The evening world., 1890-08-08
UNCLE SANS GOLD DUST.
Thousands of Dollars in Reuse
from Stamping Books
A Pretty Young Woman It's Only
Guardian in Washington.

Seven thousand dollars worth OF gold
dust in table drawer Poke your fingers
into the yellow stuff and notice how soft
and agreeable to the feeling it is. says the
Washington star. while the attendant in
charge watches you carefully aud secs
that YOU do not get away with any Of IT,
II is smooth TO the touch because II il all
composed of gold heaters film rubbed to
almost iirralpable powder. For the
same reason, too. IL is absolutely pure
aud virgin metal. twenty-four cnrats fine.
The drawer is in charge OF pretty
young girl at the Government Printing
Office. Her work there to stamp gold
lettering and ornamentatlon upon book
covers.
The precious substance comes to her in
the shape of little rectangular sheets of
foil ineIpre .sibly thin. laid between
layers OF tissue paper made up in book
form. each book holding twenty -four gold
sheets.
Handling them is a matter requiring
great SIX II, though you might not imagine
it from casual inspection.
To begin with, sAy the young woman
places on the table before her all ordinary
leather book cover. She takes from the
little gold book n sheet Of the foil not
with her fingers. but by catching It up
with small pad of raw cotton.
Laying down the sheet OF pure yellow
Cold upon little slab. Sue cuts 1t into
three pieces with n sharp knife. She
makes 1t smooth by blowing gently upon
il with her breath. One of the pieces
she applies 10 the hack OF the cover where
the title IN 10 go another hhe also puts
on the back, where the name of the all.
thor Ia to be. while the third biggest piece
If spread over the middle of one flap of
the cover, where an ornamental design is
wanted.
Next. a'ter smoothing the piece Of gold
film down firmly Oh the leather the
pretty girl glideB the cover beneath q
small press that stands on the table.
In the press. fac downward, is die
engraved in relief with the name OF the
book that is to he incased in the cover,
the authors name and the ornamental
design referred to. The die il kept heated
by gas.
A movement Of lever worked by hand
brings the die down upon the cover. and
the raised lettering and design burn the
ROlu lOll Wherever lutTe IN contact, so tnNt
il is made to adhere TO the leather in those
hpots. The die il lifted, the cover is
wi hdrnwn from the press and the gold is
rubbed III with piece Of soft leather on
the end OF n stick.
Wherever the die has not touched II the
film COMES of readily. leaving the letter
ing aud The desirn adhering SO closely 10
the leather tnat they could not be re-
save by hard scraping.
Finally the young woman rubs the
lenther with q chunk OF burnt rubber.
which takes of all undesirable particles,
so that the ornamental pattern aud the
names If book and author shine out with
beautiful clearnesS Of outline in twenty
four carat gold.
The whole process has taken a good
many words to describe. but 1t is actually
performed very quickly, the covers being
spread with gold stamped with the heated
die, and rubbed oil In rapid succession.
Each fresh sort of book-cover has to have
a new die. of course
The operator is very careful In rubbing
of the loose gold after each stamping. so
rs TO lose none of IT, As she uses the
enther tipped stick she permits the yell
low stun to fall through n crack in the
table top into tine drawer beneath in the
sAnue OF dust. II is allowed to Rccumu-
Ia e there until the drawer il full. The