Part 1
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Curious Arts.
A SELECT COLLECTION
OF VALUABLE AND CURIOUS ARTS,
AND
INTERESTING EXPERIMENTS,
WHICH ARE WELL EXPLAINED AND WARRANTED GENUINE AND MAY BE PERFORMED EASILY, SAFELY, AND AT LITTLE EXPENSE.
THIRD EDITION.
CONCORD:
PUBLISHED BY RUFUS PORTER.
J. B. Moore, Printer. 1826.
Transcriber's Note: Some of the articles in the Appendix do not list a price.
DISTRICT OF NEW-HAMPSHIRE, to wit.
_District Clerk's Office._
[Sidenote: L. S.]
Be it remembered, that on the twenty-second day of October, A.D. 1825, and in the fiftieth year of the Independence of the United States of America, RUFUS PORTER, of the said District, has deposited in this Office the title of a book, the right whereof he claims as proprietor, in the words following, to wit:--
"_A Select Collection of valuable and curious Arts and interesting Experiments, which are well explained and warranted genuine, and may be performed easily, safely, and at little expense._"
In conformity to the act of the Congress of the United States, entitled, "An act for the encouragement of learning, by securing the copies of Maps, Charts and Books, to the Authors and Proprietors of such copies, during the time therein mentioned;" and also to an act, entitled, "An act supplementary to an act, entitled, an act for the encouragement of learning, by securing the copies of Maps, Charts and Books to the Authors and Proprietors of such copies, during the times therein mentioned, and extending the benefits thereof to the arts of designing, engraving and etching historical and other prints."
SAMUEL CUSHMAN, _Clerk of the District of New-Hampshire_.
A true copy of record:-- Attest, SAMUEL CUSHMAN, _Clerk_.
ADVERTISEMENT.
It is not so much the object of the author, with regard to the various arts treated of in the following pages, to convey to professed artists, a more accurate and extensive knowledge of those arts, as to explain some of the first lines and principles of them, for the advantage of those, who may be induced to practice them occasionally, either for profit or amusement. The chemical experiments are such as are calculated to combine recreation, with improvement in useful knowledge--a knowledge of some of the leading principles of chemistry.--The true chemical terms, according to the new nomenclature (which, perhaps, may not be so readily understood, by some, as the more common and familiar names, but will be found sufficiently explained in the appendix) have, in this work, been applied to the various articles occasionally mentioned. Very few substances have been mentioned, which are generally considered poisonous, or otherwise dangerous; but it may be proper, however, for those who may attempt any of the chemical experiments, to proceed with caution, and carefully avoid the fumes produced by chemical action, especially in metallic solutions in nitric acid, and sublimation of mercury. Several articles in this little collection, will probably be found to contain some improvements, and if it prove as interesting to others, as a similar work would formerly have been to the author, his object will have been attained.
TABLE OF CONTENTS.
_Page._
1. Water-proof gilding and silvering, 9
2. The art of burnish gilding, 11
3. Ornamental bronze gilding, 13
4. To enamel picture glasses with gold, 15
5. To wash iron or steel with gold, 15
6. To wash brass or copper with silver, 16
7. To give wood a gold, silver, or copper lustre, 17
8. To print gold letters on morocco, 18
9. To dye silk a brilliant gold colour, 18
10. To dye silk a brilliant silver colour, 19
11. To silver looking glasses, 20
12. To write on paper with gold or silver, 22
13. To make good shining black ink, 23
14. Blue ink, 23
15. Red ink, 24
16. Yellow ink, 24
17. Green ink, 25
18. Purple ink, 25
19. To write in various colours with the same pen, ink and paper. 25
20-26. Sympathetic inks for secret correspondence, 27
27. Luminous ink that will shine in the dark, 28
28. To make a writing appear and disappear at pleasure, 29
29. To make a writing vanish and another appear in its place, 29
30. To restore old writing that is nearly defaced, 30
31. To paint a picture that will appear and disappear occasionally, 30
32. Landscape painting on walls of rooms, 31
33. To paint in figures for carpets or borders, 34
34. To paint in imitation of mahogany and maple, 35
35. The art of painting on glass, 36
36. Best method of polishing steel, 37
37. To make letters of blue on polished steel, 38
38. To preserve the brightness of polished steel, 39
39. To give steel a temper to cut marble, 40
40. To wash iron or steel with copper, 41
41. To give iron the whiteness of silver, 42
42. To wash iron with tin, 42
43. To give tin the whiteness and brilliancy of silver, 44
44. To crystallize tin, 44
45. To make a gold coloured varnish for tin, 45
46. To make shellac varnish for japanning, 46
47. To make the best copal varnish, 47
48. To make a spirit varnish for maps, 48
49. To make elastic varnish for umbrellas, 49
50. To varnish maps and pictures, 49
51. To make brunswick blacking, 50
52. To make a print appear on a gold ground, 51
53. Best method of tracing or copying a picture, 52
54. The construction and use of a copying machine, 53
55. To produce the exact likeness of any object instantly, 54
56. Copper plate engraving, 57
57. Etching on copper plates, 60
58. Engraving and scraping in mezzotinto, 63
59. Etching in aqua-tinta, 64
60. Copper plate printing, 65
61. Etching letters and flowers on glass, 67
62. To print figures with a smooth stone, 68
63. To cut glass with a piece of iron, 69
64. Best cement for joining glass, 70
65. Best cement for joining china or crockery, 70
66. To make a strong water proof glue, 71
67. The art of moulding figures in relief, 72
68. To cast images in plaster, 73
69. To produce embossed letters on marble, 74
70. To soften stone, 75
71. To change wood, apparently, to stone, 76
72. To render wood, cloth or paper, fire proof 77
73-75. To produce fire readily, 77
76. To make super-combustible matches, 78
77. To make gun powder, 79
78. To make the common fulminating powder, 80
79. To make mercurial fulminating powder, 80
80. To kindle a fire under water, 82
81. To light a candle by application of ice, 82
82. To form letters or flowers of real flame, 83
83. To produce flame of various colours, 84
84. To make sky rockets and fire wheels, 85
85. To produce detonating balloons, 87
86. To prepare a phial that will give light in the dark, 89
87. To make a person's face appear luminous in the dark, 89
88. To freeze water in warm weather, 90
89. To change the colours of animals, 91
90. To give leather a beautiful metallic lustre, 92
91. An easy method of extracting the essence of roses, 92
92. To prepare various kinds of essences, 93
93. To prepare soda water, 94
94-95. To produce metallic trees, 95
96. To tin copper by boiling, 96
97. A metal that will melt in hot water, 96
98. Illustration of calico printing, 96
99. To prepare an imitation of gold bronze, 99
100. To procure the exhilarating gas, 99
101. Construction of the galvanic pile or battery, 101
102. Construction of the oxy-hydrogen blow-pipe, 102
103. To make a dry phosphorescent powder, 104
104. Curious experiment of precipitation, 105
105. To make a beautiful soft glass for jewelry, 105
106. Composition of various kinds of glass, 106
107. Composition of various alloys, 107
108. To produce various kinds of gas, 108
109. Various chemical tests, 110
110. To produce a picture instantly, 111
111. A cheap imitation of silver bronze, 112
112. To make crayons of various colours, 113
113. To make hard sealing wax, 115
114. The art of manufacturing paper hangings, 116
115. To make elastic blacking for leather, 118
116. Sundry experiments, 119
CURIOUS ARTS.
1. WATER-PROOF GILDING AND SILVERING.--This kind of gilding, usually termed oil gilding, being the cheapest and most durable, is in general use for gilding or silvering letters on signs, labels, &c. and may be performed as follows:--Grind one ounce of white lead and two ounces of litharge, very fine, in a gill of old linseed oil, and if convenient, add nearly one-fourth of a gill of old copal varnish, and half an ounce of stone yellow; but neither of these last, are very essential ingredients. Expose this composition to the rays of the sun for a week or more in a broad open vessel, observing, however, to keep it free from dust. Then pour off the finest part, and dilute it with as much spirits of turpentine as will make it work freely with a brush or camel-hair pencil. (Oil that will answer exceedingly well for this purpose, may sometimes be collected from the top of oil paints that have been long standing, and may be used directly, without being exposed to the sun as directed above.) Whatever letters or figures you would gild, must be first drawn or painted with this sizing, the ground having been previously painted and varnished; and when the sizing is so dry as to be hard, but yet remains slightly adhesive, or sticky, lay on gold or silver leaves smoothly over the whole, pressing them down gently with a soft ball of cotton. The most convenient manner of performing this, is to lay the leaves of gold or silver, first on a piece of deer-skin or glove-leather, and cut them into pieces of a convenient size, by drawing a smooth (not sharp) edged knife over them. Then take a small block of wood, of a triangular form, about half an inch thick, and two inches in diameter, and bind a strip of fine flannel round the edges;--breathe on this, and press it gently on a piece of the leaf, which by this may be taken from the leather, and carried to any part of the sizing where it will best fit, and to which it will readily adhere: thus the sizing may be readily covered with the leaf, very little of which will be wasted. Afterward the whole may be brushed over lightly with cotton, or a soft brush, and the superfluous gold or silver will be brushed off, leaving the letters or figures entire. When the work has thus remained two or three days, it may be rubbed with a piece of silk, which will increase its metallic lustre. _Note._--It is very essential that the varnish of the ground should be thoroughly dry, that it may not be adhesive in the least degree, otherwise the leaf will stick where it should not, and materially injure the work. When plain gilding is required for vanes, balls, &c. the leaves of gold or silver may be applied to the work directly from the book, without cutting or dividing them.
2. THE ART OF BURNISH GILDING.--Make a sizing by boiling the skins of beaver and musk rats, (which may be readily procured at a hat manufactory,) in water, till it is of sufficient strength that by cooling it will become a stiff jelly; strain the liquor while warm, and give your work one coat of it with a brush; when this is dry, add a little fine whiting to the sizing, and give the work one coat of this. Then add as much whiting as will work freely under the brush, and lay on five or six coats of this, allowing each a sufficient time to dry. Smooth the work by wetting it, and rubbing it with a piece of pumice stone, which should be previously cut and fitted to the moulding or other work that is to be gilt; afterward, when the work is dry, rub it with some fine sand paper. Then take some burnish-gold-size (which is composed of pipe-clay, plumbago, beef tallow and castile soap, but may be easily procured ready made,) and dilute it with water till it is of the consistence of very soft putty, and afterward with the above mentioned sizing till it will flow freely from a brush, and give the work three successive coats of this; when the last is dry, dip a camel-hair pencil in a mixture of equal quantities of rum and water, and with it wet a small part of the work, and immediately, while it is flowing, lay on a leaf of gold, brushing it down with a very soft, flat camel-hair brush, with which also, the leaf is usually conveyed from the book to the sizing; proceed thus till the whole is gilt, and let it dry. When the work is sufficiently dry to take a fair polish by burnishing, (which can be only ascertained by applying the burnisher to different parts of the work occasionally while it is drying,) rub over the whole carefully with a flint burnisher, or with the tooth of a wolf or dog, being fixed in a convenient handle, till the whole acquires a brilliant polish, except such parts as are required to remain in a rough-gilt state, which parts are usually flatted by a coat of thin sizing. Such are the principal rules of the art of burnish gilding; but as this business requires some variation of management, according to the state of the weather and other circumstances, it may not be expected that any person should become very expert in the art, without the advantage of some experience and practice.
3. ORNAMENTAL BRONZE GILDING.--This is performed by means of gold or silver, reduced to an impalpable powder, called bronze. One method of preparing it, is to levigate any quantity of gold or silver leaves on a stone, with some clarified honey; dilute the honey with clear water, that the bronze may settle; pour off the water and honey, and add fresh water to the bronze, which, after being thus thoroughly washed, may be dried on paper, and is ready for use. Another method of preparing the gold bronze, is to precipitate the gold from its solution in nitro-muriatic acid, (see 5,) by adding sulphate of iron to the solution;--then washing it, as directed above. But in general it will be found much cheaper to buy the bronze ready prepared. The ground for this work must be varnished with a mixture of copal varnish, with an equal quantity of old linseed oil; and whatever figures are to be formed in bronzing, must be represented by holes cut through pieces of paper. Lay these patterns on the work, when the varnish is so dry as to be but slightly adhesive, but not press them down any more than is requisite to keep the paper in its place. Then take a piece of soft glove-leather, moisten it a little by breathing on it, and dip it in some dry bronze, and apply it to the figures, beginning at the edges;--tap the figure gently with the leather, and the bronze will stick to the varnish according to the pattern. Thus any figure may be produced in a variety of shades, by applying the bronze more freely to some parts of the work than to others. If some internal parts of the figures require to be more distinct than others, they may be wrought by their peculiar patterns, or may be edged with dark coloured paint. In some work it may be well to extend the varnish no farther than the intended figures, in which case, any projecting or branching parts of the figures, may be drawn with a camel-hair pencil, and the patterns may in some measure be dispensed with. In either case, the work must afterwards have one or more coats of copal or shellac varnish.
4. TO ENAMEL PICTURE GLASSES WITH GOLD.--The glass must first be washed perfectly clean and dried; then damp it by breathing on it, or wet it with the tongue, and immediately lay on a leaf of gold, and brush it down smooth. When this is dry, draw any letters or flowers on the gold with Brunswick blacking, (see 51) and when dry, the superfluous gold may be brushed off with cotton, leaving the figures entire. Afterward the whole may be covered with blacking, or painted in any colour, while the gold figures will appear to advantage on the opposite side of the glass. This work may be elegantly shaded by scratching through the gold with a small steel instrument, (in the end of which many sharp points are formed,) previous to laying on the blacking. Oil paints of any kind may be substituted in the place of the blacking, but will not dry so quick.
5. TO WASH IRON OR STEEL WITH GOLD.--Mix together in a phial, one part of nitric acid, with two parts of muriatic acid, and add as much fine gold as the acid will dissolve. For this purpose gold leaf is the most convenient, as it will be the most readily dissolved. (This solution is called the nitro-muriate of gold.) Pour over this solution, cautiously, about half as much sulphuric ether;--shake the mixture, and then allow it to settle. The ether will take the gold from the acid, and will separate itself from it also, and form an upper stratum in the phial. Carefully pour off this auriferous ether into another phial, and cork it close. Wash any piece of steel or iron with this ether, and immediately plunge it in cold water, and it will have acquired a coat of pure gold. With this also, any flowers or letters may be drawn or written, even with a pen, and will appear perfectly gilt. The steel or iron should afterward be heated as much as it will bear without changing colour, and if the steel be previously polished, the beauty of the gilding may be much increased by burnishing with a cornelian or blood stone.
6. TO WASH BRASS OR COPPER WITH SILVER.--To half an ounce of nitric acid in a phial, add one ounce of water, and one fourth of an ounce of good silver. It will soon be dissolved, and if the acid and metal are both pure, the solution, (which is called nitrate of silver) will be transparent and colourless. Add to this a solution of nearly two drachms of muriate of soda, in any quantity of water; this will precipitate the silver in a white opaque mass. Pour off the water with the acid, and add to the silver an equal quantity of super-tartrate of potass, thus forming a soft paste;--dip a piece of soft leather in his paste, and rub it on the metal to be silvered; continue rubbing it till it is nearly dry; then wash it with water, and polish by rubbing it hard with a piece of dry leather. Another method is, to add sub-carbonate of potass to the nitrate of silver, as long as ebulition ensues; then the acid is poured off, and the precipitate, (which is white at first, but becomes green when dry,) is mixed with double its quantity of muriate of soda, and super-tartrate of potass. With this composition, being moistened, the metal is rubbed over, &c.
7. TO GIVE WOOD A GOLD, SILVER, OR COPPER LUSTRE.--Grind about two ounces of white beach sand in a gill of water, in which half an ounce of gum-arabic has been dissolved, and brush over the work with it. When this is dry, the work may be rubbed over with a piece of gold, silver or copper, and will in a measure, assume their respective colours and brilliancy. This work may be polished by a flint burnisher, but should not be varnished.
8. TO PRINT GOLD LETTERS ON MOROCCO.--First wet the morocco with the whites of eggs; when this is dry, rub the work over with a little olive oil, and lay on gold leaves. Then take some common printing types, and heat them to the temperature of boiling water, and impress the letters on the gold;--rub the whole with a piece of flannel, and the superfluous gold will come off, leaving the letters handsomely gilt. Another method is, to strew powdered rosin over the morocco previous to laying on the leaf; the heat of the types melts the rosin, which occasions the gold to adhere in the impressions, while the other may be brushed off.
9. TO DYE SILK A BRILLIANT GOLD COLOUR.--Take any quantity of nitro-muriate of gold, (see 5) and evaporate by exposing it to a gentle heat in a glass tumbler or phial; the gold will form itself in crystals on the bottom and sides of the vessel; collect these crystals and dissolve them in ten times their weight of pure water. Then put a gill of water into a common flask, and add one ounce of granulated zinc, and one-fourth of an ounce of sulphuric acid. Hydrogen gas will be evolved, and rise through the neck of the flask, which must not be stopped. Immerse a piece of white silk in the above mentioned aqueous solution of gold, and expose it, while wet, to the current of gas as it rises from the flask; the gold will soon be revived, and the silk will become beautifully and permanently gilt. Any letters or flowers may be drawn on the silk with a camel-hair pencil dipped in the solution, and on being exposed to the action of the gas, will be revived and shine with metallic brilliancy. _Note._--The silk must be kept moist with water till the gold is revived. Zinc may be prepared for the above purpose, by melting it, and stirring it continually with a stick or iron rod while it is cooling; or it may be pulverized with a hammer as soon as it becomes solid.