Orleans County monitor. [volume] (Barton, Vt.) 1872-1953, 1919-07-30
STRANGE Sources From winch
Pigments Used by Modern
Painters Are Derived.
PRESERVATION OF SURFACES.
cr,,de hut Effective Processes Employ
ed by the Egyptians and Greeks OF
PIinys Day-Noah Prudentiy
Waterproofed the Ark.

|
| the relative time of arrival of the
chicken or the egg. 1t was invented
| though, and it serves both purposes
| equally; so whether it is an OFFSPRING
| of mother necessity or an adopted son
| of beauty remains forever disputed
| question.
The first men, covering Under the
| fierce and glaring suns of the biblical
countries, constructed rude nuts 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 it 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 a desire to
initiate those wonders in their own
dwellings.
The earliest record of the appfica
ton of a preservative 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 it
lacked as a thing of beauty.
Decoration applied to buildings first
comes to light with ancient Babylon,
whose walls were covered with repre-
sensations 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 so much as it 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 We have
passed over the Jordan into the land
of Canaan. then shall We drive out all
the inhabitants of the 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 them
Maccabees is found this allusion to
the art of decorating, For as the mas
ter builder of new house must care
for the whole building, but he that
undertaketh to set 1t out and paint II.
must seek out things for the adjoining
thereof"
Although Homer gives credit to a
Greek for the discovery of paint, the
illusions to 1t In the books of Moses.
the painted mummy cases of the Egyp-
tians and the decorated walls of Baby
ION and Ihebes fix its origin at
period long antecedent to the Grecian
era The walls Of Thebes were paint
ed 1000 years before the coming of
Christ and 996 years before "'Omer
smote his bloomin' Tyre"
The Greeks recognized the value of
paint as a preservative and made use
OF something akin to it on their ships.
Pllny writes of the mode of boiling
wax and painting ships with it. after
which, he continues, neither the sea.
nor the wind, nor the sun can DESTROY
the wood thus protected"
The Romans, being essentially a
warllke people, never brought the dec
Grafton of buildings to the high pIane
1t had reached with the Greeks For
all that the ruins Of Pompeii show
many structures whose mural decora-
lions are In fair shape today. The
colors used were glaring. A black
background was the usual one and tho
combinations worked thereon red vel
low and blue
In the early Christian era the usa NJ
mosaics for churches somewhat SIM
planted mural painting. Still. during
the reign Of Justinian the Church 20
oalnt sophia was built at Constantine
PIE ana It's walls were adorned with
paintings.
In modern times the uses of natnt
nave come to be as numerous as frs
myriad shades and tints. paint a.
unique In that its name aas no svno- |
nym ana for 1t there is no substitute
material. Bread is the staff of life lint
paint Is the life of the stan.
NO one thinks OF the exterior o>
wooden building now except I'm terms |
VI paint coated Interiors, too. from,
painted walls and stained furnituro
uo"h 10 the lowliest kitchen utensiI |
al receive their protective cover,,,,
oieei, so often associat ed with cement
reinforcing, is painted before II Zoos
10 give solidity to the manufa ctnrad
stone. The huge Orders of tbe sl,n
scrapers are daubed an ugly but on.
Gent red underneath the surface COO,
OF biack- Perhaps the best exannIa
oi the value Of paint on steel is fonnd
AZ ue venerable Brooklyn bridge on
~hieh gang of painters is kept go
ing continually. 1t is scarce possible
- lnihk or a single manufactured ar
ucie "nicn does not meet paint some
"here In the course of its construc.
rion- 30 has paint grown into tbs
very marrow OF our lives.