The Era-leader., 1919-09-25
Strange Sources From Which
Pigments Used by Modern
Painters Are Derived.
PRESERVATION OF SURFACES
Crude but Effective Processes Employ
ed by tho Egyptians and Greeks OF
PlInys Day-Noah Prudent'y
Waterproofed the Ark.


meet a desire for beauty Is a question
fully as knotty as the ancient one ABOUT
the relative time Of arrival OF the
chicken or the egg. 1t was invented
though, and 1t serves both purposes
equally; so whether it is an offspring
Of mother necessity or an adopted son
OF beauty remains forever a disputed
question.
The first men, covering under the
fierce and glarIng suns Of the biblical
countries, constructed rude huts OF
wood to shelter them. The perishable
nature of these structures caused rapid
decay, and IT is probable that the oc'
cupants, seeking some artificial means
of preservation, hit upon the pigments
Of the earth in their search. 1t Is per-
haps natural to suppose that 1t was
the instinct Of preservation that led
men to the search, although the glories
of the sunsets and the beauties of the
rainbow may have created desire to
initiate those wonders in their own
dwellings
The earliest record Of the applica-
ton Of a preservatlve to a wooden
structure dates from the ark, which
was, according to the Bible, "pitched
within and without" The pitch was a
triumph Of preservation whatever 1t
lacked as a thing Of beauty.
Decoration applied to buildings first
comes to light with ancient Babylon,
whose walls were covered with repre-
sentations Of hunting scenes and OF
combat. These were done in red and
the method followed was to paint the
scene on the bricks at the time OF
| manufacture, assuring permanence by
baking. Strictly speaking, this was
not painting 30 much as 1t was the
earliest manifestation Of our own ia
miliar kalsomining.
The first Hebrew to mention paint
ing is Moses. In the thirty-third chap
ter of the book of Numbers he In
structs the Israelites, "When ye have
passed over the Jordan into the land
Of Canaan. then shall ye drive out all
tho Inhabitants Of tho land from be-
fore you and destroy all their pic
lures. :"
| At later periods the Jews adopted
many customs of the peoples who sue
cessively obtained power over then
and in the apocryphal book Of th'
Maccabees Is found this allusion tt
the art Of decorating, For as the mas
ter builder Of a new house must car'
for the whole building, but he tina
undertaketh to set 1t out and paint II
must seek out things for the adorninl
thereof"
Although Homer gives credit to
Greek for the discovery Of paint, tn
illusions to 1t in the books of Moses
the painted mummy cases Of the Egyp
tians and the decorated walls Of Baby
J Ion and Thebes fx Its origin at
period long antecedent to the Grecial
era. The walls Of Thebes were paint
ed 1900 years before the coming G
Christ and 996 years before" 'Ome
smote his bloomin' Tyre"
The Greeks recognized the value Q
paint as a preservative and made us
Of something akin to it on their ship!
Pliny writes Of the mode Of boilin
wax and painting ships with 1t, afte
which, he continues, neither the SET
nor the wind, nor the sun can destro
the wood thus protected"
The Romans, being essentially
warlike people, never brought the de-
Grafton of buildings to the high plan
It had reached with the Greeks. Fc
all that the ruins Of Pompeil sho
many structures whose mural dccor'
tons are in fair shape today. I'll
colors used were glaring. A blac
background was the usual one and til
combinations worked thereon red, ye
d low and blue.
# In the early Christian era the use ,
mosaics for churches somewhat SUI
planted murnl painting. Still, durir
the reign Of Justinian the Church
Saint Sophia was built at Constantin
ple and its walls were adorned wi
= paintings.
a In modern times the uses Of pal
+, have come to be as numerous as
ct myriad shades and tints. Paint
e unique in that its name has no syn
20 nym and for 1t there Is no substitu
o material. Bread is the staff of life, b
q paint is the life Of the staff.
81 No one thinks Of the. exterior Of
j" wooden building now except in teri
ID Of paint coated. Interiors, too, frc
r painted walls and stained furnitu
D. down to the lowliest kitchen utens
q. all receive their protective GOVERN
IL Steel, so often associated with GENE
ct reinforcing, is painted before 1t 60
is to give solidity to the manufactur
~ stone. The huge glrders Of the 81
scrapers are daubed an ugly but e
'e c.ent red underneath the surface &C
III of black. Perhaps the best examl
re of the value of paint on steel Is fou
} IN the venerable Brooklyn bridge.