Chapter XL: Of Ink (1)

To make ink, cut for yourself wood of the thorn-trees in April or May,
before they produce flowers or leaves, and collecting them in small
bundles, allow them to lie in the shade for two, three, or four weeks,
until they are somewhat dry. Then have wooden mallets, with which you
beat these thorns upon another piece of hardwood, until you peel off the
bark everywhere, put which immediately into a barrelful of water. When
you have filled two, or three, or four, or five barrels with bark and
water, allow them so to stand for eight days, until the waters imbibe all
the sap of the bark. Afterwards put this water into a very clean pan, or
into a cauldron, and fire being placed under it, boil it; from time to
time, also, throw into the pan some of this bark, so that whatever sap
may remain in it may be boiled out. When you have cooked it a little,
throw it out, and again put in more; which done, boil down the remaining
water unto a third part, and then pouring it out of this pan, put it into
one smaller, and cook it until it grows black and begins to thicken, add
one third part of pure wine, and putting it into two or three new pots,
cook it until you see a sort of skin show itself on the surface; then
taking these pots from the fire, place them in the sun until the black
ink purifies itself from the red dregs. Afterwards take small bags of
parchment carefully sewn, and bladders, and pouring in the pure ink,
suspend them in the sun until all is quite dry; and when dry, take from
it as much as you wish, and temper it with wine over the fire, and,
adding a little vitriol, write. But, if it should happen through
negligence that your ink be not black enough, take a fragment of the
thickness of a finger, and putting it into the fire, allow it to glow,
and throw it directly into the ink.

The next collection of "Secreta," in point of importance and probably antiquity, is the "Mappæ Clavicula," or "little key to drawing," a manuscript treatise on the preparation of pigments, and on various processes of the decorative arts practised during the Middle Ages, in the possession of Sir Thomas Phillipps, of Middle Hill.[109] The proprietor of the volume, Mr. Hendrie, Sir Charles Eastlake, and (last, not least) Mr. Albert Way, agree in considering it highly probable that it may be an English collection, probably of about the reign of Henry II. Like the "Schedula" of Theophilus, it presents a very miscellaneous series of recipes, and tends to prove, what is very generally believed by the learned, that the "Masters of Arts" of old were frequently skilled, not in special departments of production, such as the modern division-of-labour system has created, but in multifarious avocations, such as we should not now readily recognize as likely to be practised by any single individual.

These collections remarkably illustrate the class of knowledge likely to have been possessed by such apparently versatile geniuses as St. Dunstan, St. Eloi, Bernward of Hildesheim, Tutilo the monk of St. Gall, and many others. The author of the "Mappæ Clavicula," in a few lines of poetical introduction to his teachings, defines the first necessity for painters to be, a knowledge of the manufacture of colours, then a command over the various modes of mixing them, then dexterity in using and heightening them in different kinds of work; and, ultimately, he commends to their attention a variety of information for the advancement of art generally, derived from the writings of many learned men.--"Sicut liber iste docebit." Thus under two hundred and nine heads, but with some tautology, he proceeds to treat, as Sir Thomas Phillipps observes, not only of the composition of colours, but "of a variety of other subjects, in a concise and simple manner, and generally very intelligibly; as for instance, architecture, mensuration of altitudes, the art of war, &c." Among the recipes, in addition to those referring to pigments, are many relating to illuminating. The following, for instance, is curious as defining clearly what were the best and most important tints for illumination:--

_Of different Colours._

"These colours are clear and full-bodied for vellum:--Azorium (azure),
Vermiculum (vermilion), Sanguis Draconis (dragon's blood), Carum (yellow
ochre), Minium (red lead), Folium (madder purple), Auripigmentum
(orpiment), Viride Græcum (acetate of copper), Gravetum Indicum (indigo),
Brunum (brown), Crocus (yellow), Minium Rubeum vel Album (red or white
lead), Nigrum Optimum ex carbone vitis (the best black made from
carbonized vine twigs); all these colours are mixed with white of egg."

The mixture of colours appears to have been reduced to a perfect system, each hue having others specially adapted and used, for heightening and lowering the pure tint; thus the author gives directions which are likely to be scarcely less useful to the illuminator of the present day than they were to those of old.

_Of Mixtures._

"If, therefore, you should desire to know the natures and mixtures of
these [the above given] colours, and which are antagonistic to each
other, lend your ear diligently.

"Mix azure with white lead, lower with indigo, heighten with white lead.
Pure vermilion you may lower with brown or with dragon's blood, and
heighten with orpiment. Mix vermilion with white lead, and make the
colour which is called _Rosa_, lower it with vermilion, heighten it with
white lead. Item, you may make a colour with dragon's blood and orpiment,
which you may lower with brown, and heighten with orpiment. Yellow ochre
you may lower with brown, and heighten with red lead (query, with white).
Item, you may make Rosam[110] of yellow ochre and white lead, deepen with
yellow ochre, heighten with white lead. Reddish purple (folium) may be
lowered with brown, and heightened with white lead. Item, mix folium with
white lead, lower with folium, and heighten with white lead. Orpiment may
be lowered with vermilion, but cannot be heightened, because it stains
all other colours."

_Of Tempering._

"Greek green you will temper with acid, deepen with black, and heighten
with white, made from stag's horn (ivory black). Mix green with white
lead, deepen with pure green, and heighten with white lead. Greenish
blue, deepen with green, heighten with white lead. Yellow, deepen with
vermilion, heighten with white lead. Indigo, deepen with black, heighten
with azure. Item, mix indigo with white, deepen with azure, heighten with
white lead. Brown, deepen with black, heighten with red lead. Item, make
of brown and white lead a drab (Rosam), lower with brown, heighten with
white lead. Item, mix yellow with white lead, lower with yellow, heighten
with white lead. Lower red lead with brown, heighten with white lead.
Item, red lead with brown, deepen with black, heighten with red lead.
Item, you may make flesh-colour of red lead and white, lower with
vermilion, heighten with white lead."

_Which Colours are Antagonistic._

"If you wish to know in what manner colours are antagonistic, this is it.
Orpiment (sulphuret of arsenic) does not agree with purple (folio), nor
with green (acetate of copper), nor with red lead, nor white lead. Green
does not agree with purple.[111]

"If you wish to make grounds, make a fine rose-colour of vermilion and
white. Item, make a ground of purple mixed with chalk. Item, make a
ground of green mixed with vinegar. Item, make a ground of the same
green, and when it shall have become dry, cover it with size ('caule').

"If you wish to write in gold, take powder of gold and moisten it with
size, made from the very same parchment on which you have to write; and
with the gold and size near to the fire; and, when the writing shall be
dry, burnish with a very smooth stone, or with the tooth of a wild boar.
Item, if then you should wish to make a robe or a picture, you may apply
gold to the parchment, as I have above directed, and shade with ink or
with indigo, and heighten with orpiment."

The above are the principal passages in the "Mappæ Clavicula," which supply deficiencies in most other books of Secreta; and I have translated them at length, both on account of the accuracy with which I have found the directions followed in ancient illuminated manuscripts, and because I believed that a knowledge of this ancient scale of colours might greatly facilitate accurate copying from old examples. I need scarcely say, that as the art of painting improved in Italy and the Netherlands, the illuminator's palette became enriched with several new and very brilliant colours;--such as the ultramarines and carmines (exceedingly scarce in early manuscripts) which make the books produced at Rome and in Northern Italy, during the 16th and 17th centuries, glow with a vivacity never previously attained. Every improvement made in one country was, however, speedily, communicated through these very art-treatises to other countries, and thus we find lakes and carmines freely used in England during the 15th century.[112] Ultramarine, indeed, forms the special subject of an essay by a Norman, comprised among the Le Bègue MSS. (already referred to), under the following title, which proves its novelty in Western Europe, at the beginning of the 15th century:--

"Anno 1411, Johannes de ... [illegible] Normannus de _Azurro novo_, lapidis lazulli ultramarini."

The next collection of Secreta in importance, and probably in date to the "Mappæ Clavicula," is that of a Frenchman, Peter de St. Audemar. "With this treatise," observes Sir Charles Eastlake, "may be classed a similar one in the British Museum, written in the 14th century," but treating of a somewhat earlier practice in art. The identity of the colours for, and practice of, painters on wall and panel, and illuminators on vellum, is proved by the instructions to both being almost invariably given in the same books. Thus, the volume last mentioned commences--"Incipit tractatus de coloribus Illuminatorum _seu_ Pictorum"--as though there existed no practical distinction between the two. Another manuscript, of later date, also in the Le Bègue collection, exhibits, in its title even, a curious picture of the industry with which the Art of Illumination was studied in the principal countries of Europe,--introducing the student to a scribe, actually keeping a school at Milan. Thus, "Liber Johannis Acherius, A.D. 1398. Ut accessit a Jacobo Cona, Flamingo pictore:--Capitula de coloribus ad illuminandum libros ab eodem Archerio sive Alcherio, ut accessit ab Antonio de compendio illuminatore librorum in Parisiis et a Magistro Alberto Pozotto perfectissimo in omnibus modis scribendi, Mediolani scholas tenente."

Here we have, in a few lines, evidence of the concurrence of no less, probably, than four distinct nationalities to make up one set of instructions. However illuminated manuscripts may differ in style from each other, according to the countries in which they may have been produced, the technical processes, from the commencement of the 15th century, scarcely differed at all, probably through the general spread of these "handbooks of the Middle Ages."

From the 14th century onwards, the treatises, or rather probably composite transcripts from earlier treatises, multiply greatly; so far, however, as I have been able to make out from the able analysis made by Sir C. Eastlake, Mr. Hendrie, and Mrs. Merrifield, of many, they contain little more information than is conveyed in the extracts already given. Some curious details, however, may be gathered as to the London practice in the 15th century, which may interest the reader. A manuscript, written in German, as is believed at that date, is preserved in the public library at Strasburg, which distinctly proves that the colours for illuminating were commonly preserved by steeping small pieces of linen in the tinted extracts, sometimes mixed with alkaline solutions. The process is minutely described in this MS.; the dyes so prepared are there called "tüchlein varwen," literally "clothlet colours." The following passage from another compendium, a Venetian MS., gives the result in few words:--"When the aforesaid pieces of cloth are dry, put them in a book of cotton paper, and keep the book under your pillow, that it may take no damp; and when you wish to use the colours, cut off a small portion [of the cloth], and place it in a shell with a little water, the evening before. In the morning the tint will be ready, the colour being extracted from the linen." This practice is alluded to by Cennini, when he says:--"You can shade with colours, and by means of small pieces of cloth, according to the process of the illuminators."

The German compiler, speaking of the preparation of a blue colour in this mode, says, "If you wish to make a beautiful clothlet blue colour according to the London practice," &c. After describing the method of preparing it, he adds:--"These [pieces of cloth] may be preserved fresh and brilliant, without any change in their tints, for twenty years; and this colour, in Paris and in London, is called [blue] for missals, and here in this country clothlet blue; it is a beautiful and valuable colour."

"The place denominated _Lampten_, mentioned together with _Paris_, can be no other than London."[113]

As pursuing the subject of ancient processes further than I have now done, would scarcely he profitable to the student, I proceed to the second division of this part of my subject, and accordingly take up _the modern processes_. In offering the following details on this subject, however, to the amateur's attention, I would not for one moment let it be supposed that a knowledge of them alone will be sufficient to make him an efficient illuminator. Fortunately many very excellent artists have of late devoted themselves to giving instruction in the practical manipulation of the art, and amateurs cannot do better than place themselves at once in communication with masters, whose addresses may be obtained at the shops of the principal artists' colourmen. There will still be, no doubt, in different parts of the country, many desirous of illuminating, and yet unable to obtain the benefit of seeing a practised hand work before them, or even to pick up information as to the _modus operandi_. To such, at least, the following observations may prove useful.[114]

The two great sections into which all the processes by which illumination of any kind may be executed, divide themselves, are--1st, those in which water and glutinous substances soluble in water form the vehicles for applying the pigments, and causing them to adhere to the surfaces on which they may be applied; and 2ndly, those in which oil or spirit, and resins, or other substances which combine readily with such fluids, are made to perform corresponding functions. The pigments, reduced to an impalpable powder, are the same in both classes of processes, which are commonly known as watercolour-painting and oil-painting. That which was of old the artist's greatest stumbling-block--the manufacture and preparation of his pigments--need now no longer occasion him the slightest embarrassment; for every colour with which his palette could be enriched is to be bought, ready prepared, of the principal artists' colourmen. In like manner every other essential for his use is now freely at his command; and all that is required on his part is knowledge how to employ the materials which others most dexterously and carefully place at his disposal.

In commencing the collection of that information which I am now endeavouring to communicate, I felt it my duty to enter into correspondence with all those manufacturers whose products I had at different times personally tested; and I accordingly addressed myself to the following, whose materials, with insignificant exceptions, I have invariably found satisfactory, both in nature and quality.

R. ACKERMAN, 191, Regent-street, W.
L. BARBE, 60, Quadrant, Regent-street, W.
J. BARNARD, 339, Oxford-street, W.
Messrs. BRODIE & MIDDLETON, 79, Long-acre, W.C.
H. MILLER, 56, Long-acre, W.C.
J. NEWMAN, 24, Soho-square, W.
Messrs. REEVES & SONS, 113, Cheapside, E.C.
Messrs. ROBERSON, 99, Long-acre, W.C.
Messrs. ROWNEY & CO., 51, Rathbone-place, W.
Messrs. SHERBORNE & TILLYER, 321, Oxford-street, W.
Messrs. WINSOR & NEWTON, 38, Rathbone-place, W.

From each of the above-mentioned firms I have obtained valuable information, and from several, excellent samples of their products. I am glad, therefore, to take the present opportunity of expressing my obligations to them. From Messrs. Winsor & Newton, especially, I have received the kindest and most intelligent co-operation; and I am happy to be the channel of making public the results of a series of experiments, on the combinations of colours and the use of various materials for illuminating purposes, suggested by me, and made with great tact and judgment by Mr. W. H. Winsor. Messrs. Winsor & Newton and Mr. Barnard have, up to the present time, done most to smooth away the difficulties which beset the illuminator. Messrs. Newman, Messrs. Rowney & Co., Messrs. Reeves & Sons, and Mr. Barbe, have also recently contributed valuable improvements or special adaptations.[115]

The colours best suited for illuminating I believe to be as follows:--

B Lemon Yellow }
A Gamboge } Yellow.
A Cadmium Yellow }
D Mars Yellow }

B Rose Madder }
A Crimson Lake }
C Carmine } Red.
C Orange Vermilion }
A Vermilion }

A Cobalt }
A French Blue } Blue.
D Smalt }

D Mars Orange } Orange.
B Burnt Sienna }

C Burnt Carmine } Purple.
D Indian Purple }

A Emerald Green } Green.
C Green Oxide of Chromium }

B Vandyke Brown Brown.

A Lampblack Black.

A Chinese White White.

These colours are selected from the list of water-colours made at the present day (upwards of eighty), and will, I think, be found to be all that can well be required for illuminating. The whole number is by no means indispensable, and I have therefore marked by different letters of the alphabet,--1st, A, those without which it would be useless to commence work; 2ndly, B, those which should first be added; 3rdly, C, those which are required for very great brilliancy in certain effects; and, 4thly, D, those which may be regarded as luxuries in the art. The C are really important; the D are much less so. Messrs. Winsor & Newton have arranged them into four different lists, which are placed in boxes (complete with colours and materials for working in water-colours), of the respective retail values of £1. 1_s._, £1. 11_s._ 6_d._, £2. 2_s._, and £3. 3_s._ Boxes corresponding with, or slightly varying from these, in selection of colours and materials, may be obtained from other artists' colourmen.

I now proceed to notice these colours _seriatim_, in reference to their tints, both when used alone and when mixed with other colours.

YELLOWS.

_Lemon Yellow._--A vivid high-toned yellow, semi-opaque, is extremely
telling upon gold. Mixed with cadmium yellow it furnishes a range of
brilliant warm yellows. It mixes well with gamboge, orange vermilion,
cobalt, emerald green, and oxide of chromium, and with any of these
produces clean and useful tints.

_Gamboge._--A bright transparent yellow of light tone; works freely, and
is very useful for glazing purposes. In combination with lemon yellow it
affords a range of clean tints. When mixed with a little Mars yellow it
produces a clear, warm, transparent tone of colour.

_Cadmium Yellow._--A rich glowing yellow, powerful in tint, and
semi-transparent. This is a most effective colour for illuminating. When
judiciously toned with white, it furnishes a series of useful shades.
Mixed with lemon yellow it produces a range of clean vivid tints. It does
not, however, make good greens--they are dingy. Mixed with carmine, or
glazed with it, it gives a series of strong luminous shades.

_Mars Yellow._--A semi-transparent warm yellow, of slightly russet tone,
but clean and bright in tint. Useful where a quiet yellow is required;
mixes well with gamboge; does not make good greens.

REDS.

_Rose Madder._--A light transparent pink colour of extremely pure tone.
It is delicate in tint, but very effective, on account of its purity.
Mixed with cobalt, it affords clean, warm, and cold purples. The addition
of a little carmine materially heightens the tone of this colour, though
at the same time it somewhat impairs its purity.

_Crimson Lake._--A rich crimson colour, clean and transparent; washes and
mixes well. More generally useful than carmine, though wanting the
intense depth and brilliancy of the latter colour.

_Carmine._--A deep-toned luminous crimson, much stronger than crimson
lake; is clean and transparent. The brilliancy of this powerful colour
can be increased, by using it over a ground of gamboge.

_Orange Vermilion._--A high-toned opaque red, of pure and brilliant hue,
standing in relation to ordinary vermilion as carmine to crimson lake. It
is extremely effective, and answers admirably where vivid opaque red is
required; it works, washes, and mixes well. Its admixture with cadmium
results in a fine range of warm luminous tints. When mixed with lemon
yellow, it furnishes a series of extremely clean and pure tints; when
toned with white, the shades are clear and effective. This is a most
useful colour.

_Vermilion._--A dense, deep-toned red, powerful in colour, and opaque. It
is not so pure in tone as orange vermilion, and is of most service when
used alone; it can, however, be thinned with white and with yellows.

BLUES.

_Cobalt Blue._--A light-toned blue, clean and pure in tint, and
semi-transparent. This is the lightest blue used in illuminating, and by
the addition of white can he "paled" to any extent, the tints keeping
clear and good. Mixed with lemon yellow, it makes a clean useful green.
Its admixture with gamboge is not so satisfactory, and the green produced
by its combination with Mars yellow is dirty and useless. With rose
madder it produces middling, warm and cold purples (_i.e._, marones, and
lilacs or violets); with crimson lake, strong and effective ones; with
carmine, ditto. A series of quiet neutral tints can be produced by its
admixture with orange vermilion. The tints in question are clean and
good, and might occasionally be useful.

_French Blue._--A deep rich blue, nearly transparent; is the best
substitute for genuine ultramarine. The greens it makes with lemon
yellow, gamboge, cadmium, and Mars yellow, are not very effective or
useful. The violets and marones it forms with rose madder are granulous
and unsatisfactory; with carmine they are somewhat better; but those
formed with crimson lake are very good.

_Smalt._--A brilliant, full-toned blue; deep in tone, and nearly
transparent; luminous and very effective when used alone. It is
granulous, and does not wash or mix well. The greens it makes are not
particularly useful.

ORANGES.

_Mars Orange._--A brilliant orange of very pure tone, transparent and
lighter in colour than burnt sienna; and is not so coarse or staring. An
effective and useful colour.

_Burnt Sienna._--A deep rich orange, transparent and effective; works
well and mixes freely.

PURPLES.

_Indian Purple._--A rich deep-toned violet, or cold purple colour; most
effective when used alone. Can be lighted with French blue or cobalt, and
the tints will be found useful.

_Burnt Carmine._--A rich deep-toned marone or warm purple colour;
transparent and brilliant; luminous and effective when used alone; mixed
with orange vermilion, it produces a strong rich colour, and a quiet
fleshy one when mixed with cadmium yellow.

GREENS.

_Emerald Green._--An extremely vivid and high-toned green, opaque. No
combination of blue and yellow will match this colour, which is
indispensable in illuminating. It can be "paled" with white, and the
tints thus produced are pure and clean. The tints afforded by its
admixture with lemon-yellow are also clear and effective.

_Green Oxide of Chromium._--A very rich deep green, opaque, but
effective. The tone of this green renders it extremely useful in
illuminating; mixed with emerald green, it furnishes a series of rich
semi-transparent tints. Mixed with lemon-yellow, it gives quiet, useful
shades of green; and when this combination is brightened with emerald
green, the shades are luminous and effective.

BROWN.

_Vandyke Brown._--A deep, rich, transparent, brown, luminous and clear in
tint; works, washes, and mixes well. The best of all the browns for
illuminating.

BLACK.

_Lampblack._--The most dense and deep of all the blacks, free from any
shade of brown or grey.

WHITE.

_Chinese White._--A preparation of oxide of zinc, permanent, and the
white best adapted for illuminating. It is not only useful _per se_, but
is indispensable for toning or reducing other colours.

In making the list of the colours just described, I have assumed as a _sine quâ non_ that the colours used in illuminating should be permanent. All those enumerated are so (in water-colours), with the exception of carmine and crimson lake; and these, though theoretically not permanent, are yet found in practice to be _very_ lasting, especially when not too much exposed to the light. It is a curious fact, that crimson lake, though a weaker colour than carmine, is yet more permanent, in consequence of its different base, and that it will better stand exposure to light.

I here take the opportunity of warning amateurs, allured by their evident brilliancy, against the use, in illumination, of the following five colours, viz.--pure scarlet, red lead, chrome yellow, deep chrome, and orange chrome. None of these are permanent; the first-named being fugitive, and the others in time turning black; but this is the less to be regretted, as there are permanent colours answering equally well for illumination. Of course, these are less fugitive in books, which are generally protected from the action of light and air, than they would be in pictures.

The preceding remarks on pigments apply, with no difference worth noting, to colours prepared either for oil or for water-colour; which may therefore be laid on, by varying the vehicle for their proper application, to the surfaces of any of those materials which have been specified in the Second Part of this Essay, as available for different kinds of illumination. I now proceed to notice the special processes requisite in each case, commencing with those which may be best employed for vellum. This substance consists of calf-skin, carefully cleansed and scraped, and repeatedly washed in diluted sulphuric acid. The surface is rubbed down with fine pumice-stone to a smooth face, and in that condition it is fit for working upon. It is sold, prepared for use, at all the principal shops. If it has not been previously strained, or if many tints are likely to be floated over the surface, it will be well to strain it down upon a strainer or board before attempting to draw upon it. This may be done by damping the vellum, and then either gluing or nailing its edges down. When dry, it will be found to lie perfectly flat and smooth. It may be well, then, to wash it over with a dilute preparation of ox gall, to overcome any possible greasiness, and prepare it to receive colour freely. Mr. Barnard, and, I believe, other artists' colourmen, supply vellum mounted in block-books, similar to those made up of drawing-paper for sketching on; and by providing himself with one of those, the amateur may avoid the trouble of having to mount his own vellum.

As it is by no means easy to remove pencil-marks from vellum (and indeed it is never wise to attempt it, for the black-lead unites with the animal fat, which can never be entirely got out of the material, and rubs under the action of Indian-rubber or bread into a greasy smudge), it is always well to set out the design in the first instance upon drawing-paper. The best mode for good work is to complete the outline on drawing-paper, and then to trace it carefully with a hard pencil on a piece of tracing-paper, about one inch larger each way than the entire surface of the vellum; then cut out, the exact size of the vellum, a piece of tracing or tissue paper, rubbed evenly over with powdered red chalk.[116] Lay the tracing down (pencilled side upwards) in its right place upon the vellum, and fasten down one edge with pins, gum, or mouth-glue. Then slip the transfer-paper, with the chalked side downwards, between the vellum and the tracing until it exactly covers the former--touching the back of the transfer-paper with two or three drops of gum on its margin. Then lay the tracing over, and fasten down another of its edges. The gum drops will prevent the transfer-paper slipping away from the tracing-paper, when the drawing-board or strainer is placed upon a sloping desk or easel. Taking care to keep a piece of stout card or pasteboard under the hand, go over all the lines of the tracing with a blunted etching-point, or very hard pencil cut sharp. This having been done, on removing both the tracing and the transfer-paper, it will be found that a clear red outline has been conveyed to the surface of the vellum. At this stage of the work, as nothing dirties more readily than this material, it will be well to fasten over the surface a clean sheet of paper with a flap cut in it, by raising up and folding back portions of which, the artist may get to the part of the surface upon which he may desire to work without exposing any of the rest. As the effect of the writing on the page gives as it were the key-note for the general effect of the illuminated ornaments, it will be well to complete the former before proceeding to the latter.[117]

If the lines of the writing fixed upon are fine and delicate, they will look best, and work most freely with Indian ink; but if they are bold and solid, involving some extent of black surface, they will present a better appearance if wrought in lampblack; the principal difference between the two being that Indian ink is finer, and, if good, always retains a slight gloss, while lampblack gives a fuller tint, and dries off quite mat, or with a dead surface, corresponding with that of most other body-colour tints used in illuminating. Great care must be taken to keep the writing evenly spaced, upright, and perfectly neat, as it is almost impossible to erase without spoiling the vellum, and as no beauty of ornament will redeem an untidy text. If a portion of the writing is to be in red, it should be in pure vermilion; and if in gold, it should be highly burnished, as will be hereafter directed. The writing being satisfactorily completed, the artist may proceed to lay in his ground tints, generally mixing them with more or less white to give them body and solidity. Colours prepared with water are best adapted for illumination on vellum; and those known as _moist_ colours are to be preferred for this work, as they give out a greater volume of colour, and possess more tenacity or power of adhering to the surface of the material on which they are used than the dry colours. Of moist colours there are two descriptions, viz., solid and liquid; and of these I give the preference to the former, as some colours, such as lemon yellow and smalt, will not keep well in tubes; added to which, there is waste in using them in this form where only small quantities are required, as the colour cannot be replaced in the tube when once squeezed out. The tube colours possess, however, the valuable property of being always clean when a bit of pure colour is required. The solid moist colours are apt to get dirtied in rapid working, and occasionally mislead an eye which is not quick at detecting a lowered tint. Mr. Barbe's body-colours, which are of very good quality, are prepared in powder, combined with a glutinous substance, on moistening which with water, the tints are fit for application. Messrs. Winsor & Newton's body-colours are also very excellent. Flatness of tint is best secured by using the first colour well mixed with body, and put on boldly; this forms the brightest tint; then shade with pure transparent colour, and finish off with the high lights.

Very useful models, both on a small scale for book illumination, and on an enlarged one for wall decoration, are now prepared by several of the artists' colour-men, for teaching amateurs the different modes of shading, &c. They consist of outline plates partially coloured by hand. The beginner will find it a very useful exercise to complete a few of these before trying his hand upon more original works upon vellum. The greatest care must be taken to have every implement perfectly clean. Experience alone can teach the artist the value of what are called glazing or transparent colours, such as the lakes, carmine, madders, gamboge, &c. Some tints may be used either as glazing colours, or as body-tints, according to their preparation, and according to the degree of thickness with which they are applied. As a general principle, all shades should be painted in transparent colour, all lights in opaque. Reflected lights may often be best given by scumbling thin body-colour over transparent shade. In order to prepare the tints for these operations, it may be well to use a little of Newman's or Miller's preparations with them. The less tints are retouched after the first application, the more clear and brilliant they are likely to remain. Above all things never let the paint-brush go near the mouth, and never attempt to correct or retouch a tint while it is in process of drying, as doing so will infallibly make it look streaky and muddy. In all these processes of manipulation, however, practice, good example, and good tuition, must teach what the minutest directions would fail to satisfactorily convey. The principal colours having been applied, the next difficulty will be to heighten them with gold and silver. Any large surfaces of gilding it will be well to apply previously to commencing colouring, and as much as possible intended for burnishing.

The principal metallic preparations used in illumination may be enumerated as follows:--gold leaf, gold paper, shell gold, saucer gold, gold paint, silver leaf, shell silver, and shell aluminium. Of these, the leaves, paper, and paint, are of English, and the shells and saucers of French manufacture. Occasionally gold and silver powder and German-metal leaf are employed, though too rarely to make them important enough to claim general notice.

The first-mentioned preparation of gold--gold-leaf--is the pure metal beaten into very thin leaves, generally 3-1/8 inches, 3¼ inches, or 3-3/8 inches square; but for illuminating purposes it should be still smaller--say 2½ inches square, as it is easier to handle than a larger size. For the same reason it is better to have the leaf double as thick as it is usually beaten. Gold leaf is sold in "books," each of which contains twenty-five gold "leaves," and for ordinary and general purposes, it is by far the best and most useful metallic preparation; but the difficulty of handling and laying it on deters amateurs from employing it, and it is difficult in writing to furnish a practical description of the _modus operandi_. The following is the usual mode:--

"Carefully open the book of gold, and if in so doing you disturb the leaf, gently blow it down flat again. If a whole leaf be required, take a rounded 'tip,' and quietly so place it on the leaf that the top of the tip be close to the edge of the leaf. In so doing, the sides of the tip will be brought down upon the side edges of the leaf, which then can be securely taken up and placed where required. If a small piece of gold leaf only be wanted, cautiously take up a leaf from the book by passing a 'gilder's knife' underneath, and place it on a 'gilders cushion;'[118] lay it flat with the knife, with which then cut the piece of the size required. If when you have laid gold leaf down with the tip it be wrinkly, blow it down flat."

The "gilder's tip" spoken of in the above extract is a very thin camel-hair brush, and for unskilled hands a semicircular tip is to be preferred to one of the ordinary form; as with it a leaf of gold may be firmly laid hold of, balanced, adjusted, and placed, without needing any particular knack. For long narrow pieces of gold, the ordinary gilder's tip is probably the best.

Gold paper consists of leaves of gold placed upon thin paper, a sheet of which, measuring about 19 inches by 12¾ inches, requires one book of gold. The mat or dead gold is most frequently used in illumination; but, when required, the bright or burnished gold can be procured. Gold paper is usually plain at the back, and when used, is required to be gummed on to the work; but it is far better to have it prepared on the back with a mixture of clear glue, sugar, &c., which can be laid on evenly and thickly, and yet is very strong. Paper thus prepared needs only to have a wet flat camel-hair brush passed over the back; it can then be laid down, and will adhere very firmly. In laying down gold paper, it is well to place a piece of white glazed paper on its face, then firmly to pass over it the edge of a flat rule or burnisher, in order to press down all inequalities and render the surface perfectly smooth.

Shell gold is gold powder mixed up and placed in mussel-shells for use. It is removed from the shell by the application of water, like moist colours, and is adapted for small work and fine lines, in which latter case a quill or reed pen will be found useful. When the work is dry, the gold can be brightened with a burnisher. Saucer gold only differs from shell gold in being placed in china saucers instead of shells.

Gold paint is a preparation of bronze in imitation of gold, and is usually sold in two bottles, one of powder and the other of liquid; which two ingredients, when mixed together, form the "paint," the use of which I do not recommend, as in course of time it turns black. The same objection unfortunately applies more or less, also, to the preparations of silver, which, however, are still occasionally used in illumination.

Silver leaf is made in the same manner as gold leaf, and the remarks made in reference to that are generally applicable to silver leaf.

Shell silver is not really silver, but an amalgam of tin and mercury prepared and placed in mussel-shells, and used with water in the same way as gold shells.

Shell aluminium is a preparation of aluminium placed in mussel-shells for use, and is warranted to keep its colour without tarnishing. _If_ this be the case, it will form a valuable addition to the list of materials for illumination, as it will be the only white metal known that can be depended upon for not tarnishing. The preparation is at present a comparatively new one, but bids fair to be very serviceable.

Water-mat gold size is a preparation for laying down gold leaf, _i.e._, causing it to adhere to a given surface. The mode of using it is as follows:--Take a small brush saturated with water, and thoroughly charge it with the size. With the brush so charged, trace out the required form or pattern, and upon this lay the gold leaf, pressing it lightly down with cotton-wool. When all is dry, gently rub off the superfluous gold with cotton-wool.

"Burnish gold size" is a preparation for laying down the gold leaf that is intended afterwards to be burnished (_i.e._, polished with a tooth or agate burnisher). That prepared by Messrs. Winsor & Newton may be used as follows:--Place the bottle in warm water to dissolve its contents, which, however, must not be allowed to get hot, but merely be made liquid. Stir up the preparation with a hogs-hair brush, which then thoroughly charge with the mixture; with it trace out the pattern required to be burnished, then let the work dry. When quite dry, let the surface of the pattern be wetted with clean cold water, and on it (while damp) place the gold leaf. Let all get perfectly dry, and then burnish as required. When a very bright surface is wanted, two coats of the size should be used; the second being put on after the first is dry.

The "raising preparation" made by the same firm, is adapted for raising the surface of the work, so as to obtain relief, and is particularly required for imitating rich MSS. of the 14th and 15th centuries. It is used as follows:--Place the bottle in hot water, and when its contents are dissolved, stir it well up with a small hogs-hair brush, then fully charge it, draw out the form intended to be raised, and deposit the "raising" on the surface. If the height thus attained be not sufficient, wait till the preparation is dry, and go over it again, and so on until you gain the height you require, when it must be allowed to become quite hard; then go over it with the water-mat gold-size, and while this is wet put on the gold; press gently down with cotton-wool, and when dry brush off the superfluous gold with cotton-wool; when putting on the "raising," take care to keep the surface level, unless it may be required to be hollowed or indented.

Mr. Barnard has also prepared a gold size and raising preparation, adapted for laying gold on vellum or paper, which answers well both for mat and burnish gilding. The mode of using it is as follows:--Wash a little of the gold size off with a brush dipped in water, using it thinly for the flat parts of your design, and in greater body for that portion of the drawing which you wish to appear raised; after allowing it to remain for a few minutes, till nearly dry, apply the gold, and press it down with a piece of cotton-wool. It must now remain untouched for about an hour, when the superfluous gold may be removed by means of the wool, and in case of defect, the gold size and gold must be again applied. Preparations of a somewhat similar nature are sold by Messrs. Rowney, Newman, and other artists' colourmen.[119]

Very pretty effects may be obtained by partial burnishing of the gold in patterns, and dotting it over with the point of the sharp burnisher in indentations, arranged in geometrical forms. The best manuscripts of the Edwardian period were often highly wrought after this fashion.

When finished, it is scarcely necessary to recommend that the vellum sheet should be either put carefully away until enough of others corresponding with it are done to make up a volume, or should be glazed so as to protect its surface. One dirty or greasy finger laid upon it, and the effect of much beautiful work, which may have taken weeks to elaborate, is fatally marred.

All the above instructions apply as well for working on paper or cardboard as on vellum. The amateur who has once succeeded on vellum, is not likely to take again to the humbler practice of working on the less noble materials, which, however, will always be exceedingly useful for practising and sketching upon. I have occasionally seen printed volumes gracefully illustrated by hand with borders, and with elegant inventions, in the form of head and tail pieces, insertions, &c., applicable to the subject of the volume. Many of the works of old English authors are peculiarly suited for this class of embellishment. How beautiful might not a Walton's "Angler" or a Bunyan's "Pilgrim's Progress" be made if appropriately enriched in this style.

Tracing-paper, and the facilities it offers to those little gifted with talents for drawing, I have already noticed. It remains, however, to observe, that it possesses an additional practical convenience in being ready for taking colour, either with oil, water, or varnish, as vehicles, without the previous application of any special preparation. Hence it may be fastened up when completed, either by pasting as ordinary paper, by gluing, if for attachment to wood, or by paying over the back with boiled oil and copal varnish, or with white lead ground in oil with some litharge, and then pressing down until it may be made to lie perfectly flat and adhere to any surface previously painted in oil-colour. Being very thin, its edges will scarcely show at all, even if applied to the middle of a flat panel; but, to make sure, it is always well to run a line with a full brush of thick colour, either in oil or distemper, over the edge, extending for one half of its width upon the tracing-paper, and for the other half upon the surface to which it may have been applied.

Of the remaining materials on which illumination for the decoration, not of books but of apartments, may be readily executed, canvas, stone, metal, and wood, are generally wrought upon by the ordinary processes of oil-painting; while plaster, especially in the form of ceilings, is more frequently treated by means of distemper-painting. I propose, therefore, to give, firstly, some general directions as to the setting out work, &c., applicable to both methods; secondly, a notice of the processes generally required for oil-colour illumination; thirdly, a brief description of the mode of working in distemper; and fourthly, to wind up with some instructions as to the application of varnish which may be employed to heighten and preserve illumination executed by either of the above methods.

The operation of setting out lines upon walls or other surfaces is by no means easy. It involves care and judgment, a quick eye, and a very steady hand. It is the indispensable preliminary before ornamental work or illumination can be executed, as it can alone correctly give the forms of panels, borders, &c., for which cartoons may have to be prepared. Lines may be either drawn with pencil or prepared charcoal, or chalk, or else struck by means of a chalked string. For lines which are vertical, a weight called a plumb-bob must be attached to one end of the string. The best shape for this is that of half an egg, as the flat side will then lie close to the wall. Two persons are required in setting out these lines,--one working above and the other below. The one at the top marks the points at the distance each line is required to be from others. The string being chalked either black or white,--according as the line has to show upon a light or dark ground,--he holds it to one of the points, and lets fall the weighted end, which, when quite steady, the person who is below strains tight, and raising the string between his finger and thumb in the middle, lets it fall back sharply on the wall. The result, if carefully executed, is a perfectly straight and vertical line. The horizontal lines require to be drawn with a straight-edge or ruler, and may be either set out at a true right angle to the vertical lines geometrically by the intersection of arcs of circles, or by a large square, or may be defined, irrespectively of mathematical correctness, by measuring up or down from a ceiling or floor line. The distances apart are as before measured out, but in long lines must be marked as many times as the length of the straight-edge may require. This being set at each end to the points marked, the line is drawn along it. Circles and curved lines may be struck from their proper centres with large wooden compasses, one leg carrying a pencil. Drawing lines with the brush requires great practice. A straight-edge is placed upon the chalk lines, with the edge next the line slightly raised, and the brush, well filled with colour, drawn along it, just touching the wall, the pressure being never increased, and the brush refilled whenever it is near failing; but great care must be taken that it be not too full, as in that case it will be apt to blotch the line, or drop the colour upon the lower portions of the wall. Drawing lines in colour overhead upon a ceiling is even more difficult, and is beyond the capabilities of most amateurs.

The patterns of ornament are executed either by means of stencils cut in oiled paper, according to the method which will be next described, or else by pounces, which are the full-sized drawings pricked along all the lines with a needle upon a flat cushion; powdered charcoal, tied up in a cotton bag, is then dabbed upon the paper which has been set up on the wall, or else the back is rubbed over with drawing-charcoal and brushed well with a flat brush, like a stove brush. In both cases the result is that the dust passes on to the walls through the pricked holes, and forms are thus sufficiently indicated to the painter.

Stencilling is a process by which colour is applied through interstices cut in a prepared paper, by dabbing with a brush. The design to be stencilled is drawn upon paper which has been soaked with linseed oil and well dried. The pattern is then cut out with a sharp knife upon a sheet of glass, care being taken to leave such connections as will keep the stencil together. The next tint is then to be laid on in the same manner, and so on till the darkest tint is done, each tint being allowed to dry before a second is applied.

I do not purpose dwelling in detail on the preparation, or "bringing forward," as it is called, of surfaces to receive oil-colour; since, for such mechanical work, it will be always well to employ a good house-painter. I may observe, however, that the first operation, where the surface is absorbent, is to stop the suction, either by a plentiful application of boiled oil alone, boiled oil and red lead, or size. Several successive coats of paint should then be applied, and in order to obtain smoothness, the surface of each should be well rubbed down. The last coat should be mixed with turpentine, and no oil, in order to kill the gloss, or, as it is termed, to "flat" the surface. For most decoration and illumination, the work should be brought forward in white, as, by shining partially through most of the pigments ultimately applied, it will greatly add to their brilliancy. Zinc white will stand much better than white lead. Messrs. Roberson, of Long Acre, prepare an excellent wax medium, which dries with a perfectly dead encaustic surface, and answers admirably for mural-painting of all kinds. I caused it to be employed for all the decoration executed under my direction at the Sydenham Crystal Palace. Miller's glass medium will also be found very useful to artists and amateurs. In laying on all ground tints, great care should be taken to keep them flat; and the less, as a general rule, tints are mixed, worked over and over, and messed about, the brighter they will be. The principal colours having dried, the setting out of the lettering, &c., may be proceeded with; the following directions being duly attended to.

_The Setting-out of Letters._[120]

In regard to the proportion of Roman capital letters, it may be taken as a general rule, that the whole of the letters, with the exception of S, J, I, F, M, and N, are formed in squares. The top and bottom of the letters should project the width of the thick line. The letters I and J are formed in a vertical parallelogram, half the width of the square; the letters M and N in a horizontal parallelogram, one third larger than the square. The letters A, B, E, F, H, X, and Y, are either divided, or have projections from the middle. This rule may be varied, and the division placed nearer the top than the base of the square. Capitals in the same word should have a space equal to half a square between them; at the beginning of a word, a whole square, and between the divisions of a sentence two squares should be left.

This is the general rule for the proportions of the letters; but they may be made longer or wider, as may be deemed expedient.

The small letters are half the size of the capitals; the long lines of the letters b, d, f, h, k, and l, are the same height as the capitals; the tails of j, p, q, and y, descending in like proportion. The letter s is founded on the form of two circles at a tangent to each other. These rules are applicable to sloping as well as to upright letters. In _italic_ letters it is usual to make the capitals three times the height of the smaller letters, and the long strokes of the small letters nearly equal to the capitals.

The letters having been duly set out, and painted on the walls, the amateur must next either himself encounter, or employ some experienced hand to overcome, the technical difficulties of successfully gilding those portions of his work he may desire to remain in gold. The following directions may assist him; but he is not likely to succeed until practice shall have given him considerable dexterity and confidence:--

_Gilding for Walls, &c._