I N K. 



many cafes, be improved by a fmall addition of the ancient common ink, a ground of Pruflian Blue is formed under 

 pofitiun, or of tlie common Indian ink. Lewis's Com- every ftrok<;; wliich will remain ftrong after the black has 



been decayed by the weather, or deftroyed by acids. The 



• of tlie common Indi 

 merce of Arts, &c. § i6. 



Mr. Aftle, in his " Origin of Alphabetical Writing,'' in- 

 •ulcatcs the nccoflity of making ink durable ; and for this 

 purpofe fuggefls a comparifon of tlic rolls and records that 

 have been written from the 15th century to the end of the 

 17th, with the writings that remain from' the 5th to the 12th 

 centuries. Thefe arc in excellent prefervation ; but the 

 former, though of more modern date, are defaced to fuch a 

 degree that they are fcarcely vifible. Mr. Aille agrees with 

 Dr. Lewis in the opinion, that the ancient inks were com- 

 pofed of foot or ivory black inllcad of the galls, copperas, 

 and gums, which form the compofitiou of our's. Befides 

 their black ink, the ancients ufed various other colours, as 

 red, goW and filver, purple, &c. Green ink was frequently 

 ufed in Latin MSS., efpecially in the latter ages : and it 

 was frequently employed in fignatures by the guardians of 

 the Greek emperors till their wards were of age. Blue or 

 yellow ink was feldom ufed except in MSS., but, according 

 to Mr. AiUe, the yellow has not been much in ufe for thefe 

 600 years. Some kinds of cliarafters, particularly the 

 metallic, were buniifhed. Wax vs'as ufed by the Latins 

 and Greeks as a varnidi, efpecially by the former, and par- 

 ticularly in the 9th century. This continued a long time 

 in vogue. Dr. (Cr Charles) Blagden, in the Phil. Tranf. 

 vol. Ixxvii, p. 45i,&c. has propofed a new method of re- 

 covering the legiliiHty of decayed writings. With this 

 view he made fome experiments on parchment and vellum 

 MSS., with which he was furnidicd by Mr. Aftle, employ- 

 ing thofe chemical re-agents which feemed bell adapted to 

 his purpofs, -viz. alkalies, both iimple and phlogiilicated, 

 the mineral acids, and infufion of galls. The general re- 

 fult fhewed, that the ink anciently ufed, at leaft in thefe 

 MSS., was of the fame nature as the prefent ; and the 

 greater durability of the more ancient inks appeared to de- 

 pend very much on a better preparation of the material upon 

 which the writing was made, viz. the parchment or vellum. 

 He fufpefted, however, that the ancient inks contained a 

 rather lefs proportion of iron than the more modern ; and 

 perhaps more gum was ufed then, or pofiibly they were 

 wafhed over with fome kind of i.-arnifli, though not fuch as 

 gave any glofs. It occurred to our author, in the courfc of 



decayed by the weathe . , . 



ink will thus bear a larger proportion of vitriol at firft, and 

 will have the advantage of appearing blacker when firft 

 written. 



Ink Powder may be prepared, by infufing a pound of- 

 galls powdered, and three ounces of pomegranate-peels, in a 

 gallon of foft water for a week, in a gentle heat ; and 

 then llraining off the fi\iid through a coarfe linen cloth. 

 Add to it eight ounces of vitriol diffoUed in a quart of 

 water, and let them remain for a day or two ; preparing 

 in the mean time a decotlion of logwood, by boiling a 

 pound of the chips in a gallon of water, till one-third be 

 wafted, and then ftraining tlie remaining fluid whi'e it is hot. 

 Mix this decoftion and the folution of galls ai:d vitriol to- 

 gether, and add five ounces of gum arable, and then evapo- 

 rate the mixture over a common fire to about two qirarts ; 

 when the remainder mud be put into a veflel proper for that 

 purpofe, and reduced to drynefs in balnco Marui, i.e. by 

 hanging the veffel in boiling water. The remaining mafs, 

 after the fluid is wholly exhaled, muft be Well powdered ; 

 and when it is wanted for ufe, may be converted into ink by 

 the addition of water. 



A portable or extemporaneous ink may be made without 

 galls or vitriol, by mixing half a pound of honey and the 

 yolk of an egg, adding two drams of gum r.rahic finely le- 

 vigated, and thickening the whole with lamp-black to' the 

 confillence of a ftilT pafte ; which being put to a proper 

 quantity of water, may be ufed as an ink. 



Ink, Indian, or Chine/:, is an admirab'e compofition, in 

 vain attempted to be imitated in Europe. It is not fluid, 

 like our writing inks, but folid, like our mineral colours> 

 though much hghter. They make it of all figures, but the 

 moft ufual is reftangular, about a quarter of an inch thick. 

 Some of the tticks are giit with figures of dragons, birds, 

 flowers, &c. In order to do this, they have little wooden 

 monlds, fo curiouffy wrought, that we could hardly equal 

 them in metals. 



To ufe this ink, there rauft be a little hollow marble, or 

 other ftone, with water in it, on which the (lick of ink mnil 

 be ground, till the water becomes of a fufBcient blacknefs. 

 It makes a very black (hining ink ; and though it be 



go mig 



It be to 



join 



bis 



rcrtoring legibility to decayed writing ^^... .., ._ j... 

 phlogiilicated alkali with the remaining calx of iron. In 

 order to bring this idea to the teft, he made fevcral experi- 

 ments, for which we refer to his paper, ubi fupra. The 

 method now commonly praiftifed to rellore old writings is 

 the wetting of them with an infufion of galls in white wine. 

 This has certainly a great effeft : but, like the phlogiilicated 

 alkali, it is apt to ftain the fubllance in which the writing 

 was made. Sir Charles Blagden fuggefts, that a phlogiili- 

 cated alkali, better adapted to this purpofe than the common, 

 might be prepared, by rendering it as free as poffiblc from 

 iron, diluting it to a certain degree, or fubftitutiig the vola- 

 tile alkali for the fixed. This would ferve to bring out a 

 prodigious body of colour upon letters whicli wen- before 

 fo pale as to be almoft invifible, and it would be preferable 

 to the infufion of galls in this rcfpeil, that it produces its 

 effect immediately, and may be confined to thofe letters 



Only for whidi fuch affillance is wanted. ^^_ 



In the "Monthly Review" of the volume of Tranfaftions material is lamp-blackrio which ir'added in one of tlurm 

 above cited, the following method is propofed forpreventing a quantity of horfe-chefmits, burnt till the fmokc ceafes' 

 -Ik from decaying. It conlifts n, watlung over the paper ou The couglutinating matter, in one of the prefcriptions, isa" 

 which tjie writing is o be made with the colouring matter thin lize of neat's leather ; in another, a folution of gum tra- 



pcriments, that perhaps one of the beil methods of apt to fink when the paper is thin, yet it never runs or 



"■"^ *" J— —J . . 1-- L ._ :- _ fpreads; fo that the letters are always fmooth, and evenly 



terminated, how big foever they be. It is of great ufe in - 

 defigning, becauie it may be weakened or diminiihed to 

 any degree ; and there is abundance of things which cannot 

 be reprefented to the life without it. 



From an analyfis of this ink, Dr Lewis concludes that it 

 contains an animal fubftance foluble in water, and confifts of 

 a black powder, mixed with fome animal glue. He tried 

 to imitate it, by mixing fome lamp-black, prepared from 

 Iinfeed-oil, by hanging a large copper pan over the flame ot 

 a lamp to receive its fmoke with as much melted glue as gave 

 it fufficient tenacity for being formed into cakes. Thefe 

 cakes, when diy, anfwered as well as the genuine Indian ink, 

 m regard both to the colour, and the freedom and fmooth- 

 nefs of working. Ivory black, and other charcoal blacks, 

 •levigated very fine, had tlie fame cfTcd with the lamp-black. 

 It appears from three receipts for the preparation of ludian 

 ink, in Du Halde's Hiftory of China, that the colouring 



cf PruOiaii blue ; and by wriiin 



upon it afterwards with gaeantli, and in the otlier, a mixture of fize, with a de- 

 corum 



