For illumination in water-colour on paper, cardboard, or vellum, Messrs. Winsor & Newton, Rowney, Barnard, Newman, and others, fit up boxes with special selections of all requisite materials; including all that can be wanted for the application and burnishing of gold and other metals. Messrs. Miller's "Glass Mediums, Nos. 1 and 2," and Newman's "Preparation for sizing albumenized papers," are exceedingly useful for mixing with illuminating colours; giving great hardness and body to them, and preventing them from "washing up," in working over with glazing and other tints. I have found Mr. Barbe's powder body-colours give remarkably solid tints, with great freedom in working.
This had better be bought ready prepared, since some experience is requisite in so applying the red chalk as to prevent its depositing under the weight of the hand, and yet coming off sufficiently in the line traced by the point.
The experienced illuminator will generally do his writing before he gets in the outline of his ornament, and he will frequently dispense with the transferring process altogether; but it would be by no means safe for a beginner to do so.
Both the cushion and tip will be described in detail under the head of Oil-gilding.
The amateur may of course prepare mordants of different degrees of tenacity and body for his own use, by the employment, and various combinations, of leather and parchment size, isinglass, red lead, gum arabic, sugar, honey, glycerine, borax, plaster of Paris, bol ammoniac, glaire, and similar substances; but his time will be more profitably spent in improving himself in design than it could be (nowadays) in experimenting on the "materia technica" of art.