GILT EDGES.
GILT EDGES.
In the production of gilt edges, there have not been any essential improvements noticed.
If the gilt-edge is to-day produced more beautifully and perfectly than formerly, it is due in part to a more extensive experience and practice, and also to the excellent quality of gold-leaf now on the market.
No edges contribute so greatly to the generally elegant appearance of a book as gilt-edges; they are lustrous and rich and are more pleasing to the eyes of most men than the plain and unseemly colored edges, though a great deal of trouble and industry is necessary to the production of these beautiful effects.
A principal condition in the production of gilt-edges is the utmost cleanliness and skill in executing the necessary manipulations.
In cutting the book, great care must be taken that the cuts are entirely smooth and clean, without any blemish. Sharp knifes are therefore indispensable in this kind of work.
Gilt-edges demand an entirely smooth surface which is only produced by carefully scraping the surface with a steel scraper. The edge must be scraped perfectly smooth so as not to show the marks of the knife in cutting or those of the scraper. To this end the books, the edges of which have already been cut, are placed between gilding-boards in hand presses in such a way that the fore-edge protrudes but slightly over the cheeks of the press. After the press has been tightly drawn down and has been fastened firmly, the scraping of the edges can be begun. When this tiresome work has been finished, and an entirely smooth surface has been obtained, the surface is moistened with a paste-water and rubbed dry with clean paper-shavings. By this grinding and rubbing off, the edge becomes shiny and dry, and gains in the power of resistance, which is of great importance for the burnishing that occurs in the later stage of gilt-edging.
The smooth, hard ground of paste is not sufficient for the production of gilt-edges that are perfectly beautiful.
They must be colored lightly with bolus or chalk, (the most adapted to this work is the finely washed Armenian bole.)
The book-binders supply establishment of Wm. Leo, of Stuttgart, provides an excellent article.
This bole after it has been finely ground and scraped, must be mixed with a solution of albumen (the white of the egg) such as is used for laying on gold leaf, and must be spread lightly and evenly over the edge by a fine broad hair brush or with a fine sponge, to prohibit the scaling off of the gold.
This process must be repeated. The ground of bole gives the gilt-edge a dark shade and a high lustre and glow.
When the grounding of bole is entirely dry, and all the parts clinging to the edge have been carefully brushed off, we begin the most difficult part in the production of gilt-edges, the laying on of the gold.
As binding medium between the gold-leaf and the edge of the book, a solution of the white of the egg is used. Carefully separate the white of the egg from the yolk and dilute the same with 1 pint of water and stir until a perfect mixture of the two results. After this fluid has stood for several hours, it becomes perfectly clear, the froth of the egg floating upon the surface is removed and the solution is ready for use.
Paper containing lime makes a stronger size necessary.
To transfer the gold-leaf, which has been cut on the gold cushion to the size required, on to the edge, a rectangular light wooden frame of wood or paste board is used, across which two horse hairs or silk threads are stretched parallel to the long sides of the rectangle in such a way that they can be moved at will nearer to or farther from one another.
LAYING-ON APPARATUS.
THE LAYING-ON APPARATUS.
Much more practical than this frame is the laying-on apparatus. It can be more easily and securely handled, and the laying on strings can be more easily set.
By means of this simple instrument the sheets of gold-leaf which are laying ready on the cushion and which must be so wide that they not only cover the edge entirely but also protrude about 1/8 inch beyond the gilding boards are transferred on to the sized edge. The sizing must be done with a soft camels hair brush, not too thin and it is essential that the gilding boards also become moistened.
The strings of this laying on apparatus or of the frame must be so far distant from each other that they reach from gilding board to gilding board.
The sheets of gold leaf that have been cut before must then be carefully transferred, one by one, on the sized edge.
To make the gold-leaf adhere to the strings of the frame, the strings are rubbed slightly upon the hair of the head by which means they absorb sufficient fatty substance to hold the light sheets of gold.
If after the gold is laid on it should contain any imperfections or breaks, other portions must be applied to these abrasions. The press is then placed aside until the edge is entirely dry. In treating the upper and lower edges i. e. after the book has been rounded, care must always be taken that in sizing, not too much moisture impregnates the back part of the edges as there is no pressure to prevent the size from running in.
If the gilt-edge is to have lustre and glow by burnishing, great care must be taken to dry the edge well.
An edge, which is not sufficiently dried, will exhibit breaks in the gold on burnishing, and an edge which is too dry will never have the desired lustre.
It is impossible to name the time within which gilt-edges become dry. This depends upon the temperature of the room, the quality of the paper in the book and on the quantity of albumen solution which has been put on the edge.
The safest way to find out whether the edge is dry or not is to blow upon it. If the lustre of the gold is dimmed for several seconds, the edge is still too moist, but if the cloud vanishes immediately the edge is sufficiently dry.
We can also determine by a careful easy burnishing whether the edge is dry enough to be worked further.
The burnishing should always be executed with a flat agate burnisher, and afterwards followed by a flat blood stone. The burnishing should be commenced by covering the edge with a piece of thin smooth paper that has been rubbed with wax.
First burnish the gold laid on slightly, afterwards continue with greater force.
By this the edge acquires a uniformly dull aspect but a strong union of gold and paper is thereby established.
Before beginning the real burnishing rub the edge with a soft rag upon which a small quantity of pure white wax has been rubbed. This thin film of wax renders the burnishing much easier because the burnisher is made to glide more readily and securely over the edge.
The burnishing must first be executed lightly and then with greater force.
The repairing of gilt-edges should be avoided as much as possible. Should it become, nevertheless, unavoidable, then moisten the spots to be repaired with the solution of albumen described above, lay on gold leaf, allow the spots which you wish to repair to become dry, rub off and burnish as usual.
In place of albumen solution, sulphuric ether can be used for repairing. The latter has the advantage of causing the spots so repaired to become dry immediately, but it causes a lighter spot to appear in the gilt-edge. Alcohol, lightly applied, can also be used for this purpose and with more security. The gilding of the hollow edge is produced in the same way as that of the level edge. In scraping, curved scrapers are used. To lay on the gold use the frame. Transfer the gold leaf from the gold cushion to the strings of the frame, then carefully bring these strings closer to each other, so that the gold leaf is no longer straight, but somewhat hanging down. Then transfer it to the sized edge.
To burnish give the hand press an oblique position, making the front of the press lay lower than the rear so that one half of the hollow edge has a more horizontal position, and burnish it with a flat burnisher in the same manner as the level edge. This being done, the remainder of the hollow edge is likewise treated at the same time, giving the press a different position. Only after the edge has been burnished on both sides with a flat burnisher, is the round burnisher (tooth) used to finish the hollow edge on its length.
Gilding on a colored, especially a red edge is very effective. These gilt-edges with an underlying red-edge are of English origin and are used generally for Bibles and prayer books. The fore edge of such books is colored in an oblique position of the edge, and they therefore have not a golden, but a red effect, when opened.
The production of such edges demands a certain experience, if the coloring of the fore-edge shall have a correct effect, and the leaves of the book are to be as little as possible impregnated by the color.
This color must be mixed like any other edge colors with gum-arabic, starch paste or the white of an egg.
All etching substances, such as spirits of ammonia, must be avoided as they often cause the color to soak too deeply into the paper.
In manipulating the fore edge, open the book slightly, fasten the edge in this oblique position and then lightly apply the color.
When this has thoroughly dried, open the edge towards the other side and continue with the same procedure.
The different leaves are thus not only colored at the edges proper, but the color has also been slightly imparted to the upper and lower sides of the leaves at the same time, and for this reason the edge of the book, after it is gilded, appears reddish when the book is opened out.
The upper and lower edges must be treated as all other colored edges.
In producing the gilt-edge in the way above mentioned, rubbing off with paste and grounding with bole must of course not be employed.
The production of edges with metal leaf or aluminium, is under the same rules as for gilt edges.
To produce silver edges, a sizing material of a solution of gelatine (one half of a gelatine cake to one cup of water) is used as a surrogate to the albumen. This can also be employed in the laying on of aluminium.
For base metal leaf care should be taken that a soft, thin article is used, the one of a light hue is more pliable on account of the larger quantity of tin contained in it than is in the darker copper one.
The more pliable French aluminium is preferable to the brittle German article.
If gilt-edges are to be produced upon unsized paper, the edges must be sized with a solution of gelatine.
Colored Edges with Front and End
Gilding.
COLORED EDGES WITH FRONT AND END
GILDING.
The effect of edges gilt front and back with marbling between is beautiful. This edge is especially applicable to books of large size.
The plain red-edge (carmine) and every marbled edge can be used in this connection.
Antique marbles are greatly adapted to this kind of book-edge decoration.
The production of these edges does not offer any especial technical difficulties. The book block must be treated as a hollow edge and must be scraped and then decorated with antique marbling or red color.
This having been done, insert the book into the hand-press and mark correctly how far the gilding is to be done.
To put on the gold, a solution of albumen is applied to the spots to be gilded and then a good and substantial gold leaf is laid on. As soon as the edge is dry, burnish as any other gilt-edge.
A fine chased pearl line at the meeting of the two edges, will greatly enhance the effect of this beautiful edge.
The Punched or Chased Gilt-Edge.
THE PUNCHED OR CHASED
GILT-EDGE.
The procedure by which the effect of the gilt-edge is enhanced and enlivened by chasing is very old, in fact nearly as old as the gilt-edge itself. It has been driven out of the market as many another thing by over production and has finally become obsolete. In recent times it has been taken up again on account of the progress in the industrial arts and is now very highly esteemed. The design for such a decoration of gilt-edges should always be prepared by an artist and should always conform strictly to the decorations of the cover.
Technically, the production of such edges is not difficult. Some talent for drawing and a sure hand are necessary, but the artist is repaid for his labor by the interest he derives from the execution of such kind of work.
There are two ways of producing them.
The first makes the ornament appear bright, while the ground remains dull, in the other the dull ornament appears on the shining ground surface.
The first is the more effective and the more easily produced.
The gilt-edge is here to be treated like every other plain gilt-edge, to produce dull ground, burnish with a piece of paper between the book edge and the burnisher.