A few drops of turpentine put in the colours will give them a different effect, viz.,—causing the small white spots that appear on the shell marble.
There are various patterns, each being known by name: old Dutch, nonpareil, antique, curl, Spanish, shell. An apprentice would do well to go to some respectable shop and ask for a sheet or two of the various kinds mentioned, and as each pattern is given to him, write the name on the back, and always keep it as a pattern for future use and reference. |73|
Edges are marbled, after making the desired pattern on the trough by holding the book firmly, pressing the edge on the colour and lifting it up sharply. The foredge must be made flat by knocking the book on its back, but the marbler had better tie his book between a pair of backing boards, so that it may not slip, especially with large books. Care must be taken with books that have many plates, or if the paper is at all of a spongy nature or unsized. If a little cold water be thrown on the edges it will cause the colours to set better. In marbling writing paper, a sponge with a little alum water should be used to take off the gloss or shine from the edge, occasioned by the cutting knife, and to assist the marbling colour to take better.
Paper is marbled in the same way by holding it at two corners; then gently putting it on the colour and pressing it evenly, but gently all over, so that the colour may take on every part. It must be lifted carefully, as the least shake by disturbing the size will spoil the regularity of the pattern. Paper should be damped over night and left with a weight on the top. When the paper has been marbled and is dry, a rag with a little bee’s wax or soap should be rubbed over it, so that the burnisher may not stick, and may give a finer gloss; this applies also to the edges in burnishing. Marble paper manufacturers burnish the paper with a piece of polished flint or glass fixed in a long pole working in a socket at the top, the other end resting on a table which is slightly hollowed, so that the segment of the circle which the flint takes is exactly that of the hollow table. The paper is laid on the hollow table, and the burnisher is worked backwards and forwards until the desired gloss is attained. By the best and latest method, the paper is passed between highly polished cylinders. It is more expensive, on account of the cost of the machinery, but insures superior effect.
A great deal of paper is now being made by means of a |74| mechanical process. It has a very high gloss; it is used on very cheap work.
Sizing.—Paper should be always sized after being marbled. The size is made by dissolving one pound of best glue in five gallons of water with half a pound of best white soap. This is put into a copper over night, and on a low fire the next morning, keeping it constantly stirred to prevent burning. When quite dissolved and hot it is passed through a cloth into a trough, and each sheet passed through the liquor and hung up to dry; when dry, burnish as above.
But it will be far cheaper to buy the paper, rather than make it at the cost of more time than will be profitable. The charge for demy size is at the rate of 20s. to 95s. per ream, according to the quality and colour; but to those to whom money is no object, and who would prefer to make their own marbled paper, I hope the foregoing explanation will be explicit enough.
The “English Mechanic,” March 17th, 1871, has the following method of transferring the pattern from ordinary marble paper to the edges of books:—
“Ring the book up tightly in the press, the edge to be as flat as possible; cut strips of the best marble paper about one inch longer than the edge, make a pad of old paper larger than the edge of the book, and about a quarter inch thick; then get a piece of blotting paper and a sponge with a little water in; now pour on a plate sufficient spirits of salts (muriatic acid) to saturate the paper, which must be placed marble side downwards on the spirit (not dipped in it); when soaked put it on the edge (which has been previously damped with a sponge), lay your blot paper on it, then your pad, now rap it smartly all over, take off the pad and blot, and look if the work is right, if so, take the book out and shake the marble paper off; when dry burnish.”
At a lecture delivered at the Society of Arts, January, |75| 1878, by Mr. Woolnough, a practical marbler, the whole process of marbling was explained. Mr. Woolnough has since published an enlarged treatise on marbling,[6] and one that should command the attention of the trade. A copy of the Society’s journal can be had, describing the process, No. 1,314, vol. XXVI., and will be of great service to any reader, but his work is more exhaustive.