Iron filings	65
Sal-ammoniac	2	.5
Flowers of Sulphur	1	.5
Sulphuric acid	1

The sulphuric acid is diluted with water and added to the mixed powders.

A rust or oxide cement, resisting fire:—

Common iron filings	45
Clay	20
Finest porcelain clay	15
Salt in water	8

Fine clay may be used in lack of the finest porcelain clay.

An iron cement to resist heat:—

Iron filings	20
Clay in powder	45
Borax	5
Salt	5
Peroxide of manganese	10

The borax and salt are melted in water and then quickly mixed with the remaining ingredients, which are in a combined powder. At a white-heat this becomes a glassy substance, which seals hermetically.

Iron cement to resist intense heat:—

Peroxide of manganese	52
White oxide of zinc	25
Borax	5

This is applied with silicate of soda. It must dry gradually.

Iron cement to resist heat:—

Iron filings	100
Clay	50
Salt	10
Flint-sand	20

Fireproof cement:—

Iron filings	140
Hydraulic cement	20
Flint-sand	25
Sal-ammoniac	3

This powder is made into a paste with vinegar. It must dry for a long time before being submitted to heat.

Another cement of the same kind is as follows:—

Iron filings	180
Clay	45
Salt	8

This is also made up with vinegar, and must be dried for a long time.

To set iron in stone:—

Iron filings, fine	10
Calcined gypsum	30
Sal-ammoniac	0	.5

Also combined with vinegar.

When there are defects in iron castings, they may be filled up with the following cement:—

Clean iron filings	100
Flowers of sulphur	0	.5
Sal-ammoniac	0	.8

To be mixed with water to a paste. It does not fuse nor act as a paste until exposed to great heat. Before applying it wash the edges to be united with liquid ammonia. Brimstone or sulphur melts iron very promptly when the latter is red-hot, and applied to it, the iron will drop like melted sealing-wax.

A cement for iron stoves is made as follows:—

Iron filings	100
Chalk-marl	40
Flint-sand	50
Vinegar	20

This is made into a paste, which can be rendered porous by mixing with it bristles, chopped straw, sawdust, or chaff. When the latter is converted to coal by heat, the cement is, of course, full of cavities. In like manner, clay for water-coolers is made light and spongy by mixing it with salt. The salt gradually melts in the damp clay, forming a porous substance.

When iron doors are to be hermetically sealed at very high temperatures the following may be used:—

Finest iron filings	100
Sal-ammoniac	1
Limestone	10
Silicate of soda	10

When the iron plates about a fireplace give way the following may be used:—

Iron filings	20
Iron dross or refuse	12
Calcined gypsum	30
Common salt	10

This mixture may be combined with either blood or silicate of soda, preferably the latter, as the former has a disagreeable smell.

Iron filings mixed with vinegar are allowed to stand till of a brown colour, and then driven with plugs and hammer into cavities, where they form a rust cement.

For cracks in iron pots, &c.:—

Iron filings	10
Clay	60

This is mixed with linseed-oil to a paste. It requires several weeks to harden, but forms a hard cement.

A black cement for ironware:—

Iron filings	10
Sand	12
Ivory black	10
Slacked lime	12
Lime water	5

Schwartz’s iron cement for holes in pots, &c.:—

I.

Finely powdered glue	4-5
Finest iron dust	2
Peroxide of manganese	1
Common salt		½
Borax		½

To be powdered extremely fine or levigated and made with water to a paste. Resists fire and hot water.

II.

Pulverised peroxide of manganese	1
White oxide of zinc	1

To be finely pulverised and combined with silicate of soda.

An important part of all metal-mending is soldering. This is based on the principle that certain metallic compounds which fuse at a very low heat can, however, be so brought into union with others which have an affinity for them as by melting to unite the harder objects. Thus bismuth, which will melt in hot water, has an affinity for lead, which combines easily with tin and brass, &c.; as, in like manner, borax and resin with iron.

Newton’s solder (Lehner):—

Bismuth	8
Tin	3
Lead	5

This melts at 94.5° Celsius.

Rose’s solders:—

I.

Bismuth	2
Lead	1
Tin	1

II.

Bismuth	5
Lead	3
Tin	2

A metallic-glass solder:—

Lead	30
Tin	20
Bismuth	25

The lead is first carefully melted, then the tin added, and the melted mixture carefully stirred; the bismuth is put in last of all.

Cement for iron stoves:—

Wood-ashes	10
Clay	10
Calcined lime	4

To be mixed with water to form a firm paste. Also applicable to holes in trees. Clay mixed with waste-paper is also applicable for the latter purpose (Lehner). (Glue may be added to it.) This mixture of clay and paper should be well mixed with sour milk.

Claus’s cement for metal and glass:—40 grammes of starch and 320 grammes purified chalk are dissolved in 2 quarts water, into which is stirred ½ pint solution of caustic soda.

The most important part of mending broken metal-work is soldering, and this is so difficult to practically teach by mere writing, while it can be so easily learned from any tinsmith, or even tinker, that I deem it common-sensibly best to acquire it from the latter. Those who would study it in all its details, scientific or technological, may do so in Das Löthen und die Bearbeitung der Metalle, by Edmund Schlosser; Vienna, A. Hartleben, price 3s.

REPAIRING LEATHER-WORK
TRUNKS, SHOES, OR IN ANY OTHER FORMS—JOINING STRAPS—MAKING CHEAP SHOES

Leather-work when much worn is seldom restored, and, except by a few experts, it is generally regarded as incurable. That is to say, that leather-work is only repaired by the same method in which it is made—that is, by sewing—when in fact a great deal is lost which might be saved, and much imperfectly repaired which might seem like new by resorting to a more scientific process. And therefore, having devoted much attention to it, I am persuaded that the worst cases may be mended. Within a week I purchased two small folio volumes which had been beautifully bound in black leather, embossed in deep relief, about 1520, in a style which was then becoming antiquated. The pattern had been cut in a wooden mould, stamped on the wet leather, and then completely worked over by hand with tracers and matted or stamped in the ground. But the black colour had been worn away from the relief and turned brown, and it was otherwise dilapidated at the edges.

I took a volume and where the surface was ragged moistened it, applied gum-arabic in solution, and smoothed it down with an agate burnisher. Leather treated in this way soon becomes like a paste. When it was all even I painted it over with strong liquid Indian ink. Common ink would have done as well. Then I varnished it over lightly with the admirable vernis à retoucher, No. 3, of Soehnée, which is flexible, preservative, and does not crack. I may add for ladies that it smells like eau de cologne. This dries almost immediately. It may be had at all artists’ material shops. Finally, I rubbed it for some time by hand. Then the binding was as good as new, yet not too new. It was simply perfectly restored.

I have in the introduction mentioned another work which I also restored. This was a Madonna in high relief, very much dilapidated; that is to say, it was of thin leather, which had been originally made in a mould, and was accordingly puffed out, so to speak, like a pie-crust. On the mould there had been laid a coat of muslin or cotton fabric; this, when dry, had been very thinly covered with gesso or plaster of Paris, and on this, when dry, a thin wet leather had been pressed. I may here note that very often the gesso was then blackened without any leather being applied, and that when thus blackened, covered, and varnished it looked exactly like leather—an easy art, which may be practised to profit by any one who can carve or buy moulds.

On examining this, I found that it would be very difficult to repair it with good leather. I found in a shop some thin black sham-leather, such as the Japanese apparently manufacture from leather dust, made by grinding up all kinds of leather waste to a powder. It was wretched, rotten stuff as leather, but all the better suited to my purpose. Some of this I cut into small bits, and with a knife soon mashed it, mixed with gum-arabic and water, into a very smooth paste. With such a paste one can repair any tear, roughening, or imperfection, care being taken that the paste and leather be alike in colour. With this I filled the hollows at the back, making the work solid; and having wetted all the ragged edges and fractured or torn places, smoothed them down with gum and a pen or paper knife, supplying deficiencies with the black paste. When all was smooth and dry I applied a coat of Soehnée’s varnish, and then rubbed it well down by hand. It was quite restored.

As this varnishing leather may sound like a heresy to artistic leather-workers, I would ask them if they would consider an application of tannin in solution—which is the preservative principle of leather itself—as “inartistic.” Certainly it is not, nor is the application of Soehnée (which is more of a simple preservative than a glaze) a mere finish for show.

The leather-paste of which I speak has certain qualities of its own which make it quite different from any other substance. We may include in leather “paste” not only the mere dust made from the dried substance, but all scraps, and also any thin leather, thoroughly softened or macerated. Even in the latter form it is, combined with a binder, really a plastic substance, since it can be worked into any form with ease. Mixed with caoutchouc or indiarubber in solution, and then dried, it is invaluable for mending boots and making waterproof soles. As I have indicated, it is excellent for mending old books. And here I may mention that if you have, let us say, one cover of a book in high relief, and the other, it may be, lost or worn plain, you can supply or make the duplicate very easily, very cheaply, and in a short time as follows:—Take a sheet of soft, white newspaper, dampen it, and press it on the relief. As soon as possible, taking care not to wet the book, fill in the back of the squeeze either with other coats of wet paper, melted wax, or liquid plaster of Paris. When this is dry, wax or oil carefully the face of the squeeze, wipe it dry, and make a cast from it in leather-paste. Thus you will have a facsimile of the relief. From a solid plaster mould, well oiled or boiled in wax, a cast may be taken in softened or wet leather, which is even better; it sets hard and tough.

I may here mention that it is very unusual to see books bound in deep relief with hand-worked, black, or black and gold, antique patterns, and that such a cover, say of eight by ten inches, would probably cost at least a pound, and be cheap at that. And yet any girl of ordinary capacity with, let us say, fifty shillings’ worth of moulds, and two weeks’ practice in tracing and stamping grounds, could produce from two to four such book-covers as those before me in a day.

There is now generally sold in furnishing or chemists’ shops a good waterproof glue. Leather softened and then well incorporated with this is also waterproof, and may be used to mend trunks. I have known a torn boot to be mended in this manner, and that so well that it lasted for a long time. Even a leather strap which is subjected to great tugging may be restored, if cut or broken in two, by shaving the edges obliquely, so as to sharpen them.

Then apply glue with acid, and before it is quite dry apply pressure, though not so great as to squeeze the glue out. Shaving across the edges, judicious pressing together, and final smoothing are of the greatest importance in all leather patching and piecing, because it depends on these to make the juncture imperceptible. Very few persons—even shoemakers—are at all aware of the degree of perfection to which mending rents in foot-covering can be carried by the use of waterproof glue, such as is sold by many chemists. I have worn such a patch for months, and it was hardly perceptible. But, like every art, it requires some practice to apply such patches properly, and I cannot promise to any lady that she can perfectly and neatly patch a boot by simply daubing on a piece of leather at a first trial.

It may be noted that in such strap-joining as that which I have described, the repair will be greatly strengthened by pasting very thin bits of leather, or even of muslin, over the edges and pressing them in. It is true that this cover will soon wear away, but meanwhile the mended leather is all the while growing stronger and uniting more perfectly. Even paper, glued and pressed on, materially aids to make the exposed joint unite.

And here I may say that many a lady and youth would do well to take a few practical lessons from any shoemaker in the noble art of cobbling; that is to say, of heeling, soleing, and patching, all of which are as easy to learn as steps in dancing, and are even more interesting or amusing when once mastered. It is, moreover, an art which will be of use through life. Those who can do this will probably, if ambitious by nature, progress to making slippers, it may be shoes; and he who can do this may be assured that he never need quite starve to death while human beings go shod. It is not so difficult as many think, for I have known shoemakers of very ordinary minds, and I also once knew a mechanical artist who learned to make a fine pair of shoes in a few weeks. In fact, there is a living in a great many things for those who have once learned to use their fingers.

Few people are aware of the extraordinary durability of leather-work of certain kinds. There are in the British Museum Roman sandals, probably made of raw hide, but cut into pretty form, which were found in the Thames, and which look as new as if recently made. I have seen within a day as I write a gracefully formed pitcher of the early fifteenth century of very solid black leather, like the old blackjacks once common in England, which has probably passed through centuries of use, and is as perfect as ever. Wood splits, earthenware breaks, and metal rusts, but raw hide, or cuir bouilli, as set forth in the old song of the “Leather Bottél,” seems to endure every trial. As the man commemorated in “Æsop’s Fables” declared, “After all, there is nothing like leather.” The reader who may be especially interested in this easiest of all the minor arts may consult on this subject my Manual of Leather-Work (5s.); Whittaker & Co., 2 White Hart Street, Paternoster Square, London, E.C.

Strips of raw hide are without equal for repairing broken vehicles, wheels, saddles, and similar articles, because they shrink while drying, drawing everything tight, and set so hard when once dry that what is mended is often stronger than before. I have elsewhere mentioned that the strongest trunks in the world are made in America from it, as they had need to be, since there is no country in the world where the “baggage-smasher,” figurative or literal, is so much to be feared.

The reader who has occasion to repair anything in leather should study the chapter of this book which treats of indiarubber and gutta-percha, the subjects being in many respects the same.

A strong cement for leather is made by combining gutta-percha and Schwefelkohlenstoff, or bisulphide of carbon, with petroleum to a syrupy consistency. A very good cement specially adapted to joining leather straps is as follows:—

Asphalt	12
Resin	10
Gutta-percha	40
Bisulphide of carbon	150
Petroleum	60

The materials, excepting the Schwefelkohlenstoff, are put together in a bottle which stands in hot water for several hours; when the mass has grown thick with the petroleum add the rest, and let the whole stand for several days, shaking it very often. If the pieces of leather to be united are first heated and then pressed very tightly together, the adhesion will be increased. This cement is as well adapted for glass, crockery, horn, ivory, wood, or metal as for leather. It is admirable for mending trunks, whether made of leather, wood, or pasteboard.

When a trunk is made of any of these, and a hole is broken through the side or top, take a newspaper and coat it with this cement, applying another, till there are a dozen or more thicknesses. If, as it gradually dries, this be pressed and hardened with a roller, or even a round ruler, it will be much improved. Glue this into or upon the fracture. In most cases with care it can be made as strong as ever. Where a rib is broken it should be promptly replaced. (Vide Metal-Work.) All trunks should be covered with waterproof glue or varnish, as it effectually protects them from exposure to the rain. This is very rarely done, however, the result being an immense amount of loss to all travellers. In any town where there is a chemist’s shop, and where a bit of indiarubber is to be had, even at the stationer’s, a waterproof cement can be at once manufactured. The easiest of these to prepare is the following:—

Gutta-percha	100
Pine resin	200

The resin is first melted in a pan, the gutta-percha, in very small bits, being gradually stirred in till all is amalgamated. When used it must be warmed again. This cement can be used for as many different articles as the preceding.

It may here be noted that vast quantities of waste leather from shoemakers and bookbinders, which sell for a mere trifle, can be utilised to make admirable waterproof carpets and wall-covers. The leather is first soaked till soft, then smoothed out and mixed with waterproof cement, and rolled into one flat piece. This makes a very cheap sub-carpet for winter—better than oil-cloth, being softer. For walls it can be pressed in moulds, gilded, or painted. If varnished there is no unpleasant smell from it. The harder it is compressed or rolled the more will all smell disappear. Even with rolling by hand with a bread-roller almost all substances—for instance, paper, cloth-rags, sawdust, leather, clay, wool, cotton-wool, when combined with any fit adhesive or cement—can be made very hard or tough; and it is remarkable, considering the cheapness of the materials, how little this principle is as yet applied.

It may be remarked that there are many people who do not know what to do when the sole of a boot splits off or wears away and there is no shoemaker at hand. If the heel is lost and no leather can be had, a very good substitute can be cut from wood and cemented on. A few tacks will make it last as long almost as leather. If a piece of sole leather can be got, even from another old shoe, one or two layers can be cemented on to make a sole. A short screw or nail through three-quarters of the heel greatly aids in making the layers adhere. This may also be done with a vice.

In the town of Bagni di Lucca, where I now am, a pair of leather shoes with wooden soles, such as are commonly worn by women and children, cost only fivepence. They are, of course, rough, but still far better than none. The sole is rudely and very easily cut, with a high heel, from white pine or larch wood. The upper is a single piece of leather, which only covers the front half of the foot. It is moistened and bent into shape, and then tacked or glued on. Many people simply buy the soles, then the leather, and make the shoes for themselves, in which case the expense does not amount to more than twopence. In Florence there is often added to this the back, or heel-piece, which costs twopence more, and makes an almost perfect shoe. This art would be worth knowing in a wild country.

Italian (Lucchese) Peasant Shoe, costing from 5d. to 8d. per pair, undecorated.

Lehner (vide Indiarubber and Gutta-percha) specially commends for mending soles the composition of—Gutta-percha, 10; benzine, 100; linseed-oil varnish, 100. It is extremely elastic and tough, and therefore suitable to soles. Mixed with black dye, or made with japan, it forms patent leather or polished leather. It should for this purpose be applied with a broad brush in thin successive coats, and well dried before applying a new one. This is far superior to ordinary blacking; it is more easily applied, and does not injure the leather so much, because the latter is often made with vitriol, which, while it promptly gives a shine, eats away the fibre. Boots and shoes will, in fact, wear much longer with this coating than without it.

This is even more applicable to a great deal of harness, saddle, and bridle mending, and restoring sheet leather in every form; as, for instance, waggon curtains, when worn and dry. First soften the leather, then restore its quality, if required, with tannin or indiarubber in solution. If very dry and exhausted, it may first be treated with neat’s-foot oil for several days. Then sew it up, if a seam, or mend by applying leather and the cement. If all persons who own much harness would carefully study this subject, they would be astonished to find what economy could be effected by judicious mending.

It may happen that the reader may have occasion to wish to renew black, glazed leather-work, or to make a brilliant black pattern on a brown ground in stamped leather. I have often executed it with success. In such a case it suffices to simply blacken the leather with ink or dye, and then coat it with any flexible varnish; that is, one into which glycerine or gutta-percha has been infused. Any one who can draw can in this manner execute very beautiful work for covering walls, panels, chests, or doors. Or flexible black varnish can be directly applied.

Lehner gives a recipe for attaching leather to metal, which may also be applied to any other substance:—Cover the leather with a thin and very hot coating of glue, press it on the metal, and then wet the other side with a strong solution of gall-apples or tannin (Lohe, extract of oak-bark) till it is thoroughly-penetrated. The tannin combines with the glue, and attaches the leather with extreme tenacity to the metal, &c. It is advisable to roughen the metallic surface to facilitate adhesion.

By combining glue (and many other adhesives) directly with the tannin or gall nut astringent we obtain a waterproof cement of great strength, which is very useful for shoes. It is, in fact, not at all a difficult matter, where other appliances are wanting, to make from leather, without sewing, a soled shoe when tannin and glue are obtainable. The same can be done with canvas.

During the great wars in America thousands of soldiers often went barefoot in winter-time, with abundance of horses or cattle killed all round them, because they did not know that a strong moccasin can be made by cutting out a piece of raw hide, piercing holes in it, and drawing it up like a bag round the ankles, as is so commonly done here in the mountain districts in Italy. I once astonished a soldier in the war by suggesting this, and he declared he must try it. It is remarkable how rarely man in an uneducated state ever invents anything, be it a myth, a tale, or a practical invention.

If the upper leather of a slipper or shoe be cut out, it can, if wet, be easily made to assume the form of a foot by drying it on a last, or even on another shoe. Let the seam of the back jut or flap over the edge, and allow full selvage for the rest to turn under the sole. The latter may be of sole leather. If there is none, glue two or three pieces of the leather together with the tannin cement, and roll them over strongly. Then glue the back and the under-lap with great care. With a little practice a fairly good shoe can be thus made. Canvas can be used in the same way. To dwellers in the wilderness this may be valuable information. But very pretty ornamental slippers can be made by young ladies out of scraps of gaily coloured leather. They can buy a pair of soles, and get the leather at a leather-dealer’s. This is all simply substituting glueing for sewing, and strong tannin-glue holds quite as strongly as a great deal of the sewing of cheap, machine-made shoes. It would, indeed, not be a very difficult or expensive thing to shoe or clothe all mankind comfortably, were it not for the fashions followed by the wealthy.

These very cheap shoes, made with either wooden or leather soles, and that so easily that a child can learn to manufacture them in an hour, can be easily ornamented so as to be really attractive. Take the leather, moisten it with a sponge, and then with a tracer, which is like the end of a screw-driver—i.e.—

draw a pattern in the damp, soft leather. When it dries the pattern will remain. Then with a point or stamp, dot or roughen the ground. Finally, when dry, paint the pattern black, and then varnish it. Anybody with the least knowledge of drawing can make and sell such ornamented shoes for a good profit, as they are as yet hardly known to anybody. Other colours may be substituted for black, or gilding applied.

I have in another place shown (vide Papier-Mâché) how good artificial leather can be made by combining paper—best in pulp—with indiarubber and benzole fluid solution. Also how soles can be made by steeping pasteboard in the same, and how these, which are very easily and cheaply made, can be glued on to the leather so as to protect the latter from wearing out, for ever, if renewed. A bottle of this cement, combined with Diamond or Turkish Cement, will in like manner repair boots when the sole begins to split or part; and if applied when it begins to gape, it will be closed for a long time. This is such a practical, cheap, and easy method of making boots and shoes last, that my wonder is that every man who goes shod, and especially every traveller, has not a bottle of it by him. Observe that the two edges should be well pinched or screwed together (a six-penny vice will answer for this), and the leather first heated, though all this is not a sine quâ non, but only an improvement.

Leather thus attached by a very strong cement is quite as durable and much pleasanter to wear than “copper toes” or iron heels, which assimilate their wearers to horses. And it takes no longer to make and attach a heel or a sole in this manner than to black a pair of boots, as I have myself verified within a few hours.

Where seams rip out, the best repairing is by sewing as shoemakers do, which is not hard to learn, and I advise all young people to learn it. But where sewing cannot be resorted to, the cement, well applied and compressed till dry, will hold almost any break for a long time.

I urge ladies of all classes and conditions to carefully consider this chapter. They are more accustomed to repairing than men, and will take to it more intelligently. As their chaussures are made of thinner leather than ours, they need repair oftener, but are, on the other hand, so much the easier to repair. Every mother of a family will at least profit by studying this book.

Shoemakers’ paste, much used for shoes, belongs properly to leather-work. It is made by boiling crushed barley to a thick mess, the water being kept extremely hot. It is then set aside till fermentation begins, which announces itself by an extremely offensive smell. Thence it passes to a stage in which it is a brownish syrupy mass, possessing great power as an adhesive. It is now taken from the fire and a little carbolic acid added to arrest fermentation. This can be used by itself for an adhesive; it also combines well with indifferent substances, such as powdered lime, or chalk, white zinc, ochre, clay, or umber. It may be as well used for binding books.

I have already given a very good recipe for reuniting broken leather straps. I here add another from Lehner. It is very good, but hardly worth the very considerable extra trouble and expense as compared to the former:—

Gilders’ glue	250
Sturgeon’s bladder	60
Gum-arabic	60

Reduce to bits and boil in water to a solution, to which add:—

Venice turpentine	5
Oil of turpentine	6
Spirits of wine	10

The strap-ends, or pieces of leather, having been thoroughly cleaned, are now covered with the adhesive and pressed together between hot plates, where the work must remain till cold.

A very good artificial leather, perfectly waterproof, may be made by covering a strip of strong paper, or, better still, one of glazed muslin, with the gutta-percha cement. Add to this fresh layers of cement and paper, till the requisite thickness is obtained. This is useful for mending soles. Where the gutta-percha or indiarubber cement is not to be had, substitute copal varnish and glycerine, or thick turpentine varnish and a little glycerine.