GILDING. 



gold leaf without disturbing the rest. In 

 a day or two the size will be completely 

 dried, and the operation is finished. The 

 advantages of this method of gilding 1 are, 

 that it is very simple, very durable, not 

 readily injured by changes of weather, 

 even when exposed to the open air, and 

 when soiled it may be cleaned by a little 

 warm water and a soft brush ; its disad- 

 vantage is, that it cannot be burnished, 

 and therefore wants the high lustre pro- 

 duced by the next method. Its chief 

 employment is in out-door work. 



Burnished gilding, or gilding in distem- 

 per, is thus performed. The surface to 

 be gilt must be carefully covered with 

 strong size, made by boiling down two 

 pieces of white leather, or clippings of 

 parchment, till they are reduced to a 

 stiffjelly ; this coating being dried, eight 

 or ten more must be applied, consisting 

 of the same size, mixed with fine Paris 

 plaster or washed chalk : when a suffi- 

 cient number of layers have been put on, 

 varying according to the nature of the 

 work, and the whole is become quite dry, 

 a moderately thick layer must be applied, 

 composed of size and bole, or yellow 

 ochre : while this last is yet moist, the 

 gold leaf is to be put on in the usual man- 

 ner ; it will immediately adhere on being 

 pressed by the cotton ball, and before the 

 size is become perfectly dry, those parts 

 which are intended to be the most bril- 

 liant are to be carefully burnished with 

 agate or dog's tooth. In order to save 

 the labour of burnishing, it is a common, 

 but bad practice, slightly to burnish the 

 brilliant parts, and to deaden the rest by 

 drawing a brush over them dipped in 

 size : the required contrast between the 

 polished and the unpolished gold is in- 

 deed thus obtained ; but the general ef- 

 fect is much inferior to that produced in 

 the regular way, and the smallest drop 

 of water falling on the sized part occa- 

 sions a stain. This kind of gilding can 

 only be applied on in-door work, as rain, 

 and even a considerable degree of damp- 

 ness, will occasion the gold to peel off*. 

 When dirty, it may be cleaned with a 

 soft brush, and hot spirit of wine, or oil 

 of turpentine. It is chiefly used on pic- 

 ture frames, mouldings, and stucco. 



Letters written on vellum or paper are 

 gilded in three ways : in the first, a little 

 size is mixed with the ink, and the letters. 

 are written as usual; when they are dry, 

 a slight degree of stickiness is'produced 

 by breathing on them, upon which the 

 gold leaf is imroediutely applied, and by 



a little pressure may be made to ad- 

 here with sufficient firmness. In a se- 

 cond method, soine white -lead or chalk 

 is ground up with strong size, and the 

 letters are made with this by means of 

 a brush : when the mixture is almost 

 dry, the gold-leaf may be laid on, and af- 

 terwards burnished. The last method is, 

 to mix up some gold powder with size, 

 and make the letters of this by means ol'a 

 brush. The edges of the leaves of books 

 are gilded, while in the binder's 

 press, by first applying a composition, 

 formed of four parts of Armenian bole 

 and one of sugar candy, ground together 

 to a proper consistence, and laying it on 

 with a brush with the white of egg : 

 this coating, when nearly dry, is smoothed 

 by the burnisher; it is then slightly 

 moistened with clean water, and the gold- 

 leaf applied, and afterwards burnished. 

 In order to impress the gilt figures on the 

 leather covers of books, the leather is 

 first dusted over with very fine rezin, 

 or mastich, then the iron tool by which 

 the figure is made is moderately heated, 

 and pressed down on a piece of leaf- 

 gold, which slightly adheres to it ; being- 

 then immediately applied to the surface 

 of the leather with a certain force, the 

 tool at the same time makes an impres- 

 sion, and melts the mastich which lies be- 

 tween the heated iron and the leather; 

 in consequence of i this the gold with 

 which the face of the tool is covered is 

 made to adhere to the leather, so that on 

 removing the tool a gilded impression of 

 it remains behind. 



Drinking glasses, and other utensils of 

 this material, are sometimes, especially 

 in Germany, gilt on their edges ; this is 

 done in two ways, either by a simple ad- 

 hesive varnish, or by means of fire. The 

 varnish is prepared, by dissolving in dry- 

 ing linseed oil a quantity of gum amine, 

 or still better of clear amber, equal in 

 weight to the linseed oil ; a very drying: 

 and adhesive varnish is thus prepared, 

 which being diluted with a proper quan- 

 tity of oil of turpentine, is to be applied as 

 thin as possible to those parts of the glass 

 which are intended to be gilded ; when 

 this is dry, which will be about a day, the 

 glass is to be placed by the fire side, or 

 in a stove, till it is so warm as almost to 

 burn the fingers when handled ; at this 1 

 temperature the varnish will become 

 glutinous, and apiece of gold leaf applied 

 in the usual way will immediately adhere; 

 when the gilding is thus put on, and be- 

 fore it is grown quite cold, it may be bur- 



