The Progress of the Marbling Art, from Technical Scientific Principles / With a Supplement on the Decoration of Book Edges

by Josef Halfer

Even in the normal expansion of the drops of color, it often happens, that the rim of the drop is jagged, the cause being that the size already possessed a thin top, which was not yet sufficient to prevent the expanding of the colors. If the size be left standing for a half-hour or an hour before throwing on the color without having at first removed the top of the size, the drop will tear a hole into this film and will sink, even if quite a large quantity of gall had been added. This explains the contraction and the sinking down of colors on a still warm size, inasmuch as the top is formed by evaporation of the warm mucilage, so quickly and so thick, that the color which had already begun to spread out is pressed together by it and is forced to sink.

The greater the difference of temperature between the size and air, the quicker is the top formed. It is therefore a rule, that the size should be allowed to cool off in the same room, in which the marbling occurs, because in this way a symmetrical degree of heat or cold of the size and air will be gained. On such a size, the formation of the top is much slower and thinner, so that even after one to one and a half minutes after removal of the top of the size, the colors can be thrown on without the occurrence of the starry formation.

I will here mention a fact to show the importance of temperature. As this point has given me much trouble and has taken much time and labor, it was my aim to find that mysterious effect which I was unable to overcome despite my numerous chemical experiments, until my eyes became opened and I saw accidentally that this obstacle was the difference of temperature of size and air. From that time on I was able to prosecute my labors without the slightest difficulty.

To show the excellence of my marbling colors, I used a great number of samples, perhaps several thousand, and in order to produce them I worked on Sunday so that I could employ my whole time to the good purpose. It was winter; on every Saturday I ordered two pots of size to be boiled, and to cool them off I placed them in a room, in which there was no heat. On Sunday morning I filtered the size through a loose linen cloth; it was as clear as crystal, it possessed the necessary consistency, and I was much pleased with the results, which I had expected to achieve.

I commenced the preparation of the colors in a separate flat vessel, using but little size, so as to keep the rest from being soiled, but I was greatly astonished, when the colors in spite of the addition of gall, which of course was carefully done by drops, first spread out and then again were contracted, the starry formation of the colors took place, whenever I was not quick enough after the taking off of the top to throw on the colors.

I was dumbfounded and could give no explanation for it; the size was sufficiently cooled off, it had been standing the proper length of time, the mucilage was excellent but in spite of all that, these difficulties occurred.

Thinking that I might be more successful, if I should do the marbling in the trough where there is more surface offered to the color to spread out, I filled the trough with size of a sufficient height and then commenced the marbling, but immediately after the first trial I instantly recognized that even here my experiments would have the same result. Although I threw on the color with great alacrity, right after the top had been taken off, the first drop spread out normally 4 inches, the second but three, the third two, and the fifth and sixth only one inch. In this way I received instead of an equally wide band of thrown on color, one which tapered to a point. If I had not worked according to the system which I shall describe in the chapter of throwing on of colors, I would have received already with the fourth drop, a star-like formation.

Whatever I did to avoid this obstacle was worthless, it was and remained a mystery and I was unable on that day to produce anything beautiful or worthy of consideration. This happened several times until, by accident, and through careful study I found the cause which was nothing but the fact, that the size was much colder than the air in the room in which I worked. The evaporation on the surface of the size was so great, that the top was formed nearly as quick as on warm size and therefore a favorable result was impossible.

Another abnormity which arises from cold temperature acting on the size is the fig-like formation occurring during the drawing of the colors. The cold in some way seasons the surface; this surface becomes mixed in filtering with the liquid part of the size in numberless small particles which although the size is well stirred up in the trough by the fingers, are not dissolved and this hinders the drawing of the colors.

They adhere to the stylus and follow it and arrange themselves between the color lines in a way similar to a green fig, having a broad upper and a pointed lower end. Such an edge traversed by the comb will give an ugly result. A difference of temperature of the size and the air can also occur when the working room is suddenly heated, or, when in summer time, the size is kept in a cold cellar. To effectively obviate this difficulty it is necessary to bring the temperatures of the air and size carefully to the same height which is made easy by leaving the size, after boiling, in the room, where the marbling is executed.