Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1904-01-11
WORK OF GOLD BEATERS
IN WHICH BUT FEW
ARE EMPLOYED.
Process by Which Bars Of Precious
Metal Are Made Thinner
Than Paper.

A local sign writer was In the window OF a
large F street establishment putting gold
leaf on the outlines of letters he had made
with stencil The curiosity Of a reporter
was aroused as to how those tiny sheets OF
gold were reduced to such minute thinness.
visit to the establishment of one OF Wash
ington's largest sign writers and a talk with
the proprietor brought forth the following:
II learned the gold beater's trade in Ro-
chester some years ago." he said. Imagine
slab of gold measuring eight inches in
width, ten inches in length and half an inch
in thickness being reduced to $500 sheets of
gold, each five inches square and almost
transparent. and you get vague idea Of
the queer industry known as gold beating.
Imagine square of gold one three-hun-
dredths of an inch in thickness and you will
appreciate the Drawn and brain making for
the result. And then reflect that the word
beating means just beating for no power
other than the strength of a mans arm is
used in the process; and you will have been
mentally initiated into the mysteries of a
silent art.
Few persons are familiar with the work
for several reasons: First, there are less
than twenty-five gold-beating establish
ments IN the country; second, 1t is an ex-
elusive industry, and few, either manufac-
turerS or labOrerS, are admitted to its
secrets; third the trade is limited. There
fore, it is a most interesting study.
THE gold beaten buys direct from the
government assay office, where the gold is
weighed, stamped and guaranteed. A frac-
ton too much of alloy would cause it to pull
verfze or part into fragments. Twenty
three-carat gold is used exclusively. Usual
ly the gold comes in nuggets weighing fifty
five pennyweights and valued at $55 each.
The average dimension is 1OxSx1a inches.
First Goes Into Crucible.
after the gold has been received it is
placed in crucible and made ready for the
beating about to follow. 1t is nodded into
a shape which will fit into the only power
machine In the place, which congresses the
gold into a ribbon ten yards in length, one
inch in width and one thirty-second of an
inch in thickness. Out of this ribbon are
cut 220 squares of equal size.
THE work of reducing is begun. To each
workmen is given twenty-five squares and
these he places between the leaves of
book. This book is a Hutch paper and is
sealed with a patent envelope device which
prevents the loss of particles of gold, a
precaution made necessary by the many
turnings and fioppings of the book in the
process. A siXteen-pound hammer is used
and the beater Is compelled to work unin-
terruptedly for twenty minutes to gain the
desired measurement.
WELDING a sixteen-pOund hammer for
few seconds is eXhausting work for only
the initiated but the heaters hammer
grasp the end of the hammer farthest from
the head which increases its weight but
the benches they use are so constructed that
they cause small rebound of the hammer.
The Second Stage.
when the "kutch-book" is opened TWEEN
ty-five sheets are taken out and each sheet
of gold is cut into four pieces. It's thick
ness has been reduced in the operation from
1-32 of an inch to LOO of an inch. Twenty
five of these squares are put into a book
called the 'shodder.' The 'shodder' is not a
paper but skin, and it is said that certain
intestinal parts of 500 oxen are required to
make package or book of twenty-five pa
pers. The 'shodder' is made in England by
secret process. 1t is the most exclusive
industry In the world.
Like the Hutch book' the 'shodder
book is sealed and handed to the artist
who is required to pound it ninety minutes
with twelve-pound hammer. This re-t
duces the thickness, and when it is taken
out of the book each leaf of gold is again
cut into one-inch squares. This time the
gold is so fragile that a metal knife blade
no matter how sharp, would break the
edges, so knife with double blades is used,
requiring only two strokes to cut square.
The Last Beating.
Now comes the last beating. Each
square is again put into book called
mold Forty minutes beating is required
to give this the proper size. When the
leaves of gold are removed they are trans
parent, but perfect in shape and unbroken
1t would require 100000 of them to make
one inch in thickness.
1.-THE last operation is to send them to
the booking room, where women remove
the gold leaves and place them in wax pa
per books ready for sale The leaves are
SO delicate that they can only be, handled
with bamboo sticks. So adhesive is the gold
that If a leaf is broken in removing it il
is easily patched without a trace of it be-
ing apparent to the naked eye.'