The southern sentinel. (Winnfield, La.) 1883-1910, 1885-07-31
GOLD LEAF.
Combined Skill and Judgment Requisite
In Its Manufacture.

vivid dark green color; this means that
the light is transmitted through the
leaf When it is considered that this
leaf is piece Of solid metal. better
idea of the extreme tenuity of thick
ness of the Leaf can be comprehended
than by any comparison of figures;
nothing made by the hand Of man
equals it in thinness. This extreme
thinness is produced by patient ham,
mering, the hammers weighing from
seven 70 twenty pounds, the lighter
hammers being first used. When the
true method of this beating is under
stood. the wonder expressed sometimes
that gold leaf beating should not be
relegated to machinery ceases; the art
belongs to the highest department Of
human skill and Judgment. Appren-
tees have served term, and have been
compelled to abandon the business. be-
cause they never could acquire the
requisite skill and judgment combined
necessary to become successful work
men.
The only pure gold leaf is tina. used
by dentists for filling carious teeth. and
1t is called foil. 1t is left much thicker
than the gold leaf for gilding-indeed.
it could not be beaten so thin; for thin
or leaf gold an alloy Of silver and cop
per Is required to i"lpart tie requisite
tenacity. Dentists foil weighs six
grains, five, four and three grains per
sheet, or leaf. according to its thick
ness. The last operation on the leaf is
annealing. This Is done over char
coal fire. the leaf being laid s;ngiy in q
sort Of corn popper--a square recepta-
Gle with wire bottom at the end of
handle--over which is held similar
cover to prevent the flame from carry
ing the leaf away. An instant's ex-
posure to the flame induces red heat,
when the leaf j. laid ON sheet Of q
book.
The material for gold leaf and den-
lists foil is coin gold. The gold is pre-
cipitated by muriatic and nitric acids
over fire to separate the gold and sill
yer. the copper of the alloy passing cfi
in the hcat. The silver from gold coin
amounts to about seven pennyweights
to eight hundred dollars worth OF coin
the amount usually treated st time.
This reduction and separation of the
metals is the usual me.hod. aad does
not require special description.
The pure gold is thea melted in sand
cracibles with the proper proportions of
silver and copper to produce the color
Of leaf desired, very fine ornamental
effects bong produced in gliding with.
leaf of different shades. The fluid met
al is poured into iron moulds, making
bars seven inches long. one and an
eighth inches wide and one-foursh Of
al inch thick. These bars are forged,
Ike iron. between anvil and hammer,
to even the edges. and then rolled in
powerfully-gear.d rolls to . ribbon not
thicker than writiag paper and one inch
wide. OF course, in the rolling as in all
the processes. there must be occasional
annealings.
Now comes the first of-the beating
processes. These squares of gold Zone
inch sguarc) are placed in pile alter
mating with larger squares (f0ur inches
or more) of "kutch" paper, a material
made from pulp of animal membrane
-raw-hide, intestincs, etc.-and the
outside of the pile receives square Of
parchment The hammering then be-
gins with scven-pound hammer on
block of marble that rests on a
solid foundation. After ono hours
beating the pile is warmed at fire to
anneal the gold, q process re eluiring
care, SO that the kutch paper lie not
burned. Four hours Of beating sufiiccs
for this preliminary process, 18l squares
Of gold being trcstcd in one pile. The
final process requires great skill. Ths
partially beaten squares are packed q.
before, but with alternates of gold beat
er's skin, until the pile contains W.
sheets. The beating Is continued with
Increasingly heavier hammers until the
final finish with tic twcnty-pound
hammer. The gold-beater's skin comes
from England. and the best of it-andl
the most Of it's made by one family
Frederick Perkins The skin is SO
thin as to b. almost transparent, aud
yet II is double. two thickncsscs. It is
prepared from the larger intestine Of
the OK. Each sheet OF tho skin Is
rubbed ON each side, before the Pack Is
made, and whenever the pack Is rear
ranged (plac;ng the outer gold in the
center and vice versa). with powder
made from calcincd gypsum of 4 very
pure sort, imported from Germany. This
Is to prevent the gold from sticking to
the skin.
In beating. The work Of spreading the
gold is from the center Of cacA square
Of gold out toward the edges, and the
finished squares are thicker atthe edges
than in the center. A contrary spread
ing would split the edges and ruin the
squares In rcarranging the squares in
the process Of beating they arc some
times torn, but another piece laid on a.
patch. lappng over tho torn place.
VIII be truly welded In the alter keat-
ing.
The finished squares are cut to = size
Of three and thrc-eightks inches. and
packed in = "book' holding twenty
live sheets. the paper leaves being
rubbed with red ochcr to prcyeps stick-
Ing. These books of twenty-five shcots
aro sold at from thirty 10 forty cents
each. The cutting Of the leaf IS done
by knives, which are simply slips Of the
outer shiny shell or skin of the Malacce
So NJ