, 1890-09-23
MARKETING p
Os1terous Manipulation Of Gum Senel
Does the Work.

Does the Work.
One of the funniest things that any
body ever imagined in this world was
the notion Of marbling paper. That is
the name applied to the sort of red and
~vari-colored ornamentAtion on the edges
Of nicely bound books, and on their
bindings, too, sometimes. Every one
has observed such markings, but it is
safe to say that not one person out Of
5000 has ever taken the trouble to spec
ulate as to how the effect is produced.
There is nothing commonplace about
the process. On the contrary it is a
marvel worthy OF contemplation by the
nsthete and the sage. You "A see the
thing done any time you please at the
government printing Office IL you care
to ask the privilege.
There is a tree in Senegal, Africa, from
which exudes a gum, just as any other
sort Of gum exudes from a cherry or
other kind of tree. The natives of Sene-
gal collect the gum from this peculiar
tree and sell it to contractors. who send
it all over the world in the shape Of lit
tie hard humps. 1t is commercially
known as gum Senegal The most
important use for it is this one of mar
bling paper.
For this purpose a solution is made of
he gum in water. Atank, say four feet
long and two feet wide, is filed with the
solution. and then the operation is ready
to be performed At the government
printing Office you can see 1t done any
day; the courteous attendant in charge
will show you how he does it.
To begin with, you will see nothing
but a tank of a foot or 30 in depth filled
with n liquid not especially describsble.
On a shelf close by are half n dozen
paint pots filed with most brilliant
water colors. The operator takes the
blue brush and sprinkles the surface Of
the liquid in the tank with drops of that
color. Then he seizes the brush from
the vermilion pot and sprinkles n spat-
ter of bright red also. Next he reaches
for the green anspiistributes that. Final
ly a sprinkling Of yellow Is employed TO
wind up with.
Now the expert takes n long stick
armed with fine teeth like "A comb, and
with it combs the surface OF the liquid
in the tank just once from one end to
the other. Then he gives it a single
comb crosswise. The result of this is a
most curious mingling of the blue, yer
million. green and yellow. Next, on the
surface of the fluid he carefully lays a
sheet of white paper, and lifts it of
again by one corner. Lo, the sheet has
received Il reproduction of the water
color pattern from the liquid most elab-
Orate and most beautiful. To reproduce
1t, wen imperfectly, by hand would take
months of labor. Each color in the pat
tern is rs distinct and brilliant as water
colors can possibly be.
This, however, is but n simple pattern.
The expert takes "A small comb with wire
teeth and makes a wiggle waggle over
the surface Of the mixture. He lays
down another white sheet upon it, and
behold, a.lovely design resembling a col
lection Of conventionalized peacock's
feathers appears. Another wiggle wag-
gle of the wire comb and n sheet SINH
larly treated exhibits a series of gor-
geous arabesques altogether beyond de-
scription as to their brilliance and in
tricacy. But this is not all.
The operator stirs up the liquid in the
tank again, so that all the colors disap-
pear. Then he chooses other paints,
making green the predominant one, and
sprinkles them over the surface. As a
magician might exercise his wand over
a rejecting pool he disturbs the smooth
solution with the wires, and weird and
fantastic designs spring into view upon
the white sheets that he floats TO. an i'll
slant and then lifts from the fluid.
Giants, hobgoblins and monsters of all
degrees pursue each other across the
paper with glaring eyes and c~ontorted
attitudes.
When you were a little boy or girl per
haps you have rubbed with your slate
pencil upon your school slate, and then
with a moistened finger spread the
Whitley substance over the wooden bound
stratum of plutonic mineral. You have
wondered then to see what astonishing
demons and creatures inconceivable
started out upon the slate. caught by the
eye of your imagination. 1t is the same
way with the work of the artist in
marbling for books, though he does not
dare to produce such fantastic things to
please the popular taste. Only the COM
monplace sort of marbling does one
find on books and such things; whatever
extraordinary the expert produces he
keeps for himself, perhaps, to show what
wonderful result the accidental mingling
of random tints on a solution of gum
Senegal will bring acknowledgment
Star.