THE FILING.
This is done by girls, who, with very fine files, rub off the edges and any protuberances which may be there. Every letter is subject to this operation, and all are turned out smooth and well finished.
Sometimes the letters are colored or further defined by the addition of a line, but the essentials are as we have already described.
BRUSHING OUT.
There are, however, one or two other operations of interest which we may notice. The company do not confine their exertions to the making of letters, various collateral developments having taken place which fill an important part in this scheme of work.
Of these, small tablets, containing advertisements or notices, such as we see in railway carriages, "Push after raising window," or "Close this door after you," or some legend pertaining to Brown's Soap or Robinson's Washing Powder. These are done by different processes, the transfer process, as used in the potteries, being employed, but the one most largely used is that of "brushing out," which is done by plates.
Let us suppose that the tablet shows white letters on a dark ground, the modus operandi is as follows:
The tablet has been enameled, as already described, and is white. The operator now takes a dark enamel and spreads it evenly over the entire surface of the tablet. He, or she, now takes a stencil plate, of tinfoil, out of which the ground is cut, leaving the letter in the center.