The Washburn leader. [volume] (Washburn, McLean County, N.D.) 1890-1986, 1894-12-15
*sclou GOLD DUST.

r*EClOUS GOLD DUST.
Kept In = Table Drawer At the Govern.
naent Printing Once.
+, Seven thousand dollars worth Of gold
ust in a table drawer! Poke your
eIgcrs into the yellow stuff and notice
bow soft and agreeable to the feeling It
Is, says tho Washington Star, while the
attendant in charge watches you care.
fully and sec that you do not get away
with any Of it. 1t is smooth to the
tou,h, because it is all composed Of
gold-bcater's film rubbed to almost i'm.
palpable powder For tho same res
son. too, it is absolutely pure and virgin
metal, twcnty-four carats fine.
Tho drawer IS in charge of a pretty
young CIR at the Government printing
office. Her work there is to stamp gold
lettering and ornamcntation upon book
covers. The precious substance comes
to her in the shape of little rectangular
sheets of foil inexpressibly thin, laid
between layers of tissue paper made up
in book form, each book holding TWEEN.
ty-fonr gold sheets. Handling them is
a matter requiring great skill, though
you might not imagine 1t from casual
To begin with, say the
young woman places on the table before
her an ordinary leather book cover.
She takes from tho little gold book a
sheet of tho foil, not with her fingers,
but by catching it up with . small pad
of raw cotton. Laying down tho sheet
of pure yellow gold upon o little slab,
she cuts it into three pieces with o sharp
knife. She makes it smooth by blow
ing gently upon it with her breath.
OF tho pieces. she applies to the
back Of the caNer whore the title Is to
60; another sho also puts on the back.
where tho name of the author is to be,
while tho third biggest piece is spread
ovcr tho middle of one flap of the cover,
where an ornamental design is wanted.
Next, after smoothing the piece Of
gold film down firmly on tho leather,
the pretty girl slides the cover beneath
small press that stands on the table.
In the press, face downward, is . die en-
in relief with tho name Of the
book that is to be incased in the cover,
the authors namo and the ornamental
referred to. The die is kept
heated by gas. A movement Of . lever
worked, by hand brings the die down
upon tho cover, and the raised lettering
and design burn the gold foil wherever
there is contact, SO that it is made to
to tho leather in those spots.
The die is lifted, the cover is Withdrawn
from the press, and tho gold is rubbed
OF with Q piece Of soft leather on the
end of o stick. Wherever tho die hes
not touched it tho elm m oil read
lily, leaving tho lettering and the design
SO closely to the leather that
they could not be removed, save by hard
scraping. Finally tho young woman
rubs tho leather with q chunk of burnt
rubber, which takes of all undesirable
particles, SO that the ornamental pattern
and tho names Of book and author shine
out with beautiful clecrncss of outline
In twonty-four carat SID. The whole
,nvces, has taken . good many words to
desaa1Ac, but it is actually performed
vert atuickly, tho covers being spresd
with gold, stamped with tho heated die.
and rubbed of in rapid succession. Each
fresh sort Of book-covor has TO hsye Q
new die, of curse
The operator is very careful in rub
bing off tbs loose gold after each stamp
ing, SO as to lose mono OF it. As she uses
the leather-tippcd stick she permits the
yellow stuff to fall through . crack IN
the table top into tho drawer beneath
in the shape Of dust. 1t Is allowed to
accumulate there until tho drawer is full.
The drawer is c,n's, Hiy and dccp. and
will hold s>jts.i9 worth IT tho dust. You
would lot Imagine il 10 10 any very
precious substance if you found o guam.
tity of 1t in some odd place; 1t looks IS
much like powdered tirscl 10 any thing
else. However, 1t is worth $50 an ounce.
and when a drawer full is collected tho
gold is for,. arded to thu mint in Phila.
dolphin, which su',jaets 1t to assay and
sends back q ehcel: for It's valuc.
The burnt rubber used for tho final
polis5iag of Of .io colo lettering, etc.,
is simply !ldia-rul,bcr which has been
subiectcd tot peculiar IRE process that
makes il worry ~spcnGGiose and absorbent.
So rcmarklblo is .ts lattsr quaftty that
. chun..s u II ss big 90 thrso Of your I'm
gers Will ta!.;;e up morn t:...n 81 wessteh
a. gold in It's pores. When. After soma
months Of use such . picos of huIn3
rubhor Is loaded with I'LL the gold III III
comfortably carry. II assent, withDdotpj
others In tho ssme condition, to theMtSa
20 DO assayed,
Real gold IL only uaedi in this WY 1os
particularly 1no books. Designs and
lettering Of the tort for ordinary ol.
zines arc donc at tho Government prilA,
ing of1co in nearly tho satne manner.
but with q ycllow composition called
German metal which looks very
much liko tho gold end 10 decidedly
cheaper. No trouble ID takcn to ssve
tho wastage. and each book-cove.. after
being stanupcd BY the hot die. q gtnply
putthrnugAsal,suahiag maeAiina.