Iron County register. [volume] (Ironton, Iron County, Mo.) 1867-1965, 1893-07-13
oLp GOLD WORKERS.
hlc.,emists' Recipes Contained in Anc:,


Alchemists' Recipes Contained in Ancient
Manuscripts.
There IS papyrus which gives re-
ceipes for various alloys used in the
manufacture of cups and vases; for
making gold and silver ink: for gild-
ing and silvering. and for testing the
purity of precious metals. Other rec
ipes teach the method of falsifying
them by adding baser metals-an oper-
alton called the diplosis, or doubling,
for the mass of the gold and silver
was doubled, while their color re-
manned unchanged; and, as the COM
piler of the manual remarks, skilled
workman would find it difficult. or
even impossible. to detect the fraud.
The recipes which recur most fire.
quently describe various modes of pre-
pairing Assem-, word which originally
meant a natural alloy of gold and sill
yer, known to the Greeks as electrum.
1t was atfirst looked upon as distinct
metal, was considered sacred to Jupi-
ter, and was designated by the sign OF
that planet; but at a later period the
name was applied to all alloys. and NJ.
Barthelot remarks that in this fact
seems to lie the explanation of the
origin of alchemy. Both gold and sill
yer could be extracted from genuine
Assem-, and it seemed as though it could
be changed at the will of the operator
into either one or the other; it
could also be made artifcially
by mingling gold and silver, or
closely initiated by some of the
numerous alloys, eleven or twelve
varieties of which are described in
the papyrus of Leyden. 1t would
seem, therefore, that from this fact
there arose some vague notion that
perhaps the imitati of the precious
metals and the reproduction of their
essential qualities could be brought to
such perfection that the counterfeit
might become identical with the reality.
The clear and simple language of
these recipes is very different from the
obscure and mystical jargon of the
alchemists. The following, for in
stance, occurs three times, with slight
variations: ITO make Assem- - Tin,
twelve drachmas: mercury, four drach-
mas: Chan earth, two drachmas. Melt
the tin, add the earth in powder, then
the mercury: stir with piece of iron. :"
With regard to another recipe nearly
similar, NJ. Berthelot remarks that the
result would be an amalgam of tin
for the purpose of whitening cop
per. Another runs: Take four
parts of tin four times refined.
three parts of white copper and
one part of Assem-. Melt them and re-
fine them several times; then make
whatever you wish; it will be Assem- of
the first quality, which will deceive
even the workman" The white copper
just mentioned is prepared, as another
recipe shows, by mixing it with a sui
phide of arsenic.
According to the recipe which
teaches how to give a ring the appear
ance of gold, so that it will stand the
test of the tombstone, 1.-TWO parts of
lead and one of gold must be reduced
to fine powder, mixed with gum and
rubbed on the ring, which is then
heated. This must be repeated several
times. tin the ring is well colored. 1t
will be hard to discover the fraud, for
the ring. if rubbed, will give trace of
gold, and heat will destroy the Lead
This recipe is remarka bic as represent
ing a very early method of gliding by
means of lead, anterior probably to the
discovery of quicksilver, which is not
mentioned till the fifth century B. c.
Edinburgh Review.