GILDING., 
: etait per It is distinguished into burnished gild- 
ing and oil gilding. In the former, the leaves being 
cemented 
upon the work or size, admit of being 
is mixed up with water ; 
gilding, because the size or thy 
t as this term is also applied to the wash gilding by 
mercury, it should be avoided, as tending to confusion. 
Oil gilding, is that in which the leaves are stuck on by 
fat or drying oil. The advantage is that it will bear 
the weather, but, on the other hand, it will not admit of 
being burnished. 
Burnished Gilding.—When this is laid upon wood, 
. the surface must be prepared for it by a thin coating of 
size whitening, to fill up the pores, and make a closer 
ground for the gold leaf. The size used to mix up the 
_ whitening, is made from cuttings of parchment, or of glo- 
' vers’ er. These must be gently boiled in water for 
is is sometimes called water 
« several hours, till the water extracts sufficient size to 
form a jelly when it cools. This size is strained through 
a flannel to clear it from the cuttings, and fine powder 
of whiting is added, being stirred up with the size un- 
_ til it forms a’ coarse paint whilst hot, but will con 
into a very close solid substance when cold. With this 
composition when heated, the surface of the wood is 
coated or primed over several times, spreading it even- 
with-a painter's: brush, and carefully laying it into 
the hollows or cavities of the work where it is car- 
ved, Each coat should be suffered to dry perfectly be- 
fore another is applied; and the: last must be rendered 
as smooth and even as possible. For this purpose, it is 
brushed over with water before it is quite Bese and any. 
lumps removed at the same time the whole surface is 
rendered closer. When xp a dry, the priming of 
whitening must be examined to fill up the cavities, and 
the carved parts must be cut or ae sharp with a 
knife, and polished up in with a Dutch rush. Af- 
ter this, the where the gilding is intended to re- 
ceive a burnish, must be rubbed gently with a rag wet- 
ted with water. This produces a surface, which has a 
polish when dry. 
The:gilding size which is to cement the gold leaf, is 
8 now applied hot with a brush over all the parts intend- 
ed to be gilt. This is made of the same size as be- 
fore mentioned; but instead of the whitening, a mixture 
of bole ammoniac and tallow is ground together upona 
marble slab; and, in order to render the mixture more 
easy, a little soap suds is put upon the slab. The size 
of parchment before mentioned, being diluted by dou- 
ble its quantity of warm water, this composition is ad- 
ded till it becomes as thick as cream. Some artists add 
black lead to the bole, at the rate of one-sixteenth of 
black lead; and instead of tallow, they use a mixture of 
- equal parts of olive oil and bees-wax. Others add co- 
Jouring matter, such as vermilion and fine yellow; but 
these are quite useless, if they intend to cover the work 
completely with gold. The gilding size is laid on-in a 
thin coat, which is ated when the first is dry, and 
sometimes a third time, which prepares the work for 
the application of the gold leaf. - 
The gold leaf is kept in small books, the leaves of 
which are rubbed with red chalk. To take up the 
leaves, and particularly the small pieces, the gilder has 
a.small pair of tweezers made of two slips of cane, uni- 
ted together at one end-by glue, so that they will spring 
- open; but the ends, which are to take up the leaves, 
are cut extremely thin, though left sufficiently broad te 
take up the leaves by the corners without breaking 
them. The gilder is also eane with a cushion, upon 
which he spreads out the leaves when it is necessary to 
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279 
cut them to an 
of leather, stuffed with tow or wool upon a square board, 
which has a projecting handle to hold it by. To divide 
the leaves, a common pallet knife is used, The article 
upon which the gold.is to be applied is placed in an in- 
clined position, and the size is wetted by a camel hair 
pre. This wetting renders the size sufficiently ad- 
e 
sive to cement the leaves, which are removed from an ee 
leaves. 
the book, by sliding them upon the paper of the book 
with asquirrel’s tail, until the edge of the leaf overhangs 
the edge of the paper. This overhanging edge is a’ 
lied upon the sized work, and fastened down, by touch- 
Ing it with a piece of soft carded cotton wrapped up in 
apiece of fine linen. ‘he gilder then withdraws. the 
paper upon which the leaf lies, and thus spreads the gold 
upon thesurface. This drawing away the paper from be- 
neath the leaf extends the leaf in every direction, and lays 
it flat upon the work. If any folds or wrinkles appear, 
the gilder blows on the leaf, to press it against the pa- 
per, and cause a very slight adhesion, though sufficient 
to draw the leaf straight without tearing, which would 
not be practicable if it was pressed upon the paper by 
any other means than a current of air. This part of 
the operation requires much dexterity ; and if the 
workman breaks a leaf, it must be taken up with the 
tweezers, which, indeed, are frequently requisite to 
pace the leaves straight. It is very difficult to place a 
roken leaf sufficiently exact upon the size that no 
joint shall appear.. The gilder endeavours to lay the 
leaf, by first fastening the top of it, or that edge which 
is: most distant from him ; then he withdraws the book 
downwards, and for this reason he begins the work at 
the top. In some cases the right or left hand side of 
the leaf must be first stuck on, and then the book must 
be withdrawn sidewise, to the left or.right. The gold 
leaf being by these means spread on the work, is first 
pressed close by blowing upon it, and afterwards by 
dabbing it with a squirrel’s tail, or with a ball of very 
soft cotton wrapped in a fine linen rag. The gilder 
does not wet a greater extent of the size than he can 
cover with gold before it becomes too dry ; but if this 
happens, he wets it again, and thus procceeds until 
the whole is covered. The leaves are overlapped, to 
ensure that every part shall be covered ; but, of course, 
the overlay is as little as the workman can make it. 
Any small spots which remain uncovered from de- 
ficient corners of the leaves, or other causes, are covered 
with pieces cut by the knife upon the cushion. The 
ce reserves for this use those leafs which are bro- 
en in attempting to lay them on: They are removed 
from the book with the pincers, and laid upon the 
cushion. The pincers are likewise used to apply these 
pieces upon the work ; but if they are very small, they 
may be taken upon the cotton dabber, when rendered 
damp by breathing upon it.. These repairs should be 
performed as the defects occur, before the size becomes 
dry ; but, if any escape, the size in the defective places 
must be carefully wetted by a camel hair pencil; the 
surrounding gold being preserved from the water. 
When all the work is covered, and sufficiently dry, it is 
brushed over with a large and soft hogs’ hair brush, 
which takes off the loose gold ; it is then minutely exa- 
mined, and defects removed, by painting them over 
with shell gold mixed with gum-water., But for com- 
mon work a colour resembling gold is used: it is com- 
posed of vermilion and yellow ochre, or red lead and 
Dutch pink, ground up.with,the white of an egg or 
isinglass size. : 
The gold remains only to be burnished by rubbing Barnishing. 
particular size, The cushion is made Gilding. 
