Part 1

THE

PROCESS OF

Gilding and Bronzing

PICTURE FRAMES.

New York: GEORGE F. NESBITT & CO., PRINTERS COR. PEARL AND PINE STREETS.

1884.

Entered according to Act of Congress in the year 1884, by ISAAC H. WALKER, In the office of the Librarian of Congress at Washington.

PRELIMINARY REMARKS

ON

Gilding and Bronzing.

The art of gilding has been practiced from the earliest dates. Mention of it is made in the Scriptures, and it was known to the Egyptians, who made an extensive use of it in the ornamentation of their burial cases. It became to be generally used amongst the Romans soon after the downfall of Carthage, and was applied very profusely to the decoration of their dwellings and temples.

During the middle ages, and when the seats of learning and civilization were located in Italy and among the Moorish Arabs in Spain, the most elaborate use of it was made in almost every branch of art. It entered largely into architectural decoration, and the cathedrals and mosques were favorite objects for its display.

Among the Chinese, the use of gold leaf as a method of decoration has been practiced for an indefinite period, and its origin with them must be very ancient. Taken altogether, gilding is an art that has been and still is in more general use than any other; and the reason is, that it is almost always appropriate wherever called into requisition.

The art of gilding and of bronzing can readily be acquired by any one who is disposed to devote care and attention to it. It is an art having few, if any, amateurs. Those who practice it are generally those who follow it as a trade, and, perhaps, for the reason that such persons have but little time to spare from their profession, there is so little written information found on the subject.

The cyclopædias are exceedingly deficient in everything like a correct or reliable description of the art. The information which they give is mostly of an elementary character, and of a kind that is somewhat impracticable and very unavailable.

It was the want of a reliable work on the subject that suggested to me the publication of such a general exposition of the whole matter as would prove useful to those who might desire to be informed on it. I do not propose to do more than give a description of the various processes, and to endeavor to make such a description as simple and lucid as possible. It is no part of a gilders business to make the frame which he has to gild. Such used to be the case, but now there are factories where the frame is turned out completely made. There are a number of such factories in New York, and the person requiring a frame has only to select the desired pattern and have it made up according to the dimensions of the picture to be framed. Neither do I think it necessary to introduce the subject of preparing those materials which are made expressly for the purpose by regular dealers, and which, of course, will then be found more reliable than when made by inexperienced hands. There are several respectable dealers in New York who keep for sale almost everything connected with the gilding and bronzing processes.

At a time when every one is more or less interested in the subject of decorative art, and when many are seeking to qualify themselves towards proficiency in some one or other branch of it, perhaps no more appropriate subject could be offered to the public than that of gilding a picture-frame in all its parts.

No fine picture should be without a fine frame, and even with a fine frame an indifferent picture is very much improved; but taste and discernment are both required in the selection of such a frame as either a fine or an indifferent picture may require; and, although the artist in general is supposed to be the best qualified to determine as to the manner in which his painting should be framed, the frame-maker is really more competent for that duty, and for the best of all reasons—that it is his specialty.

Frames gilded in different colors of gold leaf are frequently seen, and, for some subjects, such frames may do very well; but, in general, the deep-colored gold is the most appropriate, and is the better suited to remain in favor with the public. There can hardly be anything richer than a frame finished in burnished and matted gold of a deep shade of color.

Bronze frames, which have recently come so much into vogue, are destined to retain their hold upon the public esteem for a long time. They are a separate style of decoration, one that is very rich, and which admits of great variety in the preparation, and they are particularly appropriate to many subjects, such as water colors and engravings.

The art of their preparation is comparatively new to this country, although it has been practiced for a long time in Europe; where, perhaps, the best work is yet done. It has hitherto been kept a profound secret by its votaries, and it has been a very difficult proceeding for an amateur to obtain the least insight into it. It is said that some bronzers, when practicing the art, shut themselves apart, in order to prevent their operations being watched. There is really no reason for so much secrecy on the part of those who have become possessed of the information concerning this process, for the process is, in fact, a very simple one. It does not require anything like the manipulation which gilding requires. It is rather more laborious, however, as the amount of burnishing of which it is susceptible is almost unlimited. This, however, is not labor lost, as it serves to enhance the attractiveness of the frame when finished.

It is the practice to use different colored bronze powders in combination, and these combinations are very rich in their effect. The silver, copper and verde-antique make rich contrasts. There is a great field for the exercise of taste in the bronzing process, and those who are adepts in it can command high prices for their work. The only drawback, and it is equally a drawback to many other excellent processes, is, that its popularity has been the means of causing a vast deal of cheap and inferior work to be brought before the public; but work that is really fine will continue to be regarded with favor wherever it may be found.

THE GILDING PROCESS.

I.

I will now proceed to give a list and description of the various implements and materials which are required in the process of gilding picture frames.

1.—A GILDING CUSHION, on which to lay the leaves of gold preparatory to cutting them into the sizes required for laying. This may be procured already made. It is made of a board one-half inch thick and nine and one-half inches long by five and one-half inches wide, covered with buckskin and padded with several thicknesses of Canton flannel. It usually has a shield of parchment, about four inches high, on one end, to protect the leaves from currents of air. Underneath, is a loop for the thumb, which is to be inserted in it when the cushion is to be held in the hand. There is also another loop to hold the gilding knife when not in use.

2.—A GILDING KNIFE, for cutting the gold leaf. It should be double-edged and have a tolerably keen edge; not so much so as to cut the cushion, but sufficiently so to divide the leaf without tearing it. When it becomes dull it may be readily sharpened by rubbing the edges with a piece of very fine sand paper.

3.—BRUSHES, both bristle and camel’s hair. Numbers 4 and 5, of the bristle brushes, flat, are the sizes mostly required, either for applying the white coat or the oil-size. For the camel’s hair brushes, numbers 4, 5 and 6 are very useful, as well as a number 6 or 8 lettering pencil (brush); also several fitch blenders, numbers 9 and 10 are good sizes; procure one of each.

4.—BURNISHERS. These must be of several shapes and sizes. Every gilder will become accustomed to some particular shape and size, and practice only will determine the most desirable one; but for ordinary use, the following _shapes_ and _sizes_ will be found sufficient for almost any work:

The burnishers should be made of flint, though agate is frequently used, particularly for burnishing silver leaf. They should be securely fastened in wooden handles by means of brass ferrules. These handles, as well as the stones, frequently become loosened from continual use and require refastening. This is done by renewing the filling with gum shellac or powdered rosin, and applying sufficient heat to set the stones. On cooling, they will be found to be again firm in their sockets. The same method may be pursued with regard to the handle. A little brick-dust mixed with the rosin gives a more secure hold.

Burnishers, contrary to the general opinion of those who manufacture and sell them, should not be too highly polished, but the surface should be rather dull, as in this condition they take a better hold on the gold. If they have too much polish, they glide over the leaf without burnishing it. The polish may be subdued or removed by rubbing the burnishers with crocus martis and oil spread upon a chamois-skin. Care must, of course, be exercised in the operation, or too much of the polish will be removed and the burnisher will require to be repolished. It is, perhaps, needless to say that the burnishers should be kept scrupulously clean and free from everything like moisture and grease.

5.—TIPS. These are made of both camel’s hair and badger hair. They are used to lift the gold leaf from the cushion, after it has been suitably cut, and to apply it to the surface prepared to receive it. When they do not freely take up the leaf, it is customary to pass them across the hair of the head, when they receive sufficient electricity from it to attach the gold at once to them. This attraction has been attributed to the moisture which the tips receive from the hair, but I think the notion is a mistaken one. The tips evidently become electrified, for they will, in that condition, attract the gold at some distance off. Moisture would not produce this effect. The camel’s hair tips are the best to use. Several of them will be required. It is a good plan to cut an old one down to within an inch and a half of the paste-board handle, and so use it, when very narrow slips of the leaf are being used; they can be lifted better and more safely with such a contrivance. In all cases, the tip should not be applied to more of the gold to be raised by it than is actually necessary for the purpose.

6.—SOME GLUE, of the best white quality. Many gilders use gelatine instead of glue. For mixing with the burnish-size, the gelatine is undoubtedly the more desirable. The glue should be naturally white, not artificially so-colored; and it should be free from all grit and sediment. Cooper’s make, of both glue and gelatine, is undoubtedly the best, for all purposes of gilding. It acts more uniformly and is altogether the most reliable.

7.—PIPE CLAY, for coating the composition parts of the frame. It usually comes in lumps and must be allowed to soak before mixing. The pipe clay has superseded the use of whiting for the two primary white coats to a frame. It is free from all grit, whilst whiting is not, and it gives a soft, smooth surface for the layer of gold leaf.

8.—PARIS WHITE, or whiting. This is used for stopping up holes and other imperfections in the frame. It has more body than the pipe clay, and for that reason is used instead of it. Paris white is simply whiting precipitated in powder, and it is consequently freer from grit and other impurities.

9.—OIL-SIZE. This is used for giving the adhesive coat to which the gold is applied when laid in oil.

10.—BURNISH-SIZE. Used for giving the coat to which the gold is applied when a burnished surface is required.

11.—COTTON BATTING, of a good quality. This is used for pressing down the gold leaf when it is being laid in oil.

12.—GOLD LEAF, of the best quality of deep-colored gold. The leaf comes done up in books of twenty-five leaves each, and made into packs of twenty books each.

13.—AN OX-GALL, strained into a bottle, with about two teaspoonfuls of carbolic acid to preserve it from decomposition. This, mixed with the white coat and the clear size, will prevent pin-holes and frothing. Some gilders use alcohol and even spirits of turpentine for this purpose; vinegar has also been recommended, but, after a thorough trial of all of them, I feel confident that the best results will be had with the ox-gall.

14.—CARBOLIC ACID. The crystallized form is the best to use. It comes in bottles of a pound weight. It must be melted by placing the bottle in hot water; and, when the fluid condition takes place, add some water, when the whole mass will remain fluid. This is a perfect antiseptic and very useful to mix with the glue and gelatine, which are thereby preserved from decomposition.

15.—SAND PAPER; numbers 0, ½ and 1.

16.—ALCOHOL, of the highest proof. This is used in laying the gold leaf which is to be burnished.

17.—JAPAN gold size.

18.—SHELLAC VARNISH, both the brown and the white.

19.—BURNISH-SIZE STRAINER.

20.—SEVERAL CUPS, for mixing the different preparations. It is well to have covers for them, as all the preparations should be effectually protected from dust.

21.—A GRADUATED GLASS MEASURE; one of four ounces capacity is the most useful.

22.—SPOONS, for mixing with. The tea size is the best for general use.

II.

The burnish-size should be always kept in a china or earthenware jar. If kept in a tin vessel, its moisture causes the tin to rust, and the deposit caused by the rust is highly injurious to the size. The oil-size may be kept in a tin vessel provided with a cover. When this size is required for use, it should be thoroughly stirred up, as the coloring matter of which it is in part composed, being the heaviest, has a tendency to settle and to leave the pure oil on the surface. Take out only a sufficient quantity for immediate use, as it sets quite rapidly, particularly in warm weather; and do not return any that may be left, back to the original vessel containing the size. Pay no attention to the skin which from time to time forms on the surface, when not in use.

III.

We will now proceed in earnest to the serious work of gilding a picture frame.

1.—Commence by weighing out one ounce and a half of glue or gelatine. Put this into a cup and pour over it eight ounces of water by measurement. This of course you will do with the aid of your graduated glass measure. Let the glue soak for several hours, and then set the cup in a pan of water and expose it to heat until the glue becomes perfectly fluid and completely melted. A teaspoonful of carbolic acid must now be stirred into it and thoroughly incorporated with it. The acid will preserve it, as already stated, from decomposition, and most effectually so and for any length of time. This glue should be strained before being used. Whenever a portion of it will be required for the preparations herein described, it is well to take out as much only as may be wanted for use, leaving the balance untouched; as by so doing its purity can be relied upon, and besides, the oftener glue is melted the weaker it becomes.

2.—Lay down the frame which is to be gilded, back up, and, with a pencil, mark a line across the sections, if there be any, so as to be enabled to return them to their correct positions when ready to do so. Next, draw out the nails which fasten the sections together, and then take them apart. Now turn the sections face up and proceed to fill up any nail-holes about the corners, where the sides have been joined together, as well as all imperfections which may be found to exist. There are often fractures and indentations to be found, and these must be carefully repaired and the frame, or its several parts, made as perfect as can be. The joining at the corner must be filled up and made to appear solid.

3.—The preparation with which all this is to be done is made as follows:

Mix some of the Paris white with just sufficient water to moisten it thoroughly, and then add enough of the glue which has been described, and which has been melted for the purpose, to make the mixture into a thick paste. The Paris white might be mixed at once with the glue, but it does not seem to combine so well as when it has been previously moistened with water. It will be too lumpy and full of undissolved particles, unless mixed with the fingers; which operation would be generally objectionable. The paste should be just thick enough not to run.

4.—Now proceed to fill up the nail-holes, corner joints and all other visible imperfections with this mixture; either by applying it with a small bristle brush and laying on a sufficient quantity, until the required places are fully stopped up, and, when perfectly dry, sand-papering them down smooth and uniform, or by applying it like putty, with the fingers. The latter method is not recommended, as it requires a peculiar facility in the management, which can only be acquired by considerable practice, and besides, it does not give as good results.

5.—After smoothing down the fillings-up, the flats and hollows of the frame should be gone over first with number 0 sand-paper, and afterwards with a moistened rag, and be rubbed perfectly smooth and even and until the surface appears polished.

6.—The frame will now be ready for the white coat, which must be prepared in the following manner and then applied to the composition parts only:

Soak some of the pipe clay in water, barely enough of the latter to moisten the clay thoroughly, and then add enough of the glue, already prepared and in so hot a state as to render it of the consistency of thin cream; and add also a teaspoonful of the ox-gall, to prevent pin-holes forming and to keep it from frothing. A little practice will be required to determine invariably the requisite consistency, but the above directions will give a satisfactory result. The object of these two preliminary white coats is to kill any grease which may still adhere to the moulding, and which would otherwise prevent the proper drying of the oil-size. They also serve to give a soft and smooth appearance to these parts. The mixture as described must be applied warm, with a bristle brush (number 4 will do for the purpose), to all the composition parts of the frame. Apply this mixture sparingly, but sufficiently to cover the parts completely, and be careful to avoid bubbles while applying it. When the first coat is perfectly dry, apply the second.

7.—When the last white coat is perfectly dry, two coats of clear size should be applied all over these portions which are to receive a coat of oil-size. Even where a portion of the composition is to be burnished, (which process is done in water,) it is better to go all over these parts with the clear size; but the hollows and flats which should be burnished must not be touched, if it be possible to avoid doing so.

8.—The clear size is prepared as follows: Take one part of the melted glue, as already prepared, and mix it with two parts of water, adding a little of the ox-gall for the purpose already mentioned, and apply this mixture hot, when required, using a bristle brush for the purpose.

9.—The next step will be to prepare, for the purpose, those portions of the frame which require to be burnished. They must be coated with from three to four coats of burnish-size. Those portions of the composition work which are to be burnished should have one or two preliminary coats of Paris white, applied rather thicker than the white coats of pipe clay; and these coats of Paris white are prepared in the same manner as are those of pipe clay. These coats, of course, must only be applied after the portions of the moulding which are to be burnished have been filled up and smoothed down. The filling up is done with thick whiting, and the smoothing down is to be done with a wet rag.

10.—Many gilders use, as a primary coating for the burnish-size, a preparation which is called _yellow clay_. This yellow clay is supplied by dealers, and is to be mixed in just the same way that the burnish-size is. It gives a more elastic bed for the burnishing process; but the same result may be had by giving an extra coat or two of the burnish-size. I do not recommend its use, particularly for beginners. It only serves to complicate a process that is already complicated enough.

11.—The burnish-size, as it is supplied by the dealers, is not in a condition to be at once used, but must be prepared for that purpose in the following manner:

Take some of the crude burnish-size and mix it in a cup with water, add but little water at a time, and mix thoroughly, until the mixture barely drips from the spoon with which it is being mixed. Now add a teaspoonful or two of the hot glue already prepared. On stirring this up, the mass becomes very thick. Continue to add cautiously more glue until the whole begins to thin down, which it will do almost immediately. Perfect success in the burnish work depends almost entirely upon the proper mixing of the burnish-size. The various stages of the process must be invariably observed, just as they have been here described. If the operator exercises ordinary care only, he will rarely make a failure; though sometimes failure will occur, in spite of all precaution.

This lot of burnish-size may be treated also as a stock to be used from as required. Owing to the carbolic acid which has been mixed with the glue, it will keep from decomposition an indefinite length of time. Without that antiseptic quality imparted to it, it would spoil in a few days.

As now mixed, it will be found rather hard for the final coat or two, and it must be thinned down with thinner glue, or simply with water, for these coats; but for the first two coats it will be about right, and it must be made thin enough to lay smoothly and evenly on the flats and hollows without clogging the brush. When applied to the ornamental parts, it may be applied thicker. This burnish-size must be strained through the strainer. These strainers are procured from the dealers in gilding materials. Of course, the size will not run through the strainer, but it must be worked through by means of a bristle brush. It may as well be said here that all preparations should be strained, so as to avoid any particles of sediment which may be in the materials.

12.—Two or three coats of this prepared burnish-size must now be applied to those parts which are to be burnished, using a round camel’s hair brush for the purpose. These coats must be laid on very smoothly and uniformly. The first coat will go on rather crudely, owing to the absorption of the size by the under surface; but the succeeding coats go on more freely. The size should be applied warm, not hot, and the brush used for the purpose should be stirred up frequently, so as to separate the hairs and allow it to work freely. The surplus quantity must be removed from the brush by drawing it across the sides of the cup. The two final coats should be applied in the same manner, but the size used must not be so strong with glue.

When the final coat is dry, it will then be ready for the application of the gold leaf.

13.—The burnishing of a frame is generally done before the oil gilding. The application of the gold leaf is made in the following manner: