The Dickinson press., 1890-09-13
MAReLElzlNG PAPER.
Dc1tcrous Manipulation of Gum Senegal
Does the Work.

MAReLElzlNo PAPER.
Doxtcrous Manipulation of Gum Senegal
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 ornalnentation 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
10000 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
aesthetic and the sage. You can see the
thing done any time you please ut the
government printing Office If you care
to ask the privilege.
There is tree in Senegal, Africa, from
which exudes n gum, Just as any other
sort of gum exudes from 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 tho world in the shape of lit
tie hard Jumps. 1t is commercially
known as "gum Senegal" The most
important use for il is this one of mar
bling paper.
For this purpose n solution is made of
the gum In water. Atank, say four feet
long and two feet wide, is filled with the
solution, and then the operation is ready
to be performed. At the government
printing Office you can see it done any
day; the courteous attendant in charge
will show you how he does it.
To begin with, you will see nothing
but tank Of a foot or 80 in depth filled
with liquid not especially describable.
On q shelf close by arc half dozen
paint pots filled 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 spat-
ter of bright red also. Next he reaches
for the green and distributes that. Final
ly a sprinkling of yellow is employed to
wind up with.
Now the expert takes long stick
armed with fine teeth like comb, and
with 1t combs the surface of tho liquid
in the tank just once from one end to
the other. Then he gives it single
comb crosswise. The result Of this is q
most curious mingling of the blue, yer.
million, green and yellow. Next, on the
surface of tho fluid he carefully lays q
sheet of white paper, and lifts it of
again by one corner. Lo, tho sheet has
received reproduction Of the water
color pattern from the liquid most elab.
crate and most beautiful. To reproduce
it, even imperfectly, by hand would take
months Of labor. Each color in tho pat.
tern is as distinct and brilliant as water
colors can possibly be.
This, however, Is but simple pattern.
The expert takes small comb with wire
teeth and makes wiggle waggle over
the surface Of tho mixture. He lays
down another white sheet upon 1t, and
behold, u lovely design resembling col
lection Of conventionalized peacock's
feathers appears. Another wiggle wag
gle of the wire comb and n sheet si,ni
larly treated exhibits 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 q
magician might exercise his wand owe,
rejecting pool he disturbs the smooth
solution with the wires, and weird ant
fantastic designs spring into view upor
the white sheets that he floats for an in
stant and then lifts from the fluid
Giants, hobgoblins and monsters Of al
degrees pursue each other across tn
paper with glaring eyes and contortet
attitudes.
When you were q little boy or girl per
haps you have rubbed with your slate
pencil upon your school slate, and the1
with a moistened finger spread the
Whitley substance over the wooden bound
stratum of plutonic mineral. You have
wondered then to sec what astonishing
demons and creatures inconceivable
started out upon the slate, caught by the
eye of your imagination. It is the same
way with tho work of the artist in
marbling for books, though ho does not
dare to produce such fantastic things tc
please the popular taste. Only the com.
monplace sort of marbling does one
find on books and such things; whatever
extraordinary the expert produces lie
keeps for himself, perhaps, to show what
wonderful result the accidental mingling
of random tints on solution of gum
Senegal will bring forth.-Washington
Star.