The evening times., 1900-03-06
THE ANTIQUITY OF INDIA INK.
a Discovery 5000 Years Before the
Christian Era.
Trom the Chicago ClronicleD

rom the Chicago tArOnlcle.l
India ink was not first discovered. as its
name would seem to indicate. in India.
The earliest records We have of it show
that it was first made in China, and the
bulk Of the present day supply is brought
from that country. Like many things OF
practical utility TO mankind. India ink was
not an invention, but a discovery That
is 10 say. the individual who produced it
first did so entirely by accident, without
the remotest intention Of doing anything
sensible or useful
About 5000 years before the Christian
era a Chinese alChemist. Tien-Tschen BY
name while experimenting upon some nos
| trum for the eternal preservation Of life.
or upon some formula for converting dirt
! into gOld-it matters not what-acci-
dentally cCncocted black substance in the
| form OF liquid paint OF varnish. This con-
Coction was the first India ink. The black
pigment which forms the base Of the ink
was the SCOT obtained by burning lee and
| pine charcoal. This SCOT was powdered
| finely and mixed with some kind of size o.
! glue Fish glue, or isiuSiass. was used, as
well as bone or horn glue; and sometimes.
| in making the finer qualities Of ink, pearls
were boiled in the glue Sometimes dried
1 OK tongue vas added to give the ink a
purple tint. and the bark o. the pepper tree
( vas used TO produce tinge OF blue. The
| ink was carefully nodded, dried, and
1 packed in wormwoOd leaves with lime OF
| ashes until well seasoned.
| 1t Is not stated whether sepia. the color
/ ing liquid OF the cuttlefish. was added to
the ink originally or not but as the best
| India ink in use at present has bTOwnish
tint. as if mixed with sepia. il is evident
that sepia is used now in the manufacture
of the ink. Sepia alone is used frequently
/ in China in preference to the black ink.
As soon as it was discovered that India
! ink was likely TO be serviceable 10 man
| kind il was perceived by the Imperial Diet
| to be a dangerous innovation upon the es-
| tablished custom of not having il to use.
| The empire had gotten along very well
| without India ink prior to its discovery,
/ and il was Chinese public policy to let
! well enough alone" Therefore, the use Of
/ India ink was declared TO be SaCrilegiOus
/ and it's manufacture was prohibited. Aft
1 erward it dawned upon the versatile mind
! controlling the deStinies OF the imperial ex-
| cheGuer that there were great possibilities
! Of revenue in the production of India ink.
| if judiciously absorbed by imperial pre-
| negatives Accordingly, the ban was re-
moved from the offending industry which
| revived quickly, though restricted 10 the
! province of Kiang-si and heavily handi-
caped with an enormous tribute eXacted by
the Emperor.
/ Apparently. there were millions in India
| ink in those days. for a sharp competition
| in its production arose. and this was the
/ beginning of trouble for artists and drafts
men. The market was gluttsd with worth
/ less grades At first the ink was super
fine in quality and the Iampblaek used in it
was ground into an impalpable powder so
fine that it was as volatile yapor and
! possessed in itself an odOr of musk. Later.
when competition corrupted its production.
| coarser and cheaper pigments were substi-
| tuted for the fne ones and the ink was
] artiicialIy perfumed with musk in order TO
! disguise its inferiority.
The Chinese are passionately fond OF
! musk and India ink was used by them
/ not only as writing material. but also
| as a flavor for their choicest beverages. y
/ little India ink rubbed in water was con-
| sidered then. most delicious drink, but
modern India ink can hardly be recon-
mended as a safe medium for interior dee
/ oration of that sort.
We are informed by the distinguished
historian that all good India ink is in
habited by gods. Qn China there are 50
! many gods that ii is difficult to find lOds-
| ings for them all; they are billeted, there
| fore. upon any convenient article. such "a
a stick of India ink From this startling
disclosure of the historian we might be
justified in presuming that all bad
! India ink is inhabited by devils. This
view of the matter would account for the
multitudinous trials and tribulatiOnS which
beset the unhappy craftsman who tries
to make q drawing with poor India ink:
for. certainly. in unmitigated wickedness
and total depravity poor India ink has few
| EQUALS and no supericrs.