FORTY CENTURIES OF
INKOR A CHRONOLOGICAL NARRATIVE CONCERNING INK AND ITS BACKGROUNDSINTRODUCING
INCIDENTAL OBSERVATIONS AND DEDUCTIONS, PARALLELS OF TIME AND COLOR PHENOMENA,
BIBLIOGRAPHY, CHEMISTRY, POETICAL EFFUSIONS, CITATIONS, ANECDOTES AND CURIOSA
TOGETHER WITH SOME EVIDENCE RESPECTING THE EVANESCENT CHARACTER OF MOST INKS OF
TO-DAY AND AN EPITOME OF CHEMICO- LEGAL INK.BY DAVID N. CARVALHO.FIRST EDITION
NEW YORK THE BANKS LAW PUBLISHING CO. 1904.Copyright, 1904. By DAVID N. CARVALHO.
PREFACE.
The unfortunate
conditions surrounding the almost universal use of the oddly named commercial
and with few exceptions record inks, and the so-called modern paper, is the
motive for the writing of this book. The numerous color products of coal tar,
now so largely employed in the preparation of ink, and the worse material
utilized in the manufacture of the hard-finished writing papers, menace the
future preservation of public and other records. Those who occupy official
position and who can help to ameliorate this increasing evil, should begin to
do so without delay. Abroad England, Germany and France and at home
Massachusetts and Connecticut have sought to modify these conditions by
legislation and our National Treasury Department only last year, in
establishing a standard for its ink, gives official recognition of these
truths.
There is no
"History of Ink;" but of ink history there is a wealth of material,
although historians have neglected to record information about the very
substance by which they sought to keep and transmit the chronicles they most
desired to preserve. From the beginning of the Christian era to the present
day, "Ink" literature, exclusive of its etymology, chemical formulas,
and methods of manufacture, has been confined to brief statements in the
encyclopedias, which but repeat each other. A half dozen original articles,
covering only some particular branch together with a few treatises more general
in their ramifications of the subject, can also be found. Seventy lines about "writing
ink" covering its history for nearly four thousand years is all that is
said in "The Origin and Progress of Handwriting," a revised book of
hundreds of pages of Sir Thomas Astle, London, 1876, and once deemed the very
highest authority.
The mass of ancient and
comparatively modern documents which we have inherited, chronicle nothing about
the material with which they were written. The more valuable of them are
disfigured by the superscription of newer writings over the partially erased
earlier ones, thus rendering the work of ascertaining their real character most
difficult. Nevertheless, patient research and advanced science have enabled us
to intelligently study and investigate, and from the evidence thus gained, to
state facts and formulate opinions that may perhaps outlast criticism.
The bibliographical
story of "Ink" is replete with many interesting episodes, anecdotes
and poetical effusions. Its chemical history is a varied and phenomenal one.
Before the nineteenth century the ink industry was confined to the few. Since
then, it has developed into one of magnificent proportions. The new departure,
due to the discovery and development of the "Aniline" family of
fugitive colors, is noteworthy as being a step backward which may take years to
retrace.
The criminal abuse of
ink is not infrequent by evil-disposed persons who try by secret processes to
reproduce ink phenomena on ancient and modern documents. While it is possible
to make a new ink look old, the methods that must be employed, will of
themselves reveal to the examiner the attempted fraud, if he but knows how to
investigate.
How to accomplish this
as well as to give a chronological history on the subject of inks generally,
both as to their genesis, the effect of time and the elements, the
determination of the constituents and the constitution of inks, their value as
to lasting qualities, their removal and restoration, is the object of this
work. There is also included many court cases where the matter of ink was in
controversy; information respecting ancient MSS. and the implements and other
accessories of ink which have from time to time been employed in the act of
writing.
To make a comprehensive
review of the past in its relationship to ink has been my aim. In the
construction of this work recourse has been had to the so-called original
sources of information. In these, the diversity of their incomplete statements
about different countries and epochs has offered many obstacles. In presenting
my own deductions and inferences, it is with a desire to remove any impressions
as to this volume being a mere compilation. "Facts are the data of all
just reasoning, and the elements of all real knowledge. It follows that he is a
wise man who possesses the greatest store of facts on a given subject. A book,
therefore, which assembles facts from their scattered sources, may be
considered as a useful and important auxiliary to those who seek them." A
prolonged and continuous intercourse for over a quarter of a century with
ancient and modern MSS., with books and other literature, with laymen and
chemists, with students and manufacturers, together with the information and
knowledge derived from experiment and study of results may enable the author to
make the subject fairly clear. Effort has been made to avoid technical words
and phrases in that portion treating of the Chemistry of Inks.
This work will no doubt
be variously considered. Criticism is expected, indeed it is gladly invited,
for thereby may follow controversy, discussion and perhaps legislation, which
will bring about results beneficial to those who are to follow after us.
CONTENTS.
I. GENESIS OF INK . . .
. . . . . . . . . . . . 1
II. ANTIQUITY OF INK. .
. . . . . . . . . . . . 17
III. CLASSICAL INK AND
ITS EXODUS . . . . . . . 31
IV. CLASSICAL INK AND
ITS EXODUS(Continued) . . 45
V. REVIVAL OF INK . . .
. . . . . . . . . . . . 54
VI. INK OF THE WEST . .
. . . . . . . . . . . . 64
VII. EARLY MEDIÆVAL INK
. . . . . . . . . 72
VIII. MEDIÆVAL INK. . .
. . . . . . . . . 82
IX. END OF MEDIÆVAL INK
. . . . . . . . . 90
X. RENAISSANCE INK. . .
. . . . . . . . . . . . 97
XI. ANCIENT INK
TREATISES . . . . . . . . . . . 102
XII. STUDY OF INK . . .
. . . . . . . . . . . . 114
XIII. STUDY OF INK. . .
. . . . . . . . . . . . 122
XIV. CLASSIFICATIONS OF
INK . . . . . . . . . . 131
XV. OFFICIAL AND LEGAL
INK. . . . . . . . . . . 137
XVI. ENDURING INK . . .
. . . . . . . . . . . . 155
XVII. INK PHENOMENA . .
. . . . . . . . . . . . 163
XVIII. INK CHEMISTRY. .
. . . . . . . . . . . . 170
XIX. FRAUDULENT INK
BACKGROUNDS . . . . . . . . 177
XX. FUGITIVE INK. . . .
. . . . . . . . . . . . 183
XXI. ANCIENT AND MODERN
INK RECEIPTS. . . . . . 188
XXII. INK INDUSTRY. . .
. . . . . . . . . . . . 205
XXIII. CHEMICO-LEGAL
INK. . . . . . . . . . . . 217
XXIV. CHEMICO-LEGAL INK
(Continued) . . . . . . 237
XXV. INK UTENSILS OF
ANTIQUITY. . . . . . . . . 245
XXVI. INK UTENSILS
(Quill PEN v. Steel Pen) . . 254
XXVII. SUBSTITUTES FOR
INK UTENSILS ("Lead" and other Pencils). . . 261
XXVIII. ANCIENT INK
BACKGROUNDS (The Origin of Papyrus). . . . . 272
XXIX. ANCIENT INK
BACKGROUNDS (Parchment and Vellum). . 281
XXX. MODERN INK
BACKGROUNDS (True Paper). . . . . . . 295
XXXI. MODERN INK
BACKGROUNDS (Wood Paper and "Safety" Paper). . . . 308
XXXII. CURIOSA (Ink and
other Writing Materials) . . . . . . . 322
CHAPTER I. GENESIS OF INK.
THE ORIGIN OF
INK--COMPOSITION OF THE COLORED INKS OF ANTIQUITY--ANCIENT NAMES FOR BLACK
INKS--METHODS OF THEIR MANUFACTURE--THE INVENTION OF "INDIAN"
INK--THE ART OF DYEING HISTORICALLY CONSIDERED--THE SYMBOLIC ESTIMATION OF
COLORS--THE EMPLOYMENT OF TINCTURES AS INKS--CONSIDERATION OF THE ANTIQUITY OF
ARTIFICIAL INKS AND THE BLACK INKS OF INTERMEDIATE TIMES--ORIGIN OF THE COLORED
PIGMENTS OF ANTIQUITY-CITATIONS FROM HERODOTUS, PLINY AND ARBUTHNOT--PRICES
CURRENT, OF ANCIENT INKS AND COLORS--WHY THE NATURAL INKS FORMERLY EMPLOYED ARE
NOT STILL EXTANT--THE KIND OF INK EMPLOYED BY THE PRIESTS IN THE TIME OF
MOSES--ILLUSTRATIVE HISTORY OF THE EGYPTIANS IN ITS RELATIONSHIP TO WRITING
IMPLEMENTS--THE USE OF BOTH RED AND BLACK INK IN JOSEPH’S TIME--ITS OTHER
HISTORY PRECEDING THE DEPARTURE OF ISRAEL FROM EGYPT--THE DISAPPEARANCE OF ALL
BUT A FEW KINDS OF INK--INK TRADITIONS AND THEIR VALUE--STORY ABOUT THE ORACLES
OF THE SIBYLS--HOW THE ANCIENT HISTORIANS SOUGHT TO BE MISLEADING--ILLUSTRATIVE
ANECDOTE BY RICHARDSON:
THE origin of Ink belongs
to an era following the invention of writing. When the development of that art
had advanced beyond the age of stone inscription or clay tablet, some material
for marking with the reed and the brush was necessary. It was not difficult to
obtain black or colored mixtures for this purpose. With their advent, forty
centuries or more ago, begins the genesis of ink.
The colored inks of
antiquity included the use of a variety of dyes and pigmentary colors, typical
of those employed in the ancient art of dyeing, in which the Egyptians excelled
and still thought by many to be one of the lost arts. The Bible and alleged
contemporary and later literature make frequent mention of black and many
colors of brilliant hues.
In tracing the arts of
handwriting and dyeing, some definite facts are to be predicated as to the most
remote history of ink.
The Hebrew word for ink
is deyó, so called from its blackness. As primitively prepared for ritualistic
purposes and for a continuing period of more than two thousand years, it was a
simple mixture of powdered charcoal or soot with water, to which gum was
sometimes added.
The Arabian methods of
making ink (alchiber) were more complex. Lampblack was first made by the
burning of oil, tar or rosin, which was then commingled with gum and honey and
pressed into small wafers or cakes, to which water could be added when wanted
for use.
About 1200 years before
the Christian era, the Chinese perfected this method and invented "Indian
Ink," ostensibly for blackening the surface of raised hieroglyphics, which
"was obtained from the soot produced by the smoke of pines and the oil in
lamps, mixed with the isinglass (gelatin) of asses’ skin, and musk to correct
the odour of the oil." Du Halde cites the following, as of the time of the
celebrated Emperor Wu-Wong, who flourished 1120 years before Christ:
"As the stone Me (a word signifying blackening in the Chinese
language), which is used to blacken the engraved characters, can never become
white; so a heart blackened by vices will always retain its blackness." That the art of dyeing was known, valued
and applied among early nations, is abundantly clear. The allusions to
"purple and fine raiment," to "dyed garments," to
"cloth of many colours," &c., are numerous in the Bible. In a
note to the "Pictorial Bible, after an allusion to the antiquity of this
art, and to the pre-eminence attached by the ancients to purple beyond every
other color, it is remarked: "It is important to understand that the word
purple, in ancient writings, does not denote one particular colour."
Many of the names of
the dyestuffs have come down to us, some of them still in use at this time and
others obsolete. They were employed sometimes as ink, and certain color values
given to them, of which the more important were blue, red, yellow, green,
white, black, purple, gold and silver. Some colors were estimated symbolically.
White was everywhere the symbol of purity and the emblem of innocence, and,
just opposite, black was held up as an emblem of affliction and calamity.
Green was the emblem of
freshness, vigor and prosperity.
Blue was the symbol of
revelation; it was pre-eminently the celestial color blessed among heathen
nations, and among the Hebrews it was the Jehovah color, the symbol of the
revered God. Hence, it was the color predominant in Mosaic ceremonies.
Purple was associated
as the dress of kings, with ideas of royalty and majesty.
Crimson and scarlet,
from their resemblance to blood, became symbolical of life, and also an emblem
of that which was indelible or deeply ingrained.
Later, in Christian
times, only five colors were recognized as fitting for theological meaning or
expression: white, red, green, violet and black.
White was esteemed as
being the union of all the rays of light, and is often referred to as the
symbol of truth and spotless purity. Red was emblematic both of fire and love,
while green from its analogy to the vegetable world, was indicative of life and
hope. Violet was considered the color of penitence and sorrow. Blue was forbidden
except as a color peculiarly appropriated to the Virgin Mary, while black
represented universally sorrow, destruction and death.
The art of dyeing was
also well understood and practiced in Persia in the most ancient periods. The
modern Persians have chosen Christ as their patron, and Bischoff says at
present call a dyehouse Christ’s workshop, from a tradition they have that He
was of that profession, which is probably founded on the old legend "that
Christ being put apprentice to a dyer, His master desired him to dye some
pieces of cloth of different colors; He put them all into a boiler, and when
the dyer took them out he was terribly frightened on finding that each had its
proper color."
This, or a similar
legend, occurs in the apocryphal book entitled, "The First Gospel of the
Infancy of Jesus Christ." The following is the passage:
"On a certain day also, when the Lord Jesus was playing with the
boys, and running about, He passed by a dyer’s shop whose name was Salem, and
there were in his shop many pieces of cloth belonging to the people of that
city, which they designed to dye of several colors. Then the Lord, Jesus, going
into the dyer’s shop, took all the cloths and threw them into the furnace. When
Salem came home and saw the cloth spoiled, he began to make a great noise and
to chide the Lord Jesus, saying: ‘What hast Thou done, unto me, O thou son of
Mary? Thou hast injured both me and my neighbors; they all desired their cloths
of a proper color, but Thou hast come and spoiled them all.’ The Lord Jesus
replied: ‘I will change the color of every cloth to what color thou desirest,’
and then He presently began to take the cloths out of the furnace; and they
were all dyed of those same colors which the dyer desired. And when the Jews
saw this surprising miracle they praised God." The ancients used also a number of tinctures as ink, among them a
brown color, sepia, in Hebrew tekeleth. As a natural ink its origin antedates
every other ink, artificial or otherwise, in the world. It is a black-brown
liquor, secreted by a small gland into an oval pouch, and through a connecting
duct is ejected at will by the cuttle fish which inhabits the seas of Europe,
especially the Mediterranean. These fish constantly employ the contents of
their "ink bags" to discolor the water, when in the presence of
enemies, in order to facilitate their escape from them.
The black broth of the
Spartans was composed of this product. The Egyptians sometimes used it for coloring
inscriptions on stone. It is the most lasting of all natural ink substances.
So great is the
antiquity of artificial ink that the name of its inventor or date of its
invention are alike unknown. The poet Whitehead refers to it as follows:
Hard that his name it
should not save,
Who first poured forth
the sable wave."
The common black ink of
the ancients was essentially different in composition and less liable to fade
than those used at the present time. It was not a stain like ours, and when
Horace wrote
"And yet as ink
the fairest paper stains,
So worthless verse
pollutes the fairest deeds,"
he must have had in
mind the vitriolic ink of his own time.
But little information
relative to black inks of the intermediate times has come down to us, and it is
conveyed through questioned writings of authors who flourished about the period
of the life of Jesus Christ; the Younger Pliny and Dioscorides are the most
prominent of them. They present many curious recipes. One of these, suggested
by Pliny, is that the addition of an infusion of wormwood to ink will prevent
the destruction of MSS. by mice.
From a memoir by M.
Rousset upon the pigments and dyes used by the ancients, it would appear that
the variety was very considerable. Among the white colors, they were acquainted
with white lead; and for the blacks, various kinds of charcoal and soot were
used. Animal skins were dyed black with gall apples and sulphate of iron
(copper). Brown pigments were made by mixing different kinds of ochre. Under
the name of Alexander blue, the ancients--Egyptians as well as Greeks and
Romans--used a pigment containing oxide of copper, and also one containing
cobalt.
Fabrics were dyed blue
by means of pastel-wood.
Yellow pigments were
principally derived from weld, saffron, and other native plants.
Vermilion, red ochre,
and minium (red lead) were known from a remote antiquity, although the
artificial preparation of vermilion was a secret possessed only by the Chinese.
The term scarlet as
employed in the Old Testament was used to designate the blood-red color
procured from an insect somewhat resembling cochineal, found in great
quantities in Armenia and other eastern countries. The Arabian name of the
insect is Kermez (whence crimson). It frequents the boughs of a species of the
ilex tree: on these it lays its eggs in groups, which become covered with a
sort of down, so that they present the appearance of vegetable galls or
excrescences from the tree itself and are described as such by Pliny XVI, 12,
who also gave it the name of granum, probably on account of its resemblance to
a grain or berry, which has been adopted by more recent writers and is the
origin of the term "ingrain color" as now in use. The dye is procured
from the female grub alone, which, when alive is about the size of the kernel
of a cherry and of a dark red-brown color, but when dead, shrivels up to the
size of a grain of wheat and is covered with a bluish mold. It has an agreeable
aromatic smell which it imparts to that with which it comes into contact. It
was first found in general use in Europe in the tenth century. About 1550,
cochineal, introduced there from Mexico, was found to be far richer in coloring
matter and therefore gradually superseded the older dyestuff.
Indigo was used in
India and Egypt long before the Christian era; and it is asserted that blue
ribbons (strips) found on Egyptian mummies 4500 years old had been dyed with
indigo. It was introduced into Europe only in the sixteenth century.
The use of madder as a
red dyestuff dates from very early times. Pliny mentions it as being employed
by the Hindoos, Persians and Egyptians. In the middle ages the names sandis,
warantia, granza, garancia, were applied to madder, the latter (garance) being
still retained in France. The color yielding substance resides almost entirely
in the roots.
Chilzon was the name
given by the ancient Hebrews to a blue dye procured from a species of
shell-fish.
Herodotus, B. C. 443,
asserts that on the shores of the Caspian Sea lived a people who painted the
forms of animals on their garments with vegetable dyes:
"They have trees whose leaves possess a peculiar property; they
reduce them to powder, and then strip them in water; this forms a dye or
coloring matter with which they paint on their garments the figures of animals.
The impression is such that it cannot be washed out; it appears, indeed, to be
woven into the cloth, and wears as long as the garment itself." We are informed by another ancient
writer that the pagan nations were accustomed to array the images of their gods
in robes of purple. When the prophet Ezekiel took up a lamentation for Tyre, he
spoke of the "blue and purple from the isles of Elishah" in which the
people were clothed. This reference is said to doubtless refer to the islands
of the Aegian Sea, from whence many claim , the Tyrians obtained the
shell-fish,--the murex and papura, which produced the dark-blue and
bright-scarlet coloring materials, the employment of which contributed so much
to the fame of ancient Tyre.
Pliny the younger
confirms this statement:
"The Tyrian-purple was the juice of the Purpurea, a shell-fish, the
veins of its neck and jaws secreting this royal color, but so little was
obtained that it was very rare and cost one thousand Denarii (about $150.00)
per pound." A more modern writer in
discussing a crimson or ruby color says:
"By a mistaken sense the Latin word purpurus, has been called
purple, by all the English and French writers." Arbuthnot, London, 1727, in his book "Ancient Coins,
Weights and Measures," as the result of his examinations of the most
ancient records estimates:
"The Purple was very dear; there were two sorts of Fishes whereof
it was made, the Pelagii, (which were those that were caught in the deep) and
the Buccini. The Pelagium per Pound was worth 50 Nummi, (8 s. 10 3/4 d.), and
the Buceinunt double that, viz. 17 s. 8 3/4 d. (Harduin reads a hundred Pounds
at that price.) The Tyrian double Dye per Pound could scarce be bought for
[Pd]35 9 s., 1 3/4 d." The
very ancient writers state that the most esteemed of the Tyrian purples were
those which compared in color with "coagulated bullocks’ blood." This
estimation seems to go back to the time of the Phœnicians, who were excessively
fond of the redder shades of purple which they obtained also from several
varieties of shell-fish and comprehended under two species; one (Buccinum)
found in cliffs, and the other (Pelagia) which was captured at sea. The first
was found on the coasts of the Mediterranean and Atlantic. The Atlantic shells
afforded the darkest color, while those of the Phœnician coast itself yielded
scarlet shades of wonderful intensity.
Respecting the cost and
durability of the Tyrian purple, it is related that Alexander the Great found
in the treasury of the Persian monarch 5,000 quintals of Hermione purple of
great beauty, and 180 years old, and that it was worth $125 of our money per pound
weight. The price of dyeing a pound of wool in the time of Augustus is given by
Pliny, and that price is equal to about $160 of our money. It is probable that
his remarks refer to some particular tint or quality of color easily
distinguished, although not at all clearly defined by Pliny. He also mentions a
sort of purple, or hyacinth, which was worth, in the time of Julius Cæsar, 100
denarii (about $15 of our money) per pound.
The best authorities of
the present day, however, are of opinion that the celebrated Tyrian-purple was
extracted from a mollusk known as the Janthina prolongata, a shell abundant in
the Mediterranean and very common near Narbonne, where the Tyrian purple
dye-works were in operation at least six hundred years before Christ.
The price current of
some of the inks and colors of antiquity, as quoted by Arbuthnot, are cited
herewith:
Armenian purple 30
hs.=4 s. 10 1/3 d.
India purple from one
Denarius, or 7 3/4 d. to 30 Denarii, 19 s. 4 1 2 d.
Pelagium, the juice of
one sort fishes that dyed purple, 50 hs.=8 s. 0 7/8 d.
Buccinum the juice of
the other fish that dyed purple, 100 hs.=16 s. 1 3/4 d.
Cinnabar 50 hs.=8 s. 0
7/8 d.
Tarentine red purple,
price not mentioned.
Melinum, a sort of
colour that came from Melos, one Nummus,=1 15/16 d.
Paretonium, a sort of
colour that came from Ægypt, very lasting, 6 Denarii,=3 s. 10 1/2 d.
Myrobalanus, 2
Denarii,=1 s. 3 1/2 d.
The last-named
substance is the fruit of the Terminalia, a product of China and the East
Indies, best known as Myrabolams and must have been utilized solely for the
tannin they contain, which Loewe estimates to be identical with ellago-tannic
acid, later discovered in the divi-divi, a fruit grown in South America, and
bablah which is also a fruit of a species of Acacia, well known also for its
gum.
No monuments are extant
of the ancient Myrabolam ink.
Antimony and galls were
used by the Egyptian ladies to tint their eyes and lashes and (who knows) to
write with.
Many of the dyes
employed as ink were those occurring naturally as animal and vegetable
products, or which could be produced therefrom by comparatively simple means,
otherwise we would not be confronted with the fact that no specimens of ink
writing of natural origin remain to us.
The very few specimens
of ink writing which have outlasted decay and disintegration through so many
ages, are found to be closely allied to materials like bitumen, lampblack
obtained from the smoke of oil-torches or resins; or gold, silver, cinnabar and
minium.
Josephus asserts that
the books of the ancient Hebrews were written in gold and silver.
"Sicca dewat"
(A silver ink standeth), as the ancient Arabic proverb runs.
Rosselini asserts:
"the monumental hireoglyphics of the Egyptians were almost
invariably painted with the liveliest tints; and when similar hireoglyphics
were executed on a reduced scale, and in a more cursive form upon papyri or
scrolls made from the leaves of the papyrus the pages were written with both
black and colored inks." The
early mode of ink writing in biblical times mentioned in Numbers v. 23, where
It is said "the priest shall write the curses in a book, and blot them out
with the bitter water," was with a kind of ink prepared for the purpose,
without any salts of iron or other material which could make a permanent dye;
these maledictions were then washed into the water, which the woman was obliged
to drink, so that she drank the very words of the execration. The ink still
used in the East is almost all of this kind; a wet sponge will obliterate the
finest of their writings.
In the book of
Jeremiah, chap. xxxvi. verse 18, it says: "Then Baruch answered, He
pronounced all these words unto me with his mouth, and I wrote them with ink in
the book," and in Ezek. ix. 2, 3, 11, "Ink horn" is referred to.
Six hundred years later
in the New Testament is another mention of ink "having many things to
write unto you. I would not write with paper and Ink," &c.; second
epistle. of John, 12, and again in his third epistle, 13, "I had many things
to write, but I will not with pen and Ink write unto thee."
The illustrative
history of the ancient Egyptians does not point to a time before the reed was
used as a pen. The various sculptures, carvings, pottery and paintings, exhibit
the scribes at work in their avocations, recording details about the hands and
ears of slaughtered enemies, the numbers of captives, the baskets of wheat, the
numerous animals, the tribute, the treaties and the public records. These
ancient scribes employed a cylindrical box for ink, with writing tablets, which
were square sections of wood with lateral grooves to hold the small reeds for
writing.
During the time Joseph
was Viceroy of Egypt under Sethosis I, the first of the Pharaohs, B. C. 1717,
he employed a small army of clerks and storekeepers throughout Egypt in his
extensive grain operations. The scribes whose duties pertained to making
records respecting this business, used both red and black inks, contained in
different receptacles in a desk, which, when not in use, was placed in a box or
trunk, with leather handles at the sides, and in this way was carried from
place to place. As the scribe had two colors of ink, he needed two pens (reeds)
and we see him on the monuments of Thebes, busy with one pen at work, and the
other placed in that most ancient pen-rack, behind the ear. Such, says Mr.
Knight, is presented in a painting at Beni Hassan.
The Historical Society
of New York possesses a small bundle of these pens, with the stains of the ink
yet upon them, besides a bronze knife used for making such pens (reeds), and
which are alleged to belong to a period not far removed from Joseph’s time. The
other history of ink, long preceding the departure of Israel from Egypt, and
with few exceptions until after the middle ages, can only be considered, as it
is intimately bound up in the chronology and story of handwriting and writing
materials. Even then it must not be supposed that the history of ink is
authentic and continuous from the moment handwriting was applied to the
recording of events; for the earliest records are lost to us in almost every
instance. We are therefore dependent upon later writers, who made their records
in the inks of their own time, and who could refer to those preceding them only
by the aid of legends and traditions.
There is no independent
data indicating any variation whatever in the methods of the admixture of black
or colored inks, which differentiates them from those used in the earliest
times of the ancient Egyptians, Hebrews or Chinese. On the contrary if we
exclude "Indian" and one of the red inks, for a period of fourteen
hundred years we find their number diminishing until the first centuries of the
Christian era. Exaggerated tradition has described inks as well as other things
and imagination is not lacking. Some of these legends, in later years put in
writing, compel us to depend on translations of obscure and obsolete tongues,
while the majority of them are mingled with the errors and superstitious of the
time in which they were transcribed.
The value of such
accounts depends upon a variety of circumstances and we must proceed with the
utmost caution and discrimination in examining and weighing the authenticity of
these sources of information.
If we reason that the
art of handwriting did not become known to all the ancient nations at once, but
was gradually imparted by one to another, it follows that records supposed to
be contemporaneous, were made in some countries at a much earlier period than
in others. It must also be observed that the Asiatic nations and the Egyptians
practiced the art of writing many centuries before it was introduced into
Europe. Hence we are able to estimate with some degree of certainty that
ink-written accounts of some Asiatic nations were made while Europe was in this
respect buried in utter darkness.
An interesting story
which bears on this statement is told by Kennett, in his "Antiquities of
Rome," London, 1743, as to the discovery of ancient MSS., five hundred and
twenty years before the Christian era, of what even then must have been
remarkable:
"A strange old woman came once to Tarquinius Superbus with nine
books, which, she said, were the oracles of the Sybils, and proffered to sell
them. But the king making some scruple about the price, she went away and burnt
three of them; and returning with the six, asked the same sum as before.
Tarquin only laughed at the humour; upon which the old woman left him once
more; and after she had burnt three others, came again with them that were
left, but still kept to her old terms. The king now began to wonder at her
obstinacy, and thinking there might be something more than ordinary in the
business, sent for the augars (soothsayers) to consult what was to be done.
They, when their divinations were performed, soon acquainted him what a piece
of impiety he had been guilty of, by refusing a treasure sent to him from
heaven, and commanded him to give whatever she demanded for the books that
remained. The woman received her money, and delivered the writings; and only,
charging them by all means to keep them sacred, immediately vanished. Two of
the nobility were presently after chosen to be the keepers of these oracles,
which were laid up with all imaginable care in the Capitol, in a chest under
ground. They could not be consulted without a special order of the Senate,
which was never granted, unless upon the receiving of some notable defeat; upon
the rising of any considerable mutiny, or sedition in the State; or upon some
other extraordinary occasion; several of which we meet with in Livy." Some of the ancient historians even
sought to be misleading respecting the events not only of their own times, but
of epochs which preceded them. Richardson, in his "Dissertation on Ancient
History and Mythology," published in 1778, remarks:
"The
information received hitherto has been almost entirely derived through the
medium of the Grecian writers; whose elegance of taste, harmony of language,
and fine arrangement of ideas, have captivated the imagination, misled the
judgment, and stamped with the dignified title of history, the amusing
excursions of fanciful romance. Too proud to consider surrounding nations, (if
the Egyptians may be excepted) in any light but that of barbarians; they despised
their records, they altered their language, and framed too often their details,
more to the prejudices of their fellow citizens, than to the standard of truth
or probability. We have names of Persian kings, which a Persian could not
pronounce; we have facts related they apparently never knew; and we have
customs ascribed to them, which contradict every distinguishing characteristic
of an Eastern people. The story of Lysimachus and one Greek historian may
indeed, with justice, be applied to many others. This prince, in the partition
of Alexander’s empire, became King of Thrace: he had been one of the most
active of that conqueror’s commanders; and was present at every event which
deserved the attention of history. A Grecian had written an account of the Persian
conquest; and be wished to read it before the king. The monarch listened with
equal attention and wonder: ‘All this is very fine,’ says he, when the
historian had finished, ‘but where was I when those things were performed?’
"CHAPTER
II. ANTIQUITY OF INK.
THE INVENTION OF THE
ART OF WRITING--TO WHOM IT BELONGS--ITS UTILIZATION BY NATIONS AND
INDIVIDUALS--WHEN IT IS FIRST MENTIONED IN THE BIBLE--CITATIONS FROM THE
ENCYCLOPÆDIA BRITANNICA AND SMITHS DICTIONARY OF THE BIBLE--SOME REMARKS BY
HUMPHREYS OF THE ORIGIN AND PROGRESS OF HANDWRITING--COMMENTS BY PLATO AND THE
COLLOQUY BETWEEN KING THAMUS AND THOTH, THE EGYPTIAN GOD OF THE LIBERAL
ARTS--FIRST APPEARANCE OF INK WRITTEN ROLLS--DESTRUCTION OF THE TEMPLES WHICH
CONTAINED THEM--COMMENTS OF THE HISTORIAN ROLLINS--DESTRUCTION OF THE MOST
ANCIENT CHINESE INK WRITTEN MSS.
THERE is a difference
of opinion as to what nation belongs the honor of the invention of the art of
handwriting. Sir Isaac Newton observes:
"There is the utmost uncertainty in the chronology of ancient
kingdoms, arising from the vanity of each claiming the greatest antiquity,
while those pretensions were favoured by their having no exact account of
time." Its antiquity has been
exhaustively treated by many writers; the best known are Massey, 1763, The
Origin and Progress of Letters;" Astle, 1803, "The Origin and
Progress of Writing;" Silvestre, "Universal Palæography," Paris,
1839-41 ; and Humphreys, 1855, "The Origin and Progress of the Art of
Writing." They, with others, have sought to record the origin and gradual
development of the art of writing from the Egyptian Hieroglyphics of 4000 B.
C.; the Chinese Figurative, 3000 B. C. ; Indian Alphabetic, 2000 or more B. C.
; the Babylonian or Cuneiform, 2000 years B. C.; and the Phœnician in which
they include the Hebrew or Samaritan Alphabet, 2000 or more B. C., down to the
writings of the new or Western world of the Christian era.
The data presented and
the arguments set forth, deserve profound respect, and though we find some
favoring the Egyptians, or the Phœnicians, the Chaldeans, the Syrians, the
Indians, the Persians or the Arabians, it is best to accept the concensus of
their opinion, which seems to divide between the Phœnicians and the Egyptians
as being the inventors of the foremost of all the arts. "For, in Phœnicia,
had lived Taaut or Thoth the first Hermes, its inventor, and who later carried
his art into Egypt where they first wrote in pictures, some 2200 years B.
C."
The art appears to have
been first exercised in Greece and the West about 1500 or 1800 B. C., and like
all arts, it was doubtless slow and progressive. The Greeks refer the invention
of written letters to Cadmus, merely because he introduced them from Phœnicia,
then only sixteen in number. To these, four more were added by Simonides.
Evander brought letters into Latium from Greece, the Latin letters being at
first nearly the same form as the Greek. The Romans employed a device of
scattering green sand upon tables, for the teaching of arithmetic and writing,
and in India a "sand box" consisting of a surface of sand laid on a
board the finger being utilized to trace forms, was the method followed by the
natives to teach their children. It is said that such methods still obtain even
in this age, in some rural districts of England.
After the invention of
writing well-informed nations and individuals kept scribes or chroniclers to
record in writing, historical and other events, mingled with claims of
antiquity based on popular legends.
These individuals were
not always held in the highest esteem. Among the Hebrews it was considered an
honorable vocation, while the Greeks for a long time treated its practitioners
as outcasts. It was an accomplishment possessed by the few even down to the
fifteenth century of the Christian era. The rulers of the different countries
were deficient in the art and depended on others to write their documents and
letters to which they appended their monogram or the sign of the Cross against
their names as an attestation. So late as A. D. 1516 an order was made in
London to examine all persons who could write in order to discover the
authorship of a seditious document.
The art of writing is
not mentioned in the Bible prior to the time of Moses, although as before
stated, in Egypt and the countries adjacent thereto it was not only known but
practiced.
Its first mention
recorded in Scripture will be found in Exodus xvii. v. 14; "And the Lord
said unto Moses, Write this, for a memorial, in a book; and rehearse it in the
ear of Joshua; for I will utterly put out the remembrance of Amalek from under
heaven." This command was given immediately after the defeat of the
Amalekites near Horeb, and before the arrival of the Israelites at Mount Sinai.
It is observable, that
there is not the least hint to induce us to believe that writing was then newly
invented; on the contrary, we may conclude, that Moses understood what was
meant by writing in a book; otherwise God would have instructed him, as he had
done Noah in building the Ark; for he would not have been commanded to write in
a book, if he had been ignorant of the art of writing; but Moses expressed no
difficulty of comprehension when he received this command. We also find that
Moses wrote all the works and all the judgments of the Lord, contained in the
twenty-first and the two succeeding chapters of the book of Exodus, before the
two written tables of stone were even so much as promised. The delivery of the
tables is not mentioned till the eighteenth verse of the thirty-first chapter,
after God had made an end of communing with him upon the mount, though the ten
commandments were promulgated immediately after his third descent.
Moses makes frequent
mention of ancient books of the Hebrews, but describes none, except the two
tables on which God wrote the ten commandments. These he tells us, were of
polished stone, engraven on both sides and as Calmet remarks: "it is
probable that Moses would not have observed to us these two particulars so
often as he does, were it not to distinguish them from other books, which were
made of tables, not of stone, but of wood and curiously engraven, but on one
side only."
It cannot be said that
Moses uses any language which can be construed to mean the employment of rolls
of papyrus, or barks of trees, much less of parchment. We have therefore reason
to believe that by the term book, he always means table-books, made of small
thin boards or plates.
The edicts, as well as
the letters of kings, were written upon tablets and sent to the various
provinces, sealed with their signets. Scripture plainly alludes to the custom
of sealing up letters, edicts and the tablets on which the prophets wrote their
visions.
The practice of writing
upon rolls made of the barks of trees is very ancient. It is alluded to in the
Book of Job: "Oh! that mine adversary had written a book; surely I would
take it upon my shoulders, and bind it as a crown to me." (Old version.)
The new one runs: "And that I had the indictment which mine adversary hath
written!" The rolls, or volumes, generally speaking, were written upon one
side only. This is intimated by Ezekiel who observes that he saw one of in
extraordinary form written on both sides: "And when I looked, behold, an
Hand was sent unto me, and lo! a roll of a book was therein; and he spread it
before me, and it was written within and without."
To have been able to
write on dry tablets of wood or barks of trees with the reed or brush, the then
only ink-writing instruments in vogue would have necessitated the employment of
lampblack suspended in a vehicle of thick gum, or in the form of a paint. Both
of these maybe termed pigmentary inks. The use of thin inks would have caused
spreading or blotting and thus rendered the writing illegible.
The Encyclopædia
Britannica generalizes its remarks on this subject:--
"The earliest writings were purely monumental and accordingly those
materials were chosen which were supposed to last the longest. The same idea of
perpetuity which in architecture finds its most striking exposition in the
pyramids was repeated, in the case of literary records, in the two columns
mentioned by Josephus, the one of stone and the other of brick, on which the
children of Seth wrote their inventions and astronomical discoveries; in the
pillars in Crete on which, according to Porphyry, the ceremonies of the
Corybantes were inscribed; in the leaden tablets containing the works of
Hesiod, deposited in the temple of the Muses, in Bœotia; in the ten
commandments on stone delivered by Moses; and in the laws of Solon, inscribed
on planks of wood. The notion of a literary production surviving the
destruction of the materials on which it was first written--the ‘momentum, ære
perennius’ of Horace’s ambition--was unknown before the discovery of substances
for systematic transcription.
"Tablets of ivory or metal were in common use among the Greeks and
Romans. When made of wood--sometimes of citron, but usually of beech or
fir--their inner sides were coated with wax, on which the letters were traced
with a pointed pen or stiletto (stylus), one end of which was used for erasure.
It was with his stylus that Cæsar stabbed Casca in the arm when attacked by his
murderers. Wax tablets of this kind continued in partial use in Europe during
the middle ages; the oldest extant specimen, now in the museum at Florence,
belongs to the year 1301." Later the
Hebrew Scriptures were written in ink or paint upon the skins of ceremonially
clean animals or even birds. These were rolled upon sticks and fastened with a
cord, the ends of which were sealed when security was an object. They were
written in columns, and usually upon one side, only. The writing was from right
to left; the upper margin was three fingers broad, the lower one four fingers;
a breadth of two fingers separated the columns. The columns ran across the
width of the sheet, the rolled ends of which were held vertically in the
respective hands. When one column was read, another was exposed to view by
unrolling it from the end in the left hand, while the former was hidden from
view by rolling up the end grasped by the right band. The pen was a reed, the
ink black, carried in a bottle suspended from the girdle.
The Samaritan
Pentateuch is very ancient, as is proved by the criticisms of Talmudic writers.
A copy of it was acquired in 1616 by Pietro della Valle, one of the first
discoverers of the cuneiform inscriptions. It was thus introduced to the notice
of Europe. It is claimed by the Samaritans of Náblus that their copy was
written by Abisha, the great-grandson of Aaron, in the thirteenth year of the
settlement of the land of Canaan by the children of Israel. The copies of it
brought to Europe are all written in black ink on vellum or "cotton"
paper, and vary from 12mo to folio. The scroll used by the Samaritans is
written in gold letters. (See Smith’s "Dictionary of the Bible," vol.
III, pp. 1106-1118.) Its claims to great antiquity are not admitted by
scholars.
The enumeration of some
of the modes of writing may be interesting:
The Mexican writing is
in vertical columns, beginning at the bottom.
The Chinese and
Japanese write in vertical columns, beginning at the top and passing from left
to right.
The Egyptian
hieroglyphics are written invertical columns or horizontal lines according to
the shape and position of the tablet. It is said that with the horizontal
writing the direction is indifferent, but that the figures of men and animals
face the beginning of the line. With figures, the units stand on the left.
The Egyptians also
wrote from right to left in the hieratic and demotic and enchorial styles. The
Palasgians did the same, and were followed by the Etruscans. In the demotic
character, Dr. Brugsch remarks that though the general direction of the writing
was usually from right to left, yet the individual letters were formed from
left to right, as is evident from the unfinished ends of horizontal letters
when the ink failed in the pen.
In writing numbers in
the hieratic and enchorial the units were placed to the left. The Arabs write
from right to left, but received their numerals from India, whence they call
them "Hindee," and there the arrangement of their numerals is like
our own, units to the right.
The following
noteworthy passage is taken from Humphreys’ work "On the Origin and
Progress of the Art of Writing:"
"Nearly all the principal methods of ancient writing may be divided
into square capitals, rounded capitals, and cursive letters; the square
capitals being termed simply capitals, the rounded capitals uncials, and the
small letters, or such as had changed their form during the creation of a
running hand, minuscule. Capitals are, strictly speaking, such letters as
retain the earliest settled form of an alphabet; being generally of such
angular shapes as could conveniently be carved on wood or stone, or engraved in
metal, to be stamped on coins. The earliest Latin MSS. known are written
entirely in capitals like inscriptions in metal or marble. * * * * *
The uncial letters, as they are termed, appear to have arisen as writing
on papyrus or vellum became common, when many of the straight lines of the
capitals, in that kind of writing, gradually acquired a curved form, to
facilitate their more rapid execution. However this may be, from the sixth to
the eighth, or even 10th century, these uncials or partly rounded capitals
prevail.
"The modern minuscule, differing from the ancient cursive
character, appears to have arisen in the following manner: During the 6th and
7th centuries, a kind of transition style prevailed in Italy and some other
parts of Europe, the letters composing which have been termed semi-uncials,
which, in a further transition, became more like those of the old Roman
cursive. This manner, when definitely formed, became what is now termed the minuscule
manner; it began to prevail over uncials in a certain class of MSS. about the
8th century, and towards the 10th its general use was, with few exceptions,
established. It is said to have been occasionally used as early as the 5th
century; but I am unable to cite an authentic existing monument. The Psalter of
Alfred the Great, written in the 9th century, is in a small Roman cursive hand,
which has induced Casley to consider it the work of some Italian
ecclesiastic." The learned who have
made a life study of the history of the most ancient manuscripts, mention them
specifically in great number and of different countries, which would seem to
indicate that the art of handwriting had made great strides in the very olden
times; many nations had adopted it, and B. C. 650 "it had spread itself
over the (then known) greater part of the civilized world."
We can well believe
this to be true in reading about the ancient libraries, notwithstanding that
some rulers had sought to prohibit its exercise.
Plato, who lived B. C.
350, expresses his views of the importance of writing in his imaginary colloquy
between Thamus, king of Egypt, and Thoth, the god of the liberal arts of the
Egyptians; he acquaints us:
"That the discourse turned upon letters. Thoth maintained the value
of Writing, as capable of making the People wiser, increasing the powers of
Memory; to this the king dissented, and expressed his opinion that by the
exercise of this Art the multitude would appear to be knowing of those things
of which they were really ignorant, possessing only an idea of Wisdom, instead
of Wisdom itself." Pythagoras, B. C.
532, we are informed by Astle:
"Went into Egypt where he resided twenty-two years; he was
initiated into the sacerdotal order, and, from his spirit of inquiry, he has
been justly said to have acquired a great deal of Egyptian learning, which he
afterwards introduced into Italy. The Pythagorean schools which he established
in Italy when writing was taught, were destroyed when the Platonic or new
philosophy prevailed over the former. Polybius (lib. ii. p. 175) and Jamblichus
(in vita Pythag.) mention many circumstances, relative to these facts, quoted
from authors now lost; as doth Porphyry, in his life of Pythagoras." For the hundred years or more following,
however, the dissemination of learning and the transcription of events was not
to be denied. We find ink-written volumes (rolls) relating to diverse subjects
being loaned to one another; correspondence by letter to and from distant lands
of frequent occurrence, and the art of handwriting regularly taught in the
schools of learning. Its progress was to be interrupted by the wars of the
Persians. Mr. Astle in calling attention to events which have contributed to
deprive us of the literary treasures of antiquity thus refers to them:
"A very fatal blow was given to literature, by the destruction of
the Phœnician temples, and of the Egyptian colleges, when those kingdoms, and
the countries adjacent, were conquered by the Persians, about three hundred and
fifty years before Christ. Ochus, the Persian general, ravaged these countries
without mercy, and forty thousand Sidonians burnt themselves with their
families and riches in their own houses. The conqueror then drove Nectanebus
out of Egypt, and committed the like ravages in that country; afterwards he
marched into Judea, where he took Jericho, and sent a great number of Jews into
captivity. The Persians had a great dislike to the religion of the Phœnicians
and the Egyptians; this was one reason for destroying their books, of which
Eusebius (De Preparat. Evang.) says, they had a great number." These losses, apparently, did not interfere
with the progress of the art in more western countries. Professor Rollin in his
"Ancient History," 1823, remarks:
"Ptolemy Soter, King of Egypt B. C. 285, had been careful to
improve himself in public literature, as was evident by his compiling the life
of Alexander, which was greatly esteemed by the ancients, but is now entirely
lost. In order to encourage the cultivation of the sciences, which he much
admired, he founded an academy at Alexandria, called the Museum, where a
society of learned men devoted themselves to philosophic studies, and the
improvement of all other sciences, almost in the same manner as those of London
and Paris. For this purpose, he began by giving them a library, which was
prodigiously increased by his successors.
"His son Philadelphus left a hundred thousand volumes in it at the
time of his death, and the succeeding princes of that race enlarged it still
more, till at last it consisted of seven hundred thousand volumes.
"This library was formed by the following method: All the Greek and
other books that were brought into Egypt were seized, and sent to the Museum,
where they were transcribed by persons employed for that purpose. The copies
were then delivered to the proprietors, and the originals were deposited in the
library.
"As the Museum was at first in that quarter of the city which was
called Bruchion, and near the royal palace, the library was founded in the same
place, and it soon drew vast numbers thither; but when it was so much
augmented, as to contain four hundred thousand volumes, they began to deposit
the additional books in the Serapion. This last library was a supplement to the
former, for which reason it received the appellation of its Daughter, and in
process of time had in it three hundred thousand volumes.
"In Cæsar’s war with the inhabitants of Alexandria, a fire,
occasioned by those hostilities, consumed the library of Bruchion, with its
four hundred thousand volumes. Seneca seems to me to be out of humour, when,
speaking of the conflagration, he bestows his censures both on the library
itself, and the eulogium made on it by Livy, who styles it an illustrious
monument of the opulence of the Egyptian kings, and of their judicious
attention to the improvement of the sciences. Seneca, instead of allowing it to
be such, would have it considered only as a work resulting from the pride and
vanity of those monarchs, who had amassed such a number of books, not for their
own use, but merely for pomp and ostentation. This reflection, however, seems
to discover very little sagacity; for is it not evident beyond contradiction,
that none but kings are capable of founding these magnificent libraries, which
become a necessary treasure to the learned, and do infinite honour to those
states in which they are established?
"The library of Serapion, did not sustain any damage, and it was
undoubtedly there that Cleopatra deposited those two hundred thousand volumes
from that of Pergamus, which was presented to her by Antony. This addition,
with other enlargements that were made from time to time, rendered the new
library of Alexandria more numerous and considerable than the first; and though
it was ransacked more than once, during the troubles and revolutions which
happened in the Roman empire, it always retrieved its losses, and recovered its
number of volumes. In this condition it subsisted for many ages, displaying its
treasures to the learned and curious, till the seventh century, when it
suffered the same fate with its parent, and was burnt by the Saracens, when
they took that city in the year of our Lord 642. The manner by which this
misfortuue{sic} happened is too singular to be passed over in silence.
"John, surnamed the Grammarian, a famous follower of Aristotle,
happened to be at Alexandria, when the city was taken; and as he was much
esteemed by Amri Ebnol As, the general of the Saracen troops, he entreated that
commander to bestow upon him the Alexandrian library. Amri replied, that it was
not in his power to grant such a request; but that he would write to the
Khalif, or emperor of the Saracens, for his orders on that head, without which
he could not presume to dispose of the library. He accordingly wrote to Omar,
the then Khalif, whose answer was, that if those books contained the same
doctrine with the Koran, they could not be of any use, because the Koran was
sufficient in itself, and comprehended all necessary truths; but if they
contained any particulars contrary to that book, they ought to be destroyed. In
consequence to this answer, they were all condemned to the flames, without any
further examination; and, for that purpose, were distributed among the public
baths; where, for the space of six months, they were used for fuel instead of
wood. We may from hence form a just idea of the prodigious number of books
contained in that library; and thus was this inestimable treasure of learning
destroyed!
The Museum of Bruchion was not burnt with the library which was attached
to it. Strabo acquaints us, in his description of it, that it was a very large
structure near the palace, and fronting the port; and that it was surrounded
with a portico, in which the philosophers walked. He adds, that the members of
this society were governed by a president, whose station was so honourable and
important, that, in the time of the Ptolemies, he was always chosen by the king
himself, and afterwards by the Roman emperor; and that they had a hall where
the whole society ate together at the expense of the public, by whom they were
supported in a very plentiful manner." Among
the other events contributing to the deplorable losses which mankind has
sustained in this respect, a sad one was when the most ancient ink writings of
the Chinese were ordered to be destroyed by their emperor Chee-Whange-Tee, in
the third century before Christ, with the avowed purpose that everything should
begin anew as from his reign. The small portion of them which escaped
destruction were recovered and preserved by his successors.
CHAPTER III. CLASSICAL INK
AND ITS EXODUS.
THE MATERIALS AND
METHODS EMPLOYED IN PREPARING THE INK MSS. OF ANTIQUITY--THE INTRODUCTION OF
PARCHMENT AS A SUBSTITUTE FOR PAPYRUS--MODE OF WRITING ON PARCHMENT--HOW
SEPARATE PIECES WERE FIRST JOINED INTO BOOK FORM--EVIDENCE OF THE CHARACTER OF
WRITING UTENSILS TO BE FOUND IN ANCIENT PICTURES--SOME FORMULAS BY THE YOUNGER
PLINY AND HIS CONTEMPORARY DIOSCORIDES--HOW THE GREEKS AND ROMANS KEPT THEIR
PAPYRI FROM BREAKING--WHEN BLACK INK BEGAN TO FALL INTO DISUSE AND ITS
CAUSE--THE ADOPTION OF THE STYLUS AND ITS ACCOMPANYING SHEETS OF LEAD, IVORY,
METAL AND WOOD COATED WITH WAX--THE EFFORTS MADE TO RESUME THE USE OF SOME INK
WHICH WOULD BIND TO PARCHMENT--WHY THERE ARE NO ORIGINAL MSS. EXTANT BELONGING
TO THE TIME OF CHRIST--THE INVENTION OF THE VITRIOLIC INKS--HUMPHREY’S BLUNDER
IN LOCATING DATES OF EARLY GREEK MSS.--THE DESTRUCTION OF THE CITIES OF
HERCULANEUM AND POMPEII--AWAKENING OF INTEREST AGAIN ABOUT THE EMPLOYMENT OF
INKS--REDISCOVERIES OF SOME OF THE MORE REMOTE ANCIENT RECIPES--THE WRITERS IN
GOLD AND SILVER--RECORDED INSTANCES OF ILLUMINATED MSS.--PASSAGE FROM THE BOOK
OF JOB WRITTEN BY ST. JEROME--DENIAL OF THE EMPLOYMENT OF TANNO-GALLATE OF IRON
INK IN THE FOURTH CENTURY--DESTRUCTION OF THE INSPIRED WRITINGS BY ORDER OF THE
ROMAN SENATE--THE ECLIPSE OF CLASSICAL LITERATURE AND DISMEMBERMENT OF THE
ROMAN EMPIRE--POEM ON THE THOUSAND YEARS KNOWN AS THE DARK AGES WHICH FOLLOWED.
THEOPHRASTUS says that
the papyrus books of the ancients were no other than rolls prepared in the
following manner: Two leaves of the rush were plastered together, usually with
the mud of the Nile, in such a fashion that the fibres of one leaf should cross
the fibres of the other at right angles; the ends of each being then cut off, a
square leaf was obtained, equally capable of resisting fracture when pulled or
taken hold of in any direction. In this form the papyri were exported in great
quantities. In order to form these single leaves into the "scapi," or
rolls of the ancients, about twenty were glued together end to end. The writing
was then executed in parallel columns a few inches wide, running transversely
to the length of the scroll. To each end of the scrolls were attached round
staves similar to those we use for maps. To these staves, strings, known as
"umbilici," were attached, to the ends of which bullæ or weights were
fixed. The books when rolled up, were bound up with these umbilici, and were
generally kept in cylindrical boxes or capsæ, a term from which the Mediæval
"capsula," or book-cover was derived. "The mode in which the
students held the rolls in order to read from them is well shown in a painting
in the house of a surgeon at Pompeii. One of the staves, with the papyrus
rolled round it, was held in each hand, at a distance apart equal to the width
of one or more of the transverse columns of writing. As soon as the eye was
carried down to the bottom of a column, one hand rolled up and the other
unrolled sufficient of the papyrus to bring a fresh column opposite to the
reader’s eye, and so on until the whole was wound round one of the staves,
when, of course, the student had arrived at the end of his book."
Eumenes, king of
Pergamus, being unable to procure the Egyptian papyrus, through the jealousy of
one of the Ptolemies, who occupied himself in forming a rival library to the
one which subsequently became so celebrated at Pergamus, introduced the use of
Parchment properly "dressed" for taking ink and pigments and hence
the derivation of the word "pergamena" as applied to parchment or
vellum, the former substance being the prepared skin of sheep, and the latter
of calves.
The sheets of parchment
were joined end to end, as the sheets of papyrus had been, and when written
upon, on one side only, and in narrow columns across the breadth of the scroll,
were rolled up around staves and bound with strings, to which seals of wax were
occasionally attached, in place of the more common leaden bullæ.
The custom of dividing
wax, ivory, wood and metal MSS. into pages and in this way into book form is
said by Suetonius to have been introduced by Julius Cæsar, whose letters to the
Senate were so made up, and after whose time the practice became usual for all
documents either addressed to, or issuing from that body, or to or from the
Emperors. As that form subsequently crept into general use, the books were
known as "codices;" and hence the ordinary term as applied to
manuscript volumes.
All classes of
"books," the reeds for writing in them, the inkstands, and the
"capsæ" or "scrinia," the boxes in which the
"scapi" or rolls were kept, are minutely portrayed in ancient
wall-paintings and ivory diptychs (double tablets), and which may belong to a
period near the beginning of the Christian era.
Pliny and Dioscorides
have given the formulas for the writing inks used by the Greek and Roman
scribes immediately before and during their time. Pliny declares that the ink
of the bookmakers was made of soot, charcoal and gum, although he does not
state what fluid was employed to commingle them. He does, however, mention to
an occasional use of some acid (vinegar) to give the ink a binding property on
the papyrus.
Dioscorides, however,
specifies the proportions of this "soot" ink. Another formula alluded
to by the same author calls for a half ounce each of copperas (blue) and
ox-glue, with half pound of smoke black made from burned resin. He adds,
"is a good application in cases of gangrene and is useful in scalds, if a
little thickened and employed as a salve." De Vinne speaks of this as a
"crude" receipt which will enable one to form a correct opinion of
the quality of scientific knowledge then applied to medicine and the mechanical
arts; also that these mixtures which are more like shoe blacking than writing
fluid were used with immaterial modifications by the scribes of the dark ages.
The old Greeks and
Romans had no substitute for the papyrus, which was so brittle that it could
not be folded or creased. It could not be bound up in books, nor could it be
rolled up unsupported. It was secure only when it had been wound around a
wooden or metal roller.
After the wholesale
destruction of the libraries of ink-written MSS., the black inks began to fall
into disuse; their value in respect to quality gradually deteriorated, caused
by the displacement of gummy vehicles, and a consequent absence of any chance
of union between the parchment or papyrus and the dry black particles, which
could be "blown" or washed off. To employ any other kind of ink
except one of natural origin like the juice of berries which soon disappeared,
was forbidden by prevailing religious customs. Such conditions naturally merged
into others, in the shape of "ink" substitutes for writing; the
stylus, with its accompanying sheets or tablets of ivory, wood, metal and wax
came into popular vogue and so continued for many centuries, even after the
employment of ink for writing purposes had been resumed.
Ovid, in his story of
Caunus and Byblis, illustrates the use of the tables (tablets), and he lived at
the time of the birth of Christ, thus translated:
"Then fits her
trembling hands to Write:
One holds the Wax, the
Style the other guides,
Begins, doubts, writes,
and at the Table chides;
Notes, razes, changes
oft, dislikes, approves,
Throws all aside,
resumes what she removes.
* * * * * * * *
"The Wax thus
filled with her successless wit,
She Verses in the
utmost margin writ."
He also makes reference
to inks, in the passage taken from his first elegy, "Ad Librum:"
"Nec te purpureo
velent vaccinia succo;
Non est conveniens
luctibus ille color.
Nec titulus minio, nec
cedro charta notetur.
Candida nec nigra
cornua fronte geras."
which Davids translates
as follows:
“TO HIS BOOK.
“Nor shall
huckleberries stain (literally veil) thee with purple
juice:
That color is not
becoming to lamentations.
Nor shall title (or
head-letter) be marked with vermillion, or
paper with cedar,
Thou shalt carry
neither white nor black horns on thy forehead
(or front, or
frontispiece).”
The traditions handed
down as of this era relating to the efforts to find some substitute for “Indian”
ink which would not only “”bind to parchment and vellum but also would be
satisfactory to the priests, are more or less confirmed by the younger Pliny,
and makes it safe to assume that several were invented and employed in writing,
though possessing but little lasting qualities. Their use and natural
disappearance is perhaps the real cause of the fact that there are no original
MSS. extant dating as of or belonging to the time immediately preceding or
following the birth of Christ, or indeed until long after his death.
There is some authority
though for the statement that at this time two vitriolic substances were used
in the preparation of black ink,--a slime or sediment (Salsugo) and a yellow
vitriolic earth (Misy). This last-named mineral, is unquestionably the same
natural chemical mentioned by writers, which about the end of the first century
was designated “kalkanthum” or “chalkanthum” and possessed not only the
appearance of, but the virtues of what we know as blue copperas or sulphate of
copper. It continued in use as long as men were unacquainted with the art of
lixiviating salt, or, in other words, as long as they had no vitriol
manufactories. Commingled with lampblack, bitumen or like black substances in
gummy water, it was acceptable to the priests for ritualistic writings and was
in general vogue for several centuries thereafter under the name of (blue) "vitriolic"
ink, notwithstanding the fact that there could not be any lasting chemical
union between such materials.
It was the so-called
"vitriolic" ink, which is said to have "corroded the delicate
leaves of the papyrus and to have eaten through both parchment and
vellum."
These deductions,
however, do not agree with some of the historians and scholars like Noel
Humphreys, author of the "Origin and Progress of the Art of Writing,"
London, 1855, a recognized authority on the subject of ancient MSS., who but
repeats in part the text of earlier writers, when he says, p. 101:
"Examples of early Greek MSS. of the last century previous to the
Christian era are not confined to Egyptian sources; the buried city of
Herculaneum, in Italy, partially destroyed about seventy-nine years before the
Christian era, and injured by subsequent eruptions, till totally destroyed by
the most violent eruption of Vesuvius on record, that of the year 471 A. D.
having yielded several specimens." The
MSS. examples mentioned in the citation, must of necessity refer to specimens
of writing made with "vitriolic" and even more ancient inks. They are
to be considered in conjunction with the historical fact that these cities were
buried for more than sixteen hundred years, counting from the first eruption,
before they were brought to light (Herculaneum was discovered A. D. 1713 and
Pompeii, forty years later); also that they must have been subjected to intense
heat and a long period of decay which could only operate to rob them of all traces
of natural ink phenomena. Furthermore, the information Mr. Humphreys seeks to
convey, dates contemporaneously with the first eruption of Vesuvius, which
occurred seventy-nine years after the Christian era and not seventy-nine
yearsbefore it.
This stupendous blunder
involves a period of one hundred and fifty-eight years; if it is rectified, the
"early Greek MSS." are shown to emanate from the second half of the
first century following the birth of Christ and confirming to some extent the deductions
hereinbefore made, although the probabilities are that they belong to later
periods, included in the third and fourth centuries.
It is affirmed that the
eruption of Mt. Vesuvius A. D. 79, did not entirely destroy the cities of
Herculaneum and Pompeii, and that they emerged from their ruins in the reign of
the Emperor Titus. They are also mentioned as inhabited cities in the chart of
Peutinger, which is of the date of Constantine.
The next eruption, A.
D. 471, was probably the most frightful on record if we exclude the volcanic
eruption of Mt. Pelee, which occurred in Martinique, West Indies, in 1902,
destroying thirty thousand human beings in fifteen minutes and devastating
nearly the entire island. From Marcellinus we learn that the ashes of the
Vesuvius volcano were vomited over a great portion of Europe, reaching to
Constantinople, where a festival was instituted in commemoration of the strange
phenomenon. After this, we hear no more of these cities, but the portion of the
inhabitants who escaped built or occupied suburbs at Nola in Campania and at
Naples. In the latter city, the Regio Herculanensium, or Quarter of the
Herculaneans, an inscription marked on several lapidary monuments, indicates
the part devoted to the population driven from the doomed city.
The ancient inkstand
found at Herculaneum, said to contain a substance resembling a thick oil or
paint characteristic of a material which it is alleged, "some of the
manuscripts have been written in a sort of relievo, visible in the letters when
a ‘leaf’ is held to the light in a horizontal direction," it is not
impossible, indeed it is quite probable, belonged to an era centuries later
than the period to which it has been assigned.
"No perfect
papyri, but only fragments, have been found at Pompeii. At Herculaneum, up to
the year 1825, 1,756 had been obtained, besides many others destroyed by the
workmen, who imagined them to be mere sticks of charcoal. Most of them were
found in a suburban villa, in a room of small dimensions, ranged in presses round
the sides of the room, in the center of which stood a sort of rectangular
bookcase.
"Sir Humphry Davy,
after investigating their chemical nature, arrived at the conclusion that they
had not been carbonized by heat, but changed by the long action of air and
moisture; and he visited Naples in hopes of rendering the resources of
chemistry available towards deciphering these long-lost literary treasures. His
expectations, however, were not fully crowned with success, although the
partial efficacy of his methods was established; and he relinquished the
pursuit at the end of six months, partly from disappointment, partly from a
belief that vexatious obstacles were thrown in his way by the jealousy of the
persons to whom the task of unrolling had been intrusted. About five hundred
volumes have been well and neatly unrolled. It is rather remarkable that, as
far as can be learned, no manuscript of any known standard work has been found,
nor, indeed, any production of any of the great luminaries of the ancient world.
The most celebrated person of whom any work has been found is Epicurus, whose
treatise, De Natura, has been successfully unrolled. This and a few other
treatises have been published. The library in which this was found appears to
have been rich in treatises on the Epicurean philosophy. The only Latin work
which it contained was a poem, attributed to Rabirius, on the war of Cæsar and
Antony."
Beginning with A. D.
200, the employment of inks became more and more constant and popular.
Rediscoveries of ancient formulas belonging to a more remote antiquity
multiplied in number. Silver ink was again quite common in most countries. Red
ink made of vermilion (a composition of mercury, sulphur and potash) and
cinnabar (native mercuric sulphide) were employed in the writing of the titles
as was blue ink made of indigo, cobalt or oxide of copper. Tyrian purple was
used for coloring the parchment or vellum. The "Indian" inks made by
the Chinese were imported and used in preference to those of similar character
manufactured at home. The stylus and waxed tablets though still used, in a
measure gave way to the reawakened interest in ink and ink writings.
A greater facility in
writing, due to the gradual reduction in size of the uncial (inch) letters was
thereby attained.
There were
"writers in gold" and "writers in silver" who travelled
from the East into Greece and who bad found their way before the third century
into the very heart of Rome. Their business was to embellish the manuscript
writings of those times. It was considered en rêgale for authors to
"illuminate" their MSS. and those who failed to do so suffered in
popularity.
These authors
frequently allude to their use of red, black and secret inks.
Martial in his first
epistle points out the bookseller’s shop opposite the Julian Forum where his
works may be obtained "smoothed with pumice stone and decorated with
purple." Seneca mentions books ornamented "cum imaginabus."
Varro is related by the younger Pliny to have illustrated his works by pictures
of more than seven hundred illustrious persons. Martial dwells on the edition
of Virgil, with his portrait as a frontispiece.
The earliest recorded
instance of the richer adornments of golden lettering on purple or rose-stained
vellum is given by Julius Capitolinus in his life of the Emperor Maximinus the
younger. He therein mentions that the mother of the emperor presented to him on
his return to his tutor (early in the third century), a copy of the works of
Homer, written in gold upon purple vellum.
The fugitive character,
as before stated, of a great many of the colored inks, and indeed most of the
black ones which were undoubtedly employed, is the principal reason why so few
specimens of them remain to us. Those which have proved themselves so lasting
in character as to be still extant, bear evidence of extreme care in the
preparation of both the inks and the materials on which the writings appear.
Perhaps one of the finest illustrations of this practice is to be found in a
book of the Four Gospels of Italian origin, discovered in the tenth century (a
work of the fourth century) and deposited in the Harlein Library. This book is
written in "Indian" ink and possesses magnificently embellished and
illuminated letters at the beginning of each Gospel, which are on vellum
stained in different colors.
St. Jerome calls
attention to this class of books in a well-known passage of his preface to the
Book of Job, also written in the fourth century, where he explains as
translated:
"Let those who will have old books written in gold and silver on
purple parchment, or, as they are commonly called, in uncial-letters,--rather
ponderous loads than books,--so long as they permit me and mine to have copies,
and rather correct than beautiful books." It
has been said that the Tanno-gallate of Iron Inks (iron salts, nut-galls and
gum) were first used in the fourth century. There is positively no credible
authority for such a statement, nor is there a single monument in the shape of
a documentary specimen of ink writing of that one or an earlier century made
with such an ink in any public or private library and as far as known in
existence.
About A. D. 390 the
inspired writings (often termed pagan) of the classical countries, or at least
the copies or extracts of them, upon a special search made by order of the
Roman Senate, including those already mentioned as of the time of Tarquin (some
nine hundred years earlier), were gathered up in Greece, Italy and other parts
and destroyed, because, as we are informed, this Roman Senate had embraced the
Christian faith and furthermore "such vanities began to grow out of
fashion; till at last Stilicho burnt them all under Honorius (a son of
Theodosius the Great), for which he is so severely censured by the noble poet
Rutilius, in his ingenious itinerary."
Not only Roman Arms the
Wretch betrayed
To barbarous Foes;
before that cursed Deed,
He burnt the Writings
of the sacred Maid,
We hate Althæa for the
fatal Brand;
When Nisius fell, the
weeping Birds complained:
More cruel he than the
revengeful Fair;
More cruel heth at
Nisius’ Murderer.
Whose impious Hands
into the Flames have thrown
The Heavenly Pledges of
the Roman Crown,
Unrav’lling all the
Doom that careful Fate had spun."
The destruction of Rome
by Alaric, King of the Western Goths, A. D. 410, and the subsequent
dismemberment of the entire Roman Empire by the barbarians of the North who
followed in his wake, announced that ancient history had come to an end.
It may be truly said as
well that the ending of the ancient history of the black and colored writing
inks which began in the obscurity of tradition between 2000 and 1800 B. C., a
period of some 2200 years, was also contemporaneous with these events.
The eclipse of
ink-written literature for at least 500 of the 1000 years which followed, and
known as the Middle or "Dark" Ages, except in the Church alone, who
seem to have kept up the production of manuscript books principally for
ecclesiastical and medical purposes was complete. Hence, any information
pertaining to those epochs about ink, writing materials and ink writings, must
be sought for in the undestroyed records and the ink writings themselves left
by the fathers of the Church. All else is tainted and of doubtful authority.
* * * * * * * *
"When waned the
star of Greece was there no cry,
To rouse her people
from their lethargy?
Was there no sentry on
the Parthenon--
No watch-fire on the
field of Marathon,
When science left the
Athenian city’s gate,
To seek protection from
a nameless fate?
The sluggish sentry
slept--no cry was heard
No hands the glimm’ring
watch-fire’s embers stirr’d.
Fair science unmolested
left the land,
That she had nurtured
with maternal hand;
And wandered forth some
genial spot to find,
Where she might rear
her altar to the mind.
"Long thro’ the
darken’d ages of a world,
Back to primeval chaos
rudely hurled,
She journey’d on amid
the gath’ring gloom,
A spectre form emerging
from the tomb.
Earth had no resting
place--no worshipper--
No dove returned with
olive branch to her:
Her lamp burned dimly,
yet its flick’ring light,
Guided the wanderer
thro’ the lengthen’d night.
Oft in her weary
search, she paused the while,
To catch one gleam of
hope--one favour’d smile;
But the dim mists of
ignorance still threw,
Their blighting
influence o’er the famish’d few,
Who deigned to look
upon that lustrous eye,
Which pierced the ages
of futurity.
"For ten long
centuries she groped her way,
Through gloom, and
darkness, ruin and decay;
Yet came at last the
morning’s rosy light,
A thousand echoes hail’d
the glorious sight--
Joy thrill’d the
universe--one mingled cry
Of exultation, pealed
along the sky!
Science came forth in
richer robes arrayed
She trod a pathway ne’er
before essayed;
Up the steep mount of
fame she fleetly pressed,
And hung her trophies
on its gilded crest."
CHAPTER IV. CLASSICAL INK
AND ITS EXODUS (CONTINUED).
DESTRUCTION OF THE
PERGAMUS LIBRARY OF ALEXANDRIA--SOME OBSERVATIONS BY SIR THOMAS ASTLE
--COMPARISON OF HIS STATEMENTS WITH THOSE OF PROFESSOR ANTHON RELATIVE TO
FRAGMENTS OF ANTIQUITY WHICH REMAIN--AUTHENTICITY OF THEM NOT DISTURBED IF THEY
ARE OF PROPER AGE --TAYLOR’S VIEWS ON THIS SUBJECT.
THE storming of
Alexandria and the destruction of the Pergamus library, composed largely of
ink-written volumes, by the Saracens, A. D. 642, has already been reverted to.
Astle observes:
"Thus perished by fanatical madness, the inestimable Alexandrian
library, which is said to have contained at that time upwards of five hundred
thousand volumes; and from this period, barbarity and ignorance prevailed for
several centuries. In Italy and all over the west of Europe learning was in a
measure extinguished, except some small remains which were preserved in
Constantinople.
"Theodosious, the younger, was very assiduous in augmenting this
library, by whom, in the latter end of the fourth century, it was enlarged to
one hundred thousand volumes, above one-half of which were burnt in the fifth
century by the Emperor Leo the First, so famous for his hatred to images.
"The inhabitants of Constantinople had not lost their taste for
literature in the beginning of the thirteenth century, when this city was
sacked by the Crusaders, in the year 1205; the depredations then committed are
related in Mr. Harris’s posthumous works, vol. ii, p. 301, from Nicetas the
Choniate, who was present at the sacking of this place. His account of the
statues, bustos, bronzes, manuscripts, and other exquisite remains of
antiquity, which then perished, cannot be read by any lover of arts and
learning without emotion.
"The ravages committed by the Turks who plundered Constantinople,
in the year 1453, are related by Philelphus, who was a man of learning, and was
tutor to Æneas Sylvius (afterwards pope, under the name of Pius the Second) and
was an eye-witness to what passed at that time. This tutor says, that the
persons of quality, especially the women, still preserved the Greek language
uncorrupted. He observes, that though the city had been taken before, it never
suffered so much as at that time; and adds, that, till that period, the
remembrance of ancient wisdom remained at Constantinople, and that no one among
the Latins was deemed sufficiently learned, who had riot studied for some time
at that place; he expressed his fear that all the works of the ancients would
be destroyed.
"Still, however, there are the remains of three libraries at
Constantinople: the first is called that of Constantine the Great; the second
is for all ranks of people without distinction; the third is in the palace, and
is called the Ottoman library; but a fire consumed a great part of the palace,
and almost the whole library, when as is supposed, Livy and a great many
valuable works of the ancients perished. Father Possevius has given an account
of the libraries at Constantinople, and in other parts of the Turkish
dominions, in his excellent work entitled, Apparatus Sacer. (He calls attention
to no less than six thousand authors.)
Many other losses of the writings of the ancients have been attributed
to the zeal of the Christians, who at different periods made great havock
amongst the Heathen authors. Not a single copy of the work of Celsus is now to
be found, and what we know of that work is from Origen, his opponent. The
venerable fathers, who employed themselves in erasing the best works of the
most eminent Greek or Latin authors, in order to transcribe the lives of saints
or legendary tales upon the obliterated vellum, possible mistook these
lamentable depredations for works of piety. The ancient fragment of the 91st
book of Livy, discovered by Mr. Bruns, in the Vatican, in 1772, was much
defaced by the pious labours of some well-intentioned divine. The Monks made
war on books as the Goths had done before them. Great numbers of manuscripts
have also been destroyed in this kingdom (Great Britain) by its invaders, the
Pagan Danes, and the Normans, by the civil commotions raised by the barons, by
the bloody contests between the houses of York and Lancaster, and especially by
the general plunder and devastations of monasteries and religious houses in the
reign of Henry the Eighth; by the ravages committed in the civil war in the
time of Charles the First, and by the fire that happened in the Cottonian
library, October 23, 1731." Mr. Astle’s
comments on the volumes or remnants of volumes which remain to us, becomes most
interesting in the lights thrown on them by Professor Anthon in his
"Classical Dictionary," 1841, which are quoted in part following
those of Mr. Astle.
Mr. Astle remarks:
"The history of Phœnicia by Sanconiatho, who was a contemporary
with Solomon, would have been entirely lost to us, had it not been for the
valuable fragments preserved by Eusebius." Says
Prof. Anthon:
"Sanchoniathon, a Phœnician author, who if the fragments of his
works that have reached us be genuine, and if such a person ever existed, must
be regarded as the most ancient writer of whom we have any knowledge after
Moses. As to the period when be flourished, all is uncertain. He is the author
of three principal works, which were written in Phœnician. They were translated
into the Greek language by Herennius Philo, who lived in the second century of
our era. It is from this translation which we obtain all the fragments of
Sanchoniathon that have reached our times. Philo had divided his translation
into nine books, of which Porphyry made use in his diatribe against the Christians.
It is from the fourth book of this lost work that Eusebius took, for an end
directly opposite to this, the passages which have come down to us. And thus we
have those documents relating to the mythology and history of the Phœnicians
from the fourth hand." Mr. Astle
continues:
"Manetho’s History of Egypt, and the History of Chaldea, by
Berosus, have nearly met with the same fate." From Anthon:
"Berosus; a Babylonian historian. He was a priest of the temple of
Belus in the time of Alexander. The ancients mention three books of his of
which Josephus and Eusebius have preserved fragments. Annius of Viterbo
published a work under the name of Berosus, which was soon discovered to be a
forgery." By Astle:
"The Historical Library of Diodorus Siculus consisted likewise of
forty books, but only fifteen are now extant; that is, five between the fifth
and the eleventh, and the last ten, with some fragments collected out of
Photius and others." By
Anthon:
"Diodorus, surnamed Siculus, a contemporary of Julius Cæsar and
Agustus. He published a general history in forty books, under the title ‘Historical
Library,’ which covered a period of 1138 years. We have only a small part
remaining of this vast compilation. These rescued portions we owe to Eusebius,
to John Malala and other writers of the lower empire, who have cited them in
the course of their works. He is the reputed author of the famous sophism
against motion. ‘If any body be moved, it is moved in the place where it is, or
in a place where it is not, for nothing can act or suffer where it is not, and
therefore there is no such thing as motion.’ " By Astle:
"The General History of Polybius originally contained forty books;
but the first five only, with some extracts or fragments, are transmitted to
us." By Anthon:
"Polybius, an eminent Greek historian, born about, B. C. 203.
Polybius gave to the world various historical writings, which are entirely lost
with the exception of his General History. It embraced a period of 53 years. Of
the forty books which it originally comprehended, time has spared only the
first five entire. Of the rest, as far as the seventeenth, we have merely
fragments though of considerable size. Of the remaining books we have nothing
left except what is found in two merger abridgments which the Emperor
Constantine Porphyrogenitus, in the tenth century caused to be made of the
whole work." From Astle:
"Dionysius Halicarnassensis wrote twenty books of Roman
antiquities, extending from the siege of Troy, to the Punic war A. U. C. 488;
but only eleven of them are now remaining, which reach no further than the year
of Rome 312." From Anthon:
"He was born in the first century B. C. His principal work was ‘Roman
Antiquities.’ It originally consisted of twenty books, of which the first ten
remain entire. Dionysius wrote for the Greeks, and his object was to relieve
them from the mortification which they felt at being conquered by a race of
barbarians, as they considered the Romans to be. And this he endeavored to
effect by twisting and forging testimonies, and botching up the old legends, so
as to make out a prima facie proof of the Greek origin of the city of Rome.
Valuable additions were made in 1816, by Mai, from an old MSS." By Astle:
"Appian is said to have written the Roman History in twenty-four
books; but the greatest part of the works of that author is lost." By Anthon:
"He was the author of a Roman History in twenty-four books which no
longer exist entire; the parts missing have been supplied but was not written
by Appian but is a mere compilation from Plutarch’s Lives of Crassus and
Antony." By Astle:
"Dion Cassius wrote eighty books of history, but only twenty-five
are remaining, with some fragments, and an epitome of the last twenty by
Xiphilinus." By Anthon:
"His true name was Cassius, born A. D. 155; --we have fragments
remaining of the first thirty-six books, they comprehend a period from B. C. 65
to B. C. 10;--they were found by Mai in two Vatican MSS., which contain a
sylloge or collection made by Maximus Planudes (who lived in the fourteenth
century. He was the first Greek that made use of the Arabic numerals as they
are called)." Mr. Astle further
observes:
"The Emperor Tacitus ordered ten copies of the works of his
relation, the historian, to be made every year which he sent into the different
provinces of the empire; and yet, notwithstanding his endeavours to perpetuate
these inestimable works, they were buried in oblivion for many centuries. Since
the restoration of learning an ancient MSS. was discovered in a monastery in
Westphalia, which contained the most valuable part of his annals; but in this
unique manuscript, part of the fifth, seventh, ninth and tenth books are
deficient, as are part of the eleventh, and the latter part of the sixteenth.
This MSS. was procured by that great restorer of learning Pope Leo X., under
whose patronage it was printed at Rome in 1515; he afterwards deposited it in
the Vatican library, where it is still preserved. Thus posterity is probably
indebted to the above magnificent Pontiff, for the most valuable part of the
works of this inimitable historian." Accounts
which differentiate in their descriptive details of questioned ink-written
fragments of antiquity and on the genuineness or authenticity of which rests
the truth or falsity of ancient history or other literature, serve to taint
such remains with a certain degree of suspicion and doubt. When, however, in
the light of investigation, the materials of which they are composed are found
to approach closely the age they purport to represent, then it is that such
fragments can be said to have fairly established their own identity.
Taylor asserts:
"The remote antiquity of a manuscript is of ten established by the
peculiar circumstance of its existing beneath another writing. Some invaluable
manuscripts of the Holy Scriptures, and not a few precious fragments of classic
literature, have been thus brought to light.
"The age of a manuscript may often be ascertained with little chance
of error, by some such indications as the following:--the quality or appearance
of the INK, the nature of the material; that is to say, whether it be soft
leather, or parchment, or the papyrus of Egypt, or the bombycine paper; for
these materials succeeded each other, in common use, at periods that are well
known;--the peculiar form, size, and character of the writing; for a regular
progression in the modes of writing may be traced by abundant evidence through
every age from the remotest times;--the style of the ornaments or
illuminations, as they are termed, often serves to indicate the age of the book
which they decorate.
"From such
indications as these, more or less definite and certain, ancient manuscripts,
now extant, are assigned to various periods, extending from the sixteenth, to
the fourth century of the Christian era; or perhaps, in one or two instances,
to the third or second. Very few can claim an antiquity so high as the fourth
century; but not a few are safely attributed to the seventh; and a great
proportion of those extant were unquestionably executed in the tenth; while
many belong to the following four hundred years. It is, however, to be
observed, that some manuscripts, executed at so late a time as the thirteenth,
or even the fifteenth century, afford clear internal evidence that, by a single
remove only, the text they contain claims a real antiquity, higher than that
even of the oldest existing copy of the same work. For these older copies
sometimes prove, by the peculiar nature of the corruptions which have crept
into the text, that they have been derived through a long series of copies;
while perhaps the text of the more modern manuscripts possesses such a degree
of purity and freedom from all the usual consequences of frequent transcription,
as to make it manifest that the copy from which it was taken, was so ancient as
not to be far distant from the time of the first publication of the work."CHAPTER V. REVIVAL OF INK.
THE DISAPPEARANCE AND
PRESERVATION OF INK WRITINGS, AS ESTIMATED BY LA CROIX--COMMENTS OF OTHER
WRITERS--DE VINNE’S INTERESTING EXPLANATIONS OF THE STATUS QUO OF MANUSCRIPT
WRITINGS DURING THE DARK AGES WHICH PRECEDED THE INVENTION OF PRINTING--PRICES
PAID FOR BOOKS IN ANCIENT TIMES--LIMITATIONS OF HANDWRITING AND HANDWRITING
MATERIALS AT THE BEGINNING OF THE FIFTH CENTURY--WHO CONTROLLED THE RECORDS
ABOUT THEM--INVENTION OF THE QUILL PEN--THE CAUSE OF INCREASED FLUIDITY OF
INKS--ORIGIN OF THE SECRETA--CHARACTER OF INFORMATION OBTAINED FROM
THEM--IMPROVEMENT OF BLACK INKS IN THE EIGHTH CENTURY AND EMPLOYMENT OF
POMEGRANITE INK.
LA CROIX’ preface to
his "Science and Literature of the Middle Ages and the Renaissance,"
refers to the Dark Ages:
"In the beginning of the Middle Ages, at the commencement of the
fifth century, the Barbarians made an inroad upon the old world; their renewed
invasions crushed out, in the course of a few years, the Greek and Roman
civilization; and everywhere darkness succeeded to light. The religion of Jesus
Christ was alone capable of resisting this barbarian invasion, and science and
literature, together with the arts, disappeared from the face of the earth,
taking refuge in the churches and monasteries. It was there that they were
preserved as a sacred deposit, and it was thence that they emerged when
Christianity had renovated pagan society. But centuries and centuries elapsed
before the sum of human knowledge was equal to what it had been at the fall of
the Roman empire. A new society, moreover, was needed for the new efforts of
human intelligence as it resumed its rights. Schools and universities were
founded under the auspices of the clergy and of the religious corporations, and
thus science and literature were enabled to emerge from their tombs. Europe,
amidst the tumultuous conflicts of the policy which made and unmade kingdoms,
witnessed a general revival of the scholastic zeal; poets, orators, novelists,
and writers increased in numbers and grew in favour; savants, philosophers,
chemists and alchemists, mathematicians and astronomers, travellers and
naturalists, were awakened, so to speak, by the life-giving breath of the
Middle Ages; and great scientific discoveries and admirable works on every
imaginable subject showed that the genius of modern society was not a whit
inferior to that of antiquity. Printing, was invented, and with that brilliant
discovery, the Middle Ages, which had accomplished their work of social
renovation, made way for the Renaissance, which scattered abroad in profusion
the prolific and brilliant creations of Art, Science, and Literature." This author to some extent discredits
himself, however, p. 455, where he remarks:
"Long before the invasions of the Barbarians the histories written
by Greek and Latin authors concerning the annals of the ancient peoples had
been falling into disfavor. Even the best of them were little read, for the
Christians felt but slight interest in these pagan narratives, and that is why
works relating to the history of antiquity were already so scarce." Another authority writing on the same subject
discusses it from a different standpoint, remarking:
"As in the middle ages invention busied itself with instruments of
torture, and as in our days it is taken up almost as much with the destructive
engines of war as with the productive arts of peace, so in those early ages it
applied itself to the fabrication of idols, to the mechanism and theatrical
contrivances for mysteries and religious ceremonies. There was then no desire to
communicate discoveries, science was a sort of freemasonry, and silence was
effectually secured by priestly anathemas; men of science were as jealous of
one another as they were of all other classes of society. If we wish to form a
clear picture of this earliest stage of civilization, an age which represents
at once the naiveté of childhood and the suspicious reticence of senility, we
must turn our eyes to the priest, on the one hand, claiming as his own all art
and science, and commanding respect by his contemptuous silence; and, on the
other hand, to the mechanic plying the loom, extracting the Tyrian dye,
practising chemistry, though ignorant of its very name, despised and oppressed,
and only tolerated when he furnished Religion with her trappings or War with
arms. Thus the growth of chemistry was slow, and by reason of its backwardness
it was longer than any other art in ridding itself of the leading-strings of
magic and astrology. Practical discoveries must have been made many times
without science acquiring thereby any new fact. For to prevent a new discovery
from being lost there must be such a combination of favorable circumstances as
was rare in that age and for many succeeding ages. There must be publicity, and
publicity is of quite recent growth; the application of the discovery must be
not only possible but obvious, as satisfying some want. But wants are only felt
as civilization progresses. Nor is that all; for a practical discovery to
become a scientific fact it must serve to demonstrate the error of one
hypothesis, and to suggest a new one, better fitted for the synthesis of
existing facts. But (some) old beliefs are proverbially obstinate and virulent
in their opposition to newer and truer theories which are destined to eject and
replace them. To sum up, even in our own day, chemistry rests on a less sound
basis than either physics, which had the advantage of originating as late as
the 17th century, or astronomy, which dates from the time when the Chaldean
shepherd had sufficiently provided for his daily wants to find leisure for
gazing into the starry Heavens." The
observations of a still earlier commentator are of the same general nature. He
says:
"In the first ages of Christianity, when the fathers of the Church,
the Jews, and the Heathen philosophers were so warmly engaged in controversy,
there is reason to believe that pious frauds were not uncommon: and that when
one party suspected forgeries, instead of an attempt at confutation, which
might have been difficult, they had recourse perhaps to a countermine: and
either invented altogether, or eked out some obscure traditional scraps by the
embellishments of fancy. When we consider, amongst many literary impositions of
later times, that Psalmanazar’s history of Formosa was, even in this enlightened
age and country (England, about 1735), considered by our most learned men as
unquestionably authentic, till the confession of the author discovered the
secret, I think it is not difficult to conceive how forgeries of remote events,
before the invention of printing and the general diffusion of knowledge might
gain an authority, and especially with the zealous, hardly inferior to that of
the most genuine history." De
Vinne, however, in his "Invention of Printing," New York, 1878, best
explains the status quo of those times, relative not only to book (MSS.)
making, and methods of circulation, but the causes which led up to their
eventual disappearance and the literary darkness which ensued. His remarks are
so pertinent that they are quoted at length:
"The civilization of ancient Rome did not require printing. If all
the processes of typography had been revealed to its scholars the art would not
have been used. The wants of readers and writers were abundantly supplied by
the pen. Papyrus paper was cheap, and scribes were numerous; Rome had more
booksellers than it needed, and books were made faster than they could be sold.
The professional scribes were educated slaves, who, fed and clothed at nominal
expense, and organized under the direction of wealthy publishers, were made so
efficient in the production of books, that typography, in an open competition,
could have offered few advantages.
"Our knowledge of the Roman organization of labor in the field of
bookmaking is not as precise as could be wished; but the frequent notices of
books, copyists and publishers, made by many authors during the first century,
teach us that books were plentiful. Horace, the elegant and fastidious man of
letters, complained that his books were too common, and that they were sometimes
found in the hands of vulgar snobs for whose entertainment they were not
written. Martial, the jovial man of the world, boasted that his books of
stinging epigrams were to be found in everybody’s hands or pockets. Books were
read not only in the libraries, but at the baths, in the porticoes of houses,
at private dinners and in mixed assemblies. The business of bookmaking was
practised by too many people, and some were incompetent. Lucian, who had a keen
perception of pretense in every form, ridicules the publishers as ignoramuses.
Strabo, who probably wrote illegibly, says that the books of booksellers were
incorrect.
"The price of books made by slave labor was necessarily low.
Martial says that his first book of epigrams was sold in plain binding for six
sesterces, about twenty-four cents of American money; the same book in
sumptuous binding was valued at five denarii, about eighty cents. He
subsequently complained that his thirteenth book was sold for only four
sesterces, about sixteen cents. He frankly admits that half of this sum was
profit, but intimates, somewhat ungraciously, that the publisher Tryphon gave
him too small a share. Of the merits of this old disagreement between the
author and publisher we have not enough of facts to justify an opinion. We
learn that some publishers, like Tryphon and the brothers Sosii, acquired
wealth, but there are many indications that publishing was then, as it is now,
one of the most speculative kinds of business. One writer chuckles over the
unkind fate that sent so many of the unsold books of rival authors from the
warehouses of the publisher, to the shops of grocers and bakers, where they
were used to wrap up pastry and spices; another writer says that the unsold
stock of a bookseller was sometimes bought by butchers and trunk makers.
"The Romans not only had plenty of books but they had a manuscript
daily newspaper, the Acta Diurna, which seems to have been a record of the
proceedings of the senate. We do not know how it was written, nor how it was
published, but it was frequently mentioned by contemporary writers as the
regular official medium for transmitting intelligence. It was sent to
subscribers in distant cities, and was, sometimes, read to an assembled army.
Cicero mentions the Acta as a sheet in which he expected to find the city news
and gossip about marriages and divorces.
"With the decline of power in the Roman empire came the decline of
literature throughout the world. In the sixth century the business of
bookmaking had fallen into hopeless decay. The books that had been written were
seldom read, and the number of readers diminished with every succeeding
generation. Ignorance pervaded in all ranks of society. The Emperor Justin I,
who reigned between the years 518 and 527, could not write, and was obliged to
sign state papers with the form of stencil plate that had been recommended by
Quintilian. Respect for literature was dead. In the year, 476, Zeno, the
Isaurian, burned 120,000 volumes in the city of Constantinople. During the year
640, Amrou, the Saracen, fed the baths of Alexandria for six months with the
500,000 books that had been accumulating for centuries in its famous library of
the Serapion. Yet books were so scarce in Rome at the close of the seventh
century that Pope Martin requested one of his bishops to supply them, if
possible, from Germany. The ignorance of ecclesiastics in high station was
alarming. During this century, and for centuries afterward, there were many
bishops and archbishops of the church who could not sign their names. It was
asserted at a council of the church held in the year 992, that scarcely a
single person was to be found in Rome itself who knew the first elements of
letters. Hallam says, ‘To sum up the account of ignorance in a word, it was
rare for a layman of any rank to know bow to sign his name.’ He repeats the
statements that Charlemagne could not write, and Frederic Barbarossa could not
read. John, king of Bohemia, and Philip, the Hardy, king of France, were
ignorant of both accomplishments. The graces of literature were tolerated only
in the ranks of the clergy; the layman who preferred letters to arms was
regarded as a man of mean spirit. When the Crusaders took Constantinople, in
1204, they exposed to public ridicule the pens and inkstands that they found in
the conquered city as the ignoble arms of a contemptible race of students.
"During this period of intellectual darkness, which lasted from the
fifth until the fifteenth century, a period sometimes described, and not
improperly, as the dark ages, there was no need for any improvement in the old
method of making books. The world was not then ready for typography. The invention
waited for readers more than it did for types; the multitude of book buyers
upon which its success depended had to be created. Books were needed as well as
readers. The treatises of the old Roman sophists and rhetoricians, the
dialectics of Aristotle and the schoolmen, and the commentaries on
ecclesiastical law of the fathers of the church, were the works which engrossed
the attention of men of letters for many centuries before the invention of
typography. Useful as these books may have been to the small class of readers
for whose benefit they were written, they were of no use to a people who needed
the elements of knowledge." In
the more ancient times, however, when MSS. books (rolls) were not quite so
plentiful there was seemingly no difficulty in obtaining large sums for them.
Aristotle, died B. C.
322, paid for a few books of Leusippus, the philosopher, three Attick talents,
which is about $3,000. Ptolemy Philadelphus is said to have given the Athenians
fifteen talents, an exemption from tribute and a large supply of provisions for
the MSS. of Æschylus, Sophocles and Euripides written by themselves.
Arbuthnot, discussing
this subject, remarks that Cicero’s head, "which should justly come into
the account of Eloquence brought twenty-five Myriads of Drachms, which is the
equivalent of $40,000. Also, "the prices of the magical books mentioned to
be burnt in the Acts of the Apostles is five. Myriads of Pieces of Silver or
Drachms."
Picolimini relates that
the equivalent of eighty golden crowns was demanded for a small part of the
works of Plutarch.
If we are to believe
any of the accounts, the environment of the art of handwriting and handwriting
materials at the beginning of the fifth century had contracted within a small
compass, due principally to the general ignorance of the times.
As practiced it was
pretty much under the control of the different religious denominations and the
information obtainable about inks from these sources is but fragmentary. What
has come down to us of this particular era is mostly found on the old written
Hebrew relics, showing that they at least had made no innovations in respect to
the use of their ritualistic deyó.
The invention of the
quill pen in the sixth century permitted a degree of latitude in writing never
before known, the inks were made thinner and necessarily were less durable in
character. Greater attention was given to the study and practice of medicine
and alchemy which were limited to the walls of the cloister and secret places.
The monk physicians endeavored by oral instructions and later by written ones
to communicate their ink-making methods not only of the black and colored, but
of secret or sympathetic inks, to their younger brethren, that they might thus
be perpetuated. All the traditional and practical knowledge they possessed was
condensed into manuscript forms; additions from other hands which included
numerous chemical receipts for dyeing caused them to multiply; so that as
occasion required from time to time, they were bound up together booklike and
then circulated among favored secular individuals, under the name of
"Secreta."
The more remote of such
treatises which have come down to us seem to indicate the trend of the
researches respecting what must have been in those times unsatisfactory inks.
Scattered through them appear a variety of formulas which specify pyrites (a
combination of sulphur and metal), metals, stones and other minerals, soot,
(blue) vitriol, calxes (lime or chalk), dye-woods, berries, plants, and animal
colors, some of which if made into ink could only have been used with
disastrous results, when permanency is considered.
The black ink formulas
of the eighth century are but few, and show marked improvement in respect to
the constituents they call for, indicating that many of those of earlier times
had been tried and found wanting. One in particular is worthy of notice as it
names (blue) vitriol, yeast, the lees (dregs) of wine and the rind of the
pomegranate apple, which if commingled together would give results not altogether
unlike the characteristic phenomena of "gall" ink. Confirmation of
the employment of such an ink on a document of the reign of Charlemegne in the
beginning of the ninth century on yellow-brown Esparto (a Spanish rush) paper,
is still preserved. Specimens of "pomegranate" ink, to which
lampblack and other pigments had been added of varying degrees of blackness, on
MSS., but lessening in number as late as the fourteenth century, are still
extant in the British Museum and other public libraries.
CHAPTER VI. INK OF THE
WEST.
REMARKS OF ARCH-DEACON
CARLISLE--WHEN READING AND WRITING CEASED TO BE MYSTERIES--ORIGIN OF THE WORDS
CLERK AND SIGN--SCARCITY OF MANUSCRIPTS --FOUNDING OF IRISH SCHOOLS OF LEARNING
IN THE SEVENTH CENTURY--MONKS NOT PERMITTED TO USE ARTIFICIAL LIGHT IN
PREPARING MSS.--OBSERVATIONS OF MADAN ABOUT THE HISTORY OF WRITING DURING THE
DARK AGES--INK-WRITTEN MSS. TREASURES.
THE ancient history of
the art of writing in more northern sections of the Western world, William
Nicolson, Arch-Deacon of Carlisle, author of "The English Historical
Library," London, 1696, tells very quaintly:
"The Danes register’d their more considerable transactions upon
Rocks; or on parts of them, hewen into various Shapes and Figures. On these
they engrav’d such Inscriptions as were proper for their Heathen Alters,
Triumphal Arches, Sepulchral Monuments and Genealogical Histories of their
Ancestors. Their writings of less concern (as Letters, Almanacks, &c.) were
engraven upon Wood: And because Beech was most plentiful in Denmark, (tho Firr
and Oak be so in Norway and Sweden) and most commonly employ’d in these
Services, form the word Bog (which in their Language is the Name of that sort
of Wood) they and all other Northern Nations have the Name of Book. The poorer
sort used Bark; and the Horns of Raindeer and Elks were of ten finely polish’d
and shaped into Books of several Leaves. Many of these old Calendars are
likewise upon Bones of Beasts and Fishes: But the Inscriptions on Tapestry,
Bells, Parchment and Paper, are of later use.
"Some other Monuments may be known to be of a Danish Extraction,
tho they carry nothing of a Runic Inscription. Few of their Temples were cover’d;
and the largest observ’d by Wormius (at Kialernes in Island) was 120 foot in
length, and 60 in breadth.
"The next Monument of Age is their Edda Islandorum; the meaning of
which Appellation they that publish the Book hardly pretend to understand. As
far as I can give the Reader any satisfaction, he is to. know that Island was
first inhabited (in the year 874) by a Colony of Norwegians; who brought hither
the Traditions of their Forefathers, in certain metrical Composures, which (as
is usual with Men transplanted into a Foreign Land) were here more zealously
and carefully preserv’d and kept in memory than by the Men of Norway
themselves. About 240 years after this (A. D. 1114) their History began to be
written by one Sæmund, surnam’d Frode or the wise; who (in nine years’ travel
through Italy, Germany and England) had amass’d together a mighty Collection of
Historical Treatises. With these he return’d full fraught into Island; where he
also drew up an account of the affairs of his own Country. Many of his Works
are now said to be lost: But there is still an Edda, consisting of several Odes
(whence I suspect its Name is derived) written by many several hands, and at
different times, which bears his Name. The Book is a Collection of Mythological
Fables, relating to the ancient State and Behaviour of the Great Woden and his
followers, in terms poetical and adapted to the Service of those that were
employ’d in the composure of their old Rhymes and Sonnets.
"There is likewise extant a couple of Norwegian Histories of good
Authentic Credit; which explains a great many particulars relating to the
Exploits of the Danish Kings in Great Britain, which our own Historians have
either wholly omitted or very darkly recorded. The former of these was written
soon after the year 1130, by one Theodoric a Monk, who acknowledges his whole
Fabrick to be built upon Tradition, and that the old Northern History is no
where now to be had save only ab Islendingorum antiquis Carminibus.
" ’Tis a very discouraging Censure which Sir William Temple passes
upon all the Accounts given us of the Affairs of this Island, before the Romans
came and Invaded it. The Tales (says he) we have of what pass’d before Cæsar’s
Time, of Brute and his Trojans, of many Adventures and Successions, are cover’d
with the Rust of Time, or Involv’d in the Vanity of Fables or pretended
Traditions; which seem to all Men obscure or uncertain, but to be forged at
pleasure by the Wit or Folly of their first Authors, and not to be regarded.
And again; I know few ancient Authors upon this Subject (of the British
History) worth the pains of perusal, and of Dividing or Refining so little Gold
out of so much course Oar, or from so much Dross. But some other Inferiour
People may think this worth their pains; since all Men are not born to be
Ambassadors: And, accordingly, we are told of a very Eminent Antiquary who has
thought fit to give his Labours in this kind the Title of Aurum, ex Stercore.
There’s a deal of Servile Drudgery requir’d to the Discovery of these riches,
and such as every Body will not stoop to: for few Statesmen and Courtiers (as
one is lately said to have observ’d in his own Case) care for travelling in
Ireland, or Wales, purely to learn the Language.
"A diligent Enquirer into our old British Antiquities would rather
observe (with Industrious Leland) that the poor Britains, being harass’d by
those Roman Conquerours with continual Wars, could neither have leisure nor
thought for the penning of a Regular History: and that afterwards their
Back-Friends, the Saxons, were (for a good while) an Illiterate Generation; and
minded nothing but Killing and taking Possession. So that ’tis a wonder that
even so much remains of the Story of those Times as the sorry Fragments of
Gildas; who appears to have written in such a Consternation, that what he has
left us looks more like the Declamation of an Orator, hired to expose the
miserable Wretches, than any Historical Account of their Sufferings." Palgrave asserts that reading and
writing were no longer mysteries after the pagan age, but were still
acquirements almost wholly confined to the clergy.
The word "clericus"
or "clerk," became synonymous with penman, the sense in which it is
still most usually employed. If a man could write, or even read, his knowledge
was considered as proof presumptive that he was in holy orders. If kings and
great men had occasion to authenticate any document, they subscribed the
"sign" of the cross opposite to the place where the "clerk"
had written their name. Hence we say, to sign a deed or a letter.
Books (MSS.) were
extremely rare amongst the Scandinavian and northern nations. Before their
communication with the Latin missionaries, wood appears to have been the
material upon which their runes were chiefly written: and the verb
"write," which is derived from a Teutonic root, signifying to scratch
or tear, is one of the testimonies of the usage. Their poems were graven upon
small staves or rods, one line upon each face of the rod; and the Old English
word "stave," as applied to a stanza, is probably a relic of the
practice, which, in the early ages, prevailed in the West. Vellum or parchment
afterwards supplied the place of these materials. Real paper, manufactured from
the pellicle of the Egyptian reed or papyras, was still used occasionally in
Italy, but it was seldom exported to the countries beyond the Alps; and the
elaborate preparation of the vellum, upon which much greater care was bestowed
than in the modern manufacture, rendered it a costly article; so much so, that
a painstaking clerk could find it worth his while to erase the writing of an
old book, in order to use the blank pages for another manuscript. The books
thus rewritten were called "codices rescripti," or
"palimpsests." The evanescent traces of the first layer of characters
may occasionally be discerned beneath the more recent text which has been imposed
upon them.
In Ireland, first known
as the Isle of Saints, was founded in the seventh century a great school of
learning which included writing and illuminating, which passed to the English
by way of the monasteries created by Irish monks in Scotland. Their earliest existing
MSS. are said to belong to that period. In the Irish scriptoriums (rooms or
cells for writing) of the Benedictine monasteries where they were prepared, so
particular were the monks that the scribes were forbidden to use artificial
light for fear of injuring the manuscripts.
Most interesting and
entertaining are the observations of Falconer Madan, a modern scholar of some
repute. Of the history of writing in ink during the "Dark Ages" he
says:
"In the seventh and eighth centuries we find the first tendency to
form national hands, resulting in the Merovingian or Frankish hand, the
Lombardic of Italy, and the Visigothic of Spain. These are the first difficult
bands which we encounter; and when we remember that the object of writing is to
be clear and distinct, and that the test of a good style is that it seizes on
the essential points in which letters differ, and puts aside the flourishes and
ornaments which disguise the simple form, we shall see how much a strong
influence was needed to prevent writing from becoming obscure and degraded.
That influence was found in Charles the Great.
"In the field of writing it has been granted to no person but
Charles the Great to influence profoundly the history of the alphabet. With
rare insight and rarer taste he discountenanced the prevalent Merovingian hand,
and substituted in eclectic hand, known as the Carolingian Minuscule, which way
still be regarded as a model of clearness and elegance. The chief instrument in
this reform was Alcuin of York, whom Charles placed, partly for this purpose,
at the head of the School of Tours in A. D. 796. The selection of an Englishman
for the post naturally leads us to inquire what hands were then used in
England, and what amount of English influence the Carolingian Minuscule, the
foundation of our modern styles, exhibits.
"If we gaze in wonder on the personal influence of Charles the
Great in reforming handwriting, we shall be still more struck by the spectacle
presented to us by Ireland in the sixth, seventh and eighth centuries. It is
the great marvel in the history of writing. Modern historians have at last
appreciated the blaze of life, religions, literary, and artistic, which was
kindled in the ‘Isle of Saints’ within a century after St. Patrick’s coming
(about A. D. 450); how the enthusiasm kindled by Christianity in the Celtic
nature so far transcended the limits of the island, and indeed of Great
Britain, that Irish missionaries and monks were soon found in the chief religious
centres of Gaul, Germany, Switzerland, and North Italy, while foreigners found
their toilsome way to Ireland to learn Greek! But less prominence has been
given to the artistic side of this great reflex movement from West to East than
to the other two. The simple facts attest that in the seventh century, when our
earliest existing Irish MSS. were written, we find not only a style of writing
(or indeed two) distinctive, national, and of a high type of excellence, but
also a school of illumination which, in the combined lines of mechanical
accuracy and intricacy, of fertile invention of form and figure and of striking
arrangements of colour, has never been surpassed. And this is in the seventh
century--the nadir of the rest of Europe!
"It is certain that Alcuin was trained in Hiberno-Saxon
calligraphy, so that we may be surprised to find that the writing which, under
Charles the Great, he developed at Tours, bears hardly a trace of the style to
which he was accustomed. En revanche, in the ornamentation and illumination of
the great Carolingian volumes which have come down to our times, we find those
constant, persistent traces of English and Irish work which we seek for in vain
in the plainer writing.
"This minuscule superseded all others almost throughout the empire
of Charles the Great, and during the ninth, tenth, and eleventh centuries
underwent very little modification. Even in the two next centuries, though it
is subject to general modification, national differences are hardly observable,
and we can only distinguish two large divisions, the group of Northern Europe
(England, North France, Italy, and Spain). The two exceptions are, that
Germany, both in writing and painting, has always stood apart, and lags behind
the other nations of Western Europe in its development, and that England
retains her Hiberno-Saxon hand till after the Conquest of 1066. It may be noted
that the twelfth century produced the finest writing ever known--a large, free
and flowing form of the minuscule of Tours. In the next century comes in the
angular Gothic hand, the difference between which and the twelfth century hand
may be fairly understood by a comparison of ordinary German and Roman type. In
the thirteenth, fourteenth, and fifteenth centuries the writing of each century
may be discerned, while the general tendency is towards complication, use of
abbreviations and contractions, and development of unessential parasitic forms
of letters.
"The Book of
Kells, the chief treasure of Trinity College, Dublin, is so-called from having
been long preserved at the Monastery of Kells, founded by Columba himself.
Stolen from thence, it eventually passed into Archbishop Ussher’s hands, and,
with other parts of his library, to Dublin. The volume contains the Four
Gospels in Latin, ornamented with extraordinary freedom, elaboration, and
beauty. Written apparently in the seventh century, it exhibits, both in form
and colour, all the signs of the full development and maturity of the Irish
style, and must of necessity have been preceded by several generations of
artistic workers, who founded and improved this particular school of art. The
following words of Professor Westwood, who first drew attention to the peculiar
excellences of this volume, will justify tile terms made use of above: ‘This copy
of the Gospels, traditionally asserted to have belonged to Columba, is
unquestionably the most elaborately executed MS. of early art now in existence,
far excelling, in the gigantic size of the letters in the frontispieces of the
Gospel, the excessive minuteness of the ornamental details, the number of its
decorations, the fineness of the writing, and the endless variety of initial
capital letters with which every page is ornamented, the famous Gospels of
Lindisfarne in the Cottonian Library. But this MS. is still more valuable on
account of the various pictorial representations of different scenes in the
life of our Saviour, delineated in a style totally unlike that of every other
school.’ "CHAPTER
VII. EARLY MEDIÆVAL INK.
CONTROVERSIES AMONG
HEBREW SCHOLARS RELATING TO RITUALISTIC INKS--THE CLASS OF INKS EMPLOYED BY THE
FRENCH AND GERMAN JEWS--CONVENTION OF REPRESENTATIVES FROM JEWISH
CENTERS--SUBMISSION OF THEIR DIFFERENCES TO MAIMONIDES--HE DEFINES TALMUDIC
INK--SIXTH CENTURY REFERENCE TO "GALL" INK--ASSERTION OF
HOTZ-OSTERWALD THAT EXCLUSIVE OF THE INDIAN INK, THE WRITING PIGMENTS OF
ANTIQUITY HAVE NEVER BEEN INVESTIGATED--HIS BELIEF THAT YEAST FORMED A PORTION
OF THEM--SOME OTHER OBSERVATIONS ON THIS SUBJECT--ANCIENT FORMULAS ABOUT THE
LEES OF WINE IN INK-MAKING--COMMENTS ON INK-MAKING BY PLINY--ANCIENT FORMULA OF
POMEGRANATE INK--SECRETA BY THE MONK THEOPHILUS--WHAT THE, THORN TREE HE REFERS
TO REALLY IS--IDENTITY OF THE MYROBOLAM INK OF THE MOST REMOTE ANTIQUITY WITH
THE POMEGRANATE INK OF THE MIDDLE AGES--THE USES OF THE ACACIA TREE.
MOST of the documents
of early mediæval times which remain to us containing ink in fairly good
condition, like charters, protocols, bulls, wills, diplomas, and the like, were
written or engrossed with "Indian" ink, in which respect we of the
present century continue to follow such established precedent when preparing
important written instruments. It is not remarkable, therefore, that the black
inks of the seventh, eighth, ninth and tenth centuries preserve their blackness
so much better than many belonging to succeeding ages, including a new class of
inks which could not stand the test of time.
During the twelfth and
first years of the thirteenth centuries there were bitter controversies among
Talmudic (Hebrew) scholars, relative to the character of the ink to be employed
in the preparation of ritualistic writings. Nice distinctions were drawn as to
the real meaning of the word deyó as understood by the Jews of the western part
of the world, and the Arabic word alchiber, as then understood nearer Palestine
and the other eastern countries.
The French Jews were
using "tusche" (typical of the "Indian" ink), while the
Germans were employing "pomegranate" and "gall" inks.
Representatives from interested religious Jewish centers came together and
resolved to submit their differences for final adjustment to Maimonides, born
in Spain, A. D. 1130 , and died A. D. 1204--the then greatest living Hebrew
theologian and authority on biblical and rabbinical laws. Discarding all side
issues, their differences were seemingly incorporated into three questions and
thus propounded to him:
1. Is the Talmudic deyó
identical with alchiber?
2. Of what ingredient
should the Talmudic deyó consist, if it is not the same as alchiber?
3. Is alchiber to be
understood as relating to the gall-apple and chalkanthum (blue vitriol)?
To the first and third
questions Maimonides declared that deyó and alchiber were not identical; and
for the reasons that the Talmud declares deyóto be a writing material which
does not remain on the surface on which it is placed and to be easily effaced.
On the other hand alchiber contains gum and other things which causes it to
adhere to the writing surface.
To the second question
he affirmed that the Talmud distinguishes a double kind of deyó, one containing
little or no gum and being a fluid, and the other referring to "pulverized
coal of the vine, soot from burning olive oil, tar, rosin and honey, pressed
into plates to be dissolved in water when wanted for use." Furthermore,
while the Talmud excludes the use of certain inks of which iron vitriol was
one, it does not exclude atramentum, (chalkanthum, copper vitriol), because the
Talmud never speaks of it. He insisted that the Talmud requires a dry ink (deyó).
As one of the last
entries made in the Talmud (a great collection of legal decisions by the
ancient Rabbis, Hebrew traditions, etc., and believed to have been commenced in
the second century of the Christian era) is claimed to belong to the sixth
century, mentions gall-apples and iron (copper) vitriol, it must have referred
to "gall" ink. Further investigation discloses the fact that such
galls were of Chinese origin and as we know they do not contain the necessary
ferment which the aleppo and other galls possess for inducing a transformation
of the tannin into gallic acid, no complete union could therefore obtain. Hence
the value of this composition was limited until the time when yeast and other
materials were introduced to overcome its deficiencies.
Hotz-Osterwald of
Zurich, antiquarian and scholar, has asserted that with the exception of the
carbon inks employed on papyrus, the writing pigments of antiquity and the
Middle Ages have scarcely been investigated. The dark to light-brown pigment,
hitherto a problem, universally used on parchment, he contends upon historical,
chemical and microscopic evidence is identical with œno-cyanin and was prepared
for the most part from yeast, and was first employed as a pigment. Contrary to
the general opinion it contains no iron, except frequently accidental traces,
and after its appearance in Greece in the third century, it formed almost
exclusively the ink of the ancient manuscripts, until displaced by the gallate
inks, said to have been introduced by the Arabians. These accidental traces of
iron were due to the employment of iron vessels in the making of the ink.
My own observations in
this direction confirm and establish the fact that it was the custom in the
early centuries of the Christian era to utilize yeast or an analogous compound
as part of the composition of ink, to which was added sepia, or the rind of the
pomegranate apple previously dissolved by heat in alkaline solutions.
This analogous compound
was probably the material procured from wine lees (dregs), deposited after
fermentation has commenced, and which after considerable application of heat
yields not only most of the tannin contained in the stones and fruit stalks,
but a viscid compound characteristic of gelatine and of a red-purple color
which in course of time changes to brown.
Bloxam says that the
coloring matter of grapes and of red wine appears to be "cyanin."
One of the methods of
treating wine lees, as translated in the eighteenth century from an old Italian
secreta, is sufficiently curious to partly quote:
"Dry the Lees (dregs) of wine with a gentle fire and fill with them
two third of a large earthen Retort, place this retort in a reverberatory
furnace, and fitting it to a large receiver, give a small fire to it to heat
the Retort by degrees, and drive forth an insipid phlegm; when vapours begin to
rise, you must take out the phlegm and luting carefully the junctures of your
vessels, quicken the fire little by little until you find the receiver filled
with white clouds; continue it in this condition, and you perceive the receiver
to cool, raise the fire to the utmost extremity, and continue it so, until
there arise no more vapours. When the vessels are cold unlute the receiver, and
shaking it to make the Volatile salt, which sticks to it, fall to the bottom,
pour it all into a bolt-head; fit it to a Head with a small receiver; lute well
the junctures and placing it in sand, give a little fire under it, and the
volatile salt will rise and stick to the head, and the top of the Bolt-head; take
off your head and set on another in its place; gather your salt and stop it tip
quickly, for it easily dissolves into a liquor; continue the fire, and take
care to gather the Salt according as you see it appear; but when there rises no
more salt, a liquor will distill, of which you must draw about three ounces,
and put out the fire," &c. The
"lees of wine," in connection with the ancient methods of ink-making
is also referred to by the younger Pliny in his twenty-fifth book, which the
Edinburgh Review has carefully translated and printed:
"INK (or literally) BLACKING.--Ink also may be set down among the
artificial (or compound) drugs, although it is a mineral derived from two
sources. For, it is sometimes developed in the form of a saline efflorescence,--or
is a real mineral of sulphureous color--chosen for this purpose. There have
been painters who dug up from graves colored coals (CARBON). But all these are
useless and new-fangled notions. For it is made from soot in various forms, as
(for instance) of burnt rosin or pitch. For this purpose, they have built
manufactories not emitting that smoke. The ink of the very best quality is made
from the smoke of torches. An inferior article is made from the soot of
furnaces and bath-house chimneys. There are some (manufacturers) also, who
employ the dried lees of wine; and they do say that if the lees so employed
were from good wine, the quality of the ink is thereby much improved.
Polygnotus and Micon, celebrated painters at Athens, made their black paint from
burnt grape-vines; they gave it the name of TRYGYNON. APELLES, we are told,
made HIS from burnt ivory, and called it elephantina ‘ivory-black.’ Indigo has
been recently imported,--a substance whose composition I have not yet
investigated. The dyers make theirs from the dark crust that gradually
accumulates on brass-kettles. Ink is made also from torches (pine-knots), and
from charcoal pounded fine in mortars. ‘The cuttlefish’ has a remarkable
qualify in this respect; but the coloring-matter which it produces is not used
in the manufacture of ink. All ink is improved by exposure to the sun’s rays.
Book-writers’ ink has gum mixed with it,--weavers’ ink is made up with glue.
Ink whose materials have been liquified by the agency of an acid is erased with
great difficulty." There
are but few exceptions respecting the general sameness of ink receipts of the
succeeding centuries, one of which is the "Pomegranate," credited to
the seventh century but really belonging to an earlier period:
"Of the dried Pommegranite (apple) rind take an ounce, boil it in a
pint of water until 3/4 be gone; add 1/2 pint of small beer wort and once more
boil it away so that only a 1/4 pint remain. After you shall have strained it,
boiling hot through a linnen cloth and it comes cold, being then of a glutinous
consistence, drop in a ‘bit’ of Sal Alkali and add as much warm water as will
bring it to a due fluidity and a gold brown color for writing with a pen." Following this formula and without
any modifications, I obtained an excellent ink of durable quality, but of poor
color, from a standpoint of blackness.
A less ancient
"Secreta," signed by the Italian monk "Theophilus," who
lived about the commencement of the eleventh century, is most interesting:
"To make ink, cut for yourself wood of the thorn-trees in April or
May, before they produce flowers or leaves, and collecting them in small
bundles, allow them to lie in the shade for two, three, or four weeks, until
they are somewhat dry. Then have wooden mallets, with which you beat these
thorns upon another piece of hard wood, until you peel off the bark everywhere,
put which immediately into a barrelful of water. When you have filled two, or
three, or four, or five barrels with bark and water, allow them so to stand for
eight days, until the waters imbibe all the sap of the bark. Afterwards put
this water into a very clean pan, or into a cauldron, and fire being placed
under it, boil it; from time to time, also, throw into the pan some of this
bark, so that whatever sap may remain in it may be boiled out. When you have
cooked it a little, throw it out, and again put in more; which done, boil down
the remaining water unto a third part, and then pouring it out of this pan, put
it into one smaller, and cook it until it grows black and begins to thicken;
add one third part of pure wine, and putting it into two or three new pots,
cook it until you see a sort of skin show itself on the surface; then taking
these pots from the fire, place them in the sun until the black ink purifies
itself from the red dregs. Afterwards take small bags of parchment carefully
sewn, and bladders, and pouring in the pure ink, suspend them in the sun until
all is quite dry; And when dry, take from it as much as you wish, and temper it
with wine over the fire, and, adding a little vitriol, write. But, if it should
happen through negligence that your ink be not black enough, take a fragment of
the thickness of a finger and putting it into the fire, allow it to glow, and
throw it directly into the ink." After
reciting many receipts which pertain to other arts, this good old monk
concludes:
"When you shall have re-read this often, and have committed it to
your tenacious memory, you shall thus recompense me for this care of
instruction, that, as often as you shall successfully have made use of my work,
you pray for me for the pity of omnipotent God, who knows that I have written
these things which are here arranged, neither through love of human
approbation, nor through desire of temporal reward, nor have I stolen anything
precious or rare through envious jealousy, nor have I kept back anything
reserved for myself alone; but, in augmentation of the honour and glory of His
name, I have consulted the progress and hastened to aid the necessities of many
men." The "thorn" trees
which Theophilus mentions are asserted by some writers (with whom I do not
agree) to be those commonly known as the "Norway spruce," a species
of pine of lofty proportions sometimes rising to the height of 150 feet with a
trunk from four to five feet in diameter. It lives to a great age believed to
exceed in many instances 450 years. The leaves (needles, thorns) are short but
stand thickly upon the branches and are of a dusky green color shining on the
upper surface; the fruit is nearly cylindrical in form and of a purple color
covered with scales ragged at the edges. It is a native of Europe and Northern
Asia. It furnishes the material known as Burgundy pitch which is obtained by
removing the juice which is secreted in the bark of the tree; it is purified by
a melting process and straining either through a cloth or a layer of straw. It
gives forth a peculiar odor not unpleasant, resembling turpentine. The Burgundy
pitch or rosin is soluble in hot alcohol (spirits of wine).
An ink prepared after
the method laid down by this monk, assuming that he referred to the
spruce-pine, while troublesome to write with, would be almost as lasting as
"Indian" ink and would be most difficult to erase from parchment into
which it would be absorbed due to its alcoholic qualities.
"The ink,"
remarks Montfaucon, "which we see in the most ancient Greek manuscripts,
has evidently lost much of its pristine blackness; yet neither has it become
altogether yellow or faint, but is rather tawny or deep red, and often not far
from a vermillion." While there are some monuments of this kind of ink in
fair condition of the fourth and succeeding centuries, they aggregate but a
very small proportion of the vast number of principally Indian ink specimens which
remain to us of those epochs. As exemplars, however, of a forgotten class of
inks belonging to a still more remote antiquity, careful research adduces
certain proof of their existence more than nine hundred years before the
Christian era commenced.
Reference has earlier
been made to the ancient Myrobolam ink, which was characteristically the same
in color phenomena as those which Montfaucon mentions. These "tawny"
colored inks I estimate were products obtained from the "thorn" trees
spoken of by the monk Theophilus. The thorn trees were of two species. The
pomegranate, anciently called the "Punic apple," because it was
largely employed by the Carthagenians for the purposes of dyeing and tanning;
and the acacia, known in Egyptian times as the lotus. The former was held in
such high esteem that the Arabians and Egyptians made it an emblem to designate
one of their dieties and termed it raman.
The products of these
thorn, trees were collectively used together as ink, most of the tannin being
obtained from the pomegranate, and the gum from the acacia.
CHAPTER VIII. MEDIÆVAL
INK.
INK SECRETAS OF THE
TWELFTH CENTURY COMPARED WITH EARLIER ONES--APPEARANCE OF TANNO-GALLATE OF IRON
INK IN THE TWELFTH CENTURY--ITS INTRODUCTION LOCATES THE EPOCH WHEN THE MODERN
INK OF TO-DAY FIRST CAME INTO VOGUE--ITS APPROVAL AND ADOPTION BY THE FATHERS
OF THE CHURCH--THE INVENTION NOT ITALIAN BUT ASIATIC--ITS ARRIVAL FROM ASIA
FROM THE WEST AND NOT THE EAST--APPEARANCE ABOUT THE SAME TIME OF LINEN OR
MODERN PAPER--SETTLEMENT OF OLD CONTROVERSIES ABOUT ANCIENT SO-CALLED COTTON
PAPER-DE VINNE’S COMMENT ABOUT PAPER AND PAPER-MAKING--CURIOUS CONTRACT OF THE
FOURTEENTH CENTURY.
THE
"Secretas" of the twelfth century, in so far as they relate to
methods of making ink, indicate many departures from those contained in the
more ancient ones. Frequent mention is made of sour galls, aleppo galls, green
and blue vitriol, the lees of wine, black amber, sugar, fish-glue and a host of
unimportant materials as being employed in the admixture of black inks.
Combinations of some of these materials are expressed in formulas, the most
important one of which details with great particularity the commingling
together of an infusion of nut-galls, green vitriol (sulphate of iron) and
fish-glue (isinglass); the two first (tanno-gallate of iron) when used alone,
forms the sole base of all unadulterated "gall" inks.
Dates are appended to
some of these ink and other formulas. The "tanno-gallate of iron" one
has, however, no date. But as it appears closely following a date of A. D.
1126, it must have been written about that time.
Documents, public and
private, bearing dates nearly contemporary with that era, written in ink of
like type, are still extant, confirming in a remarkable degree the
"Secreta" formula, and establishing the fact that the first half of
the twelfth century marks the epoch in which the "gall" or modern ink
of today came into vogue.
Its adoption by the
priests stamped it with the seal of the Church and the arrival from the West
about the same period of flax or linen paper with the added fact that these
assimilated so well together, later placed them both on the popular basis which
has continued to the present time.
While the Secreta which
contains the "gall" ink formula is of Italian origin, the invention
of this ink belongs solely to an Asiatic country, from whence in gradual stages
by way of Arabia, Spain and France, it finally reached Rome. Thence, through
the Church, information about it was conveyed to wherever civilization existed.
We are not confined in
our investigations of ancient MSS. to any particular locality or date, as the
twelfth, thirteenth, fourteenth and fifteenth centuries are prolific of
"gall" ink monuments covering an immense territory. Such inks when
used unadulterated, remain in an almost pristine color condition; while the
other inks to which some pigment or color had been added, probably to make them
more agreeable in appearance and more free-flowing, with a mistaken idea of
improving them, are much discolored and in every instance present but slight
indications of their original condition.
The question of the
character of the paper employed during these eras, composed of different kinds
of fibrous vegetable substances, possesses some importance when discussing its
relationship to inks. Many authors certify to the manufacture and use of
"cotton" in the eleventh, twelfth and later centuries. Madan,
however, in treating this subject, makes the following comments which are in
line with my own observations:
"Paper has for long been the common substance for miscellaneous
purposes of ordinary writing, and has at all times been formed exclusively from
rags (chiefly of linen) reduced to pull), poured out on a frame in a thin
watery sheet, and gradually dried and given consistence by the action of heat.
It has been a popular belief, found in every book till 1886 (now entirely
disproved, but probably destined to die hard), that the common yellowish thick
paper, with rough fibrous edge, found especially in Greek MSS. till the
fifteenth century, was paper of quite another sort, and made of cotton (charta
bombycna, bombyx being usually silk, but also used of any fine fibre such as
cotton). The microscope has at last conclusively shown that these two papers
are simply two different kinds of ordinary linen-rag paper." De Vinne speaking, of paper and
paper-making says:
"The gradual development of paper-making in Europe is but
imperfectly presented through these fragmentary facts. Paper may have been made
for many years before it found chroniclers who thought the manufacture worthy
of notice. The Spanish paper-mills of Toledo which were at work in the year
1085, and an ancient family of paper-makers which was honored with marked favor
by the king of Sicily in the year 1102, are carelessly mentioned by
contemporary writers as if paper-making was an old and established business. It
does not appear that paper was a novelty at a much earlier period. The bulls of
the popes of the eighth and ninth centuries were written on cotton card or
cotton paper, but no writer called attention to this card, or described it as a
new material. It has been supposed that this paper was made in Asia, but it
could have been made in Europe. A paper-like fabric, made from the barks of
trees, was used for writing by the Longobards in the seventh century, and a
coarse imitation of the Egyptian papyrus, in the form of a strong brown paper,
had been made by the Romans as early as the third century. The art of
compacting in a web the macerated fibres of plants seems to have been known and
practised to some extent in Southern Europe long before the establishment of
Moorish paper-mills.
"The Moors brought to Spain and Sicily not an entirely new
invention, but an improved method of making paper, and what was more important,
a culture and civilization that kept this method in constant exercise. It was
chiefly for the lack of ability and lack of disposition to put paper to proper
use that the earlier European knowledge of paper-making was so barren of
results. The art of book-making as it was then practised was made subservient
to the spirit of luxury more than to the desire for knowledge. Vellum was
regarded by the copyist as the only substance fit for writing on, even when it
was so scarce that it could be used only for the most expensive books. The
card-like cotton paper once made by the Saracens was certainly known in Europe
for many years before its utility was recognized. Hallam says that the use of
this cotton paper was by no means general or frequent, except in Spain or
Italy, and perhaps in the south of France, until the end of the fourteenth
century. Nor was it much used in Italy for books.
"Paper came before its time and had to wait for recognition. It was
sorely needed. The Egyptian manufacture of papyrus, which was in a state of
decay in the seventh century, ceased entirely in the ninth or tenth. Not many
books were written during this period, but there was then, and for at least
three centuries afterwards, an unsatisfied demand for something to write upon.
Parchment was so scarce that reckless copyists frequently resorted to the
desperate expedient of effacing the writing on old and lightly esteemed
manuscripts. It was not a difficult task. The writing ink then used was usually
made of lamp-black, gum and vinegar; it it had but a feeble encaustic property,
and it did not bite in or penetrate the parchment. The work of effacing this
ink was accomplished by moistening the parchment with a weak alkaline solution
and by rubbing it with pumice stone. This treatment did not entirely obliterate
the writing, but made it so indistinct that the parchment could be written over
the second time. Manuscripts so treated are now known as palimpsests. All the
large European public libraries have copies of palimpsests, which are
melancholy illustrations of the literary tastes of many writers or bookmakers
during the Middle Ages. More convincingly than by argument they show the
utility of paper. Manuscripts of the Gospels, of the Iliad, and of works of the
highest merit, often of great beauty and accuracy, are dimly seen underneath
stupid sermons, and theological writings of a nature so paltry that no man
living cares to read them. In Some instances the first writing has been so
thoroughly scrubbed out that its meaning is irretrievably lost.
"Much as paper was needed, it was not at all popular with copyists;
their prejudice was not altogether unreasonable, for it was thick, coarse,
knotty, and in every way unfitted for the display or ornamental penmanship or
illumination. The cheaper quality, then known as cotton paper, was especially
objectionable. It seems to have been so badly made as to need governmental
interference. Frederick II, of Germany, in the year 1221, foreseeing evils that
might arise from bad paper, made a decree by which he made invalid all public
documents that should be put on cotton paper, and ordered them within two years
to be transcribed upon parchment. Peter II, of Spain, in the year 1338,
publicly commanded the paper-makers of Valencia and Xativa to make their paper
of a better quality and equal to that of an earlier period.
"The better quality of paper, now known as linen paper, had the
merits of strength, flexibility, and durability in a high degree, but it was
set aside by the copyists because the fabric was too thick and the surface was
too rough. The art of calendering or polishing papers until they were of a
smooth, glossy surface, which was then practised by the Persians, was unknown
to, or at least unpractised by, the early European makers. The changes or
fashion in the selection of writing papers are worthy of passing notice. The
rough hand-made papers so heartily despised by the copyists of the thirteenth
century are now preferred by neat penmen and skilled draughtsmen. The
imitations of mediæval paper, thick, harsh, and dingy, and showing the marks of
the wires upon which the fabric was couched, are preferred by men of letters
for books and for correspondence, while highly polished modern plate papers,
with surfaces much more glossy than any preparation of vellum, are now rejected
by them as finical and effeminate.
"There is a popular notion that the so-called inventions of paper
and xylographic printing were gladly welcomed by men of letters, and that the
new fabric and the new art were immediately pressed into service. The facts
about to be presented in succeeding chapters will lead to a different
conclusion. We shall see that the makers of playing cards and of image prints
were the men who first made extended use of printing, and that self-taught and
unprofessional copyists were the men who gave encouragement to the manufacture
of paper. The more liberal use of paper at the beginning of the fifteenth
century by this newly-created class of readers and book-buyers marks the period
of transition and of mental and mechanical development for which the crude arts
of paper-making and of black printing had been waiting for centuries. We shall
also see that if paper had been ever so cheap and common during the Middle
Ages, it would have worked no changes in education or literature; it could not
have been used by the people, for they were too illiterate; it would not have
been used by the professional copyists, for they preferred vellum and despised
the substitute.
"The scarcity of vellum in one century, and its abundance in
another, are indicated by the size of written papers during the same periods.
Before the sixth century, legal documents were generally written upon one side
only; in the tenth century the practice of writing upon both sides of the
vellum became common. During the thirteenth century valuable documents were
often written upon strips two inches wide and but three and a half inches long.
At the end of the fourteenth century these strips went out of fashion. The more
general use of paper had diminished the demand for vellum and increased the
supply. In the fifteenth century, legal documents on rolls of sewed vellum
twenty feet in length were not uncommon. All the valuable books of the
fourteenth century were written on vellum. In the library of the Louvre the
manuscripts on paper, compared to those on vellum, were as one to twenty-eight;
in the library of the Dukes of Burgundy, one-fifth of the books were of paper.
The increase in the proportion of paper books is a fair indication of the
increasing popularity of paper; but it is obvious that vellum was even then
considered as the more suitable substance for a book of value." The curious contract belonging to the
fourteenth century which follows, is a literal copy of the original. It does
not seem to specify whether the book is to be made of vellum or paper. In other
respects the minute details no doubt prevented any misunderstanding between the
contracting parties.
"August 26th,
1346--There appeared Robert Brekeling, scribe, and swore that he would observe
the contract made between him and Sir John Forber, viz., that the said Robert
would write one Psalter with the Kalender for the work of the said Sir John for
5 s. and 6 d.; and in the same Psalter, in the same character, a Placebo and a
Dirige, with a Hymnal and Collectary, for 4 s. and 3 d. And the said Robert
will illuminate (‘luminabet’) all the Psalms with great gilded letters laid in
with colours; and all the large letters of the Hymnal and Collectary will he
illuminate with gold and vermillion, except the great letters of double feasts,
which shall be as the large gilt letters are in the Psalter. And all the
letters at the commencement of the verses shall be illuminated with good azure
and vermillion; and all the letters at the beginning of the Nocturns shall be
great uncial (unciales) letters, containing V. lines, but the Beatus Vir and
Dixit Dominus shall contain VI. or VII. lines; and for the aforesaid
illumination and for colours he [John] will give 5 s. 6 d., and for gold he
will give 18 d., and 2 s. for a cloak and fur trimming. Item one robe--one
coverlet, one sheet, and one pillow."CHAPTER IX. END OF MEDIÆVAL INK.
THE SECRETAS PRECEDE
ALCHEMY AND CHEMISTRY--EFFORT TO IMPROVE GALL INKS--VARIATIONS IN INK
COLORS--THE USE OF RED INK IN THE NINTH AND TENTH CENTURIES--COLOR COMPARISONS
BETWEEN INK WRITINGS OF ITALY, GERMANY, FRANCE, ENGLAND AND SPAIN--HOW TO
DETERMINE THE ANTIQUITY OF MSS.--PRACTICES WHICH OBTAINED IN MONASTIC LIBRARIES
OF VARIOUS COUNTRIES---KINDS OF INK EMPLOYED IN LITURGICAL WRITINGS--THE PUBLIC
SCRIBES AND THEIR EMPLOYMENTS--EFFORTS TO COUNTERFEIT OLD SCRIPT IN EARLY
PRINTED BOOKS--WHEN THEY WERE ABANDONED.
IT is well known that
alchemy preceded chemistry and hence the Secreta came first. When the formula
for making a real "gall" ink had ceased to be a secret, chemistry was
then but little understood. It is not a matter for wonder, therefore, to learn
that "gall" ink of the first half of the twelfth century was low in
grade and poor in quality. It was a muddy fluid easily precipitated and it
deteriorated quickly. A century or more of experimenting was needed to modify
or overcome defects, as well as to gain information about the chemical value of
the different tannins, the relative proportions of each constituent and the
correct methods in its admixture.
There is no written
account of this ink being manufactured as an industry until over three hundred
years later. Hence, as it appears so frequently of varying degrees of color on
documents of the intervening centuries, we are compelled to assume that it was
compounded by individuals who had neither chemical knowledge, nor who had made
a study or a business of ink-making. Notwithstanding which, its progress seems
to have been comparatively rapid and like the same ink of the present day was
to be obtained of any quality or kind, whether unadulterated or containing some
added color.
Intense black or a
black tinged with red-brown characterizes the color of the inks found on the
very earliest MSS. Their lasting color phenomena, due to the employment of
lampblack and kindred substances even after a lapse of so many ages, is at this
late day of no particular moment as they but prove the virtues of the different
types of "Indian" inks.
A different set of
facts are evident in the inks of mediæval times which are found to greatly vary
according to their ages and locality. But few black inks of the ninth and tenth
centuries remain to us. In the MSS. of those centuries a red ink was the prevailing
one even to the extent of entire volumes being written with it. In Italy and
many other portions of Southern Europe specimens now extant, when compared with
those belonging to Germany and other more northern countries, are seen to be
blacker and this is also true when those of France and England are compared,
the blacker inks belonging to France. With the gradual disappearance of the
so-called "Dark Ages," the ink found on Spanish written MSS. of the
fourteenth and fifteenth centuries, are notedly of intense blackness while
those of some of the other countries appear of a rather faded gray color, and
in the sixteenth century, this gray color effect prevailed all over the
Christian world.
To revert again to the
ink phenomena of the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries which are of Italian
origin. In no section of that country or of Europe during those centuries do
ink creations possess, in so marked a degree, the variety of color qualities
that are seen on those of the city of Florence. Indeed it may be truly said
that during those periods more ink written MSS. were produced in that place
than all the rest of Europe. These productions of MSS. were not confined to
simple ink writings. The heads of religious orders and rulers of the country
liked to have artists near them to illuminate their missals and sacred books,
besides the decorating of walls in their churches and palaces.
Through this art of
illuminating and the painting of miniatures in MSS. books, "oil"
painting took root and the day for mere symbols and hieroglyphics was over.
In that city of
scholars and wealth it was a fashion and later the custom to acquire Greek,
Latin and Oriental MSS. and copy them for circulation and sale. The prices
offered were sufficient to stimulate the search and zeal for them. We learn
that in the year 1400 "on the square of the Duoma a spacciatore was
established whose business was to sell manuscripts often full of mistakes and
blunders." Nicholas V, before he became Pope, was nicknamed "Tommaso the
Copyist." He is said to have presented to the Vatican library as a gift
five thousand volumes of his own creation.
The information of
these increasing demands for ancient documents of any kind spread over Europe
and portions of Asia, bringing into Florence a great quantity of them, as well
as many scholars and copyists. Shiploads of the works of the Byzantine
historians arrived from the Golden Horn, and the city became a vast manufactory
for duplicating or forging ancient MSS. Parchment and vellum were too costly to
employ very much, so most of them were of paper. Vespaciano, one of the many
engaged in this business and who lived in 1464, found it necessary in order to
reduce the cost of production, to become a paper merchant. In writing to a
friend he says:
"I engaged forty-five copyists and in twenty-two months had
completed two hundred volumes, which included some Greek and Latin as well as
many Oriental writings." The
reading and judging of manuscripts are now known as the science of diplomatics.
To determine their antiquity or genuineness requires the nicest distinctions
and care, irrespective of alleged dates (whether exhibited by Roman numbers or
the Arabic one which we continue to employ, and which first made their
appearance near the commencement of the twelfth century). The inks as already
mentioned and used on them, as we shall see, serve fully as much in estimating
authenticity or genuineness as does combined together,--the style of the
writing, the miniatures, vignettes and arabesques (if any), the colors, covers,
materials, ornamentation and the character of their contents.
With the
re-establishment of learning in the fifteenth century and the creation of
alleged stable governments, who may perhaps have realized the necessity for an
ink of enduring good commercial and record qualities, so-called
"gall" inks were chosen as best possessing them, and were made and
employed with varying results even more than the ancient "Indian"
inks.
Mediæval practices in
relation to ink and other writing materials as well as the monastic libraries
of which England, France, Germany and Italy possessed many during the
thirteenth, fourteenth, and more particularly the fifteenth centuries, were
governed by established rules.
The libraries of such
institutions were placed by the abbot under the sole charge of the
"armarian," an officer who was made responsible for the preservation
of the volumes under his care; be was expected frequently to examine them, lest
damp or insects should injure them; he was to cover them with wooden covers to
preserve them and carefully to mend and restore any damage which time or
accident might cause; he was to make a note of any book borrowed from the
library, with the name of the borrower; but this last rule applied only to the
less valuable portion of it, as the "great and precious books" could
only be lent by the permission of the abbot himself. It was also the duty of
the armarian to have all the books in his charge marked with their correct
titles, and to keep a perfect list of the whole. Some of these catalogues are
still in existence and are curious and interesting in their exemplification of
the kinds of ink employed and as indicative of the state of literature in the
Middle Ages, besides presenting the names of many authors whose works have
never reached us. It was also the duty of the armarian, under the orders of his
superior, to provide the transcribers of manuscripts with the writings which
they were to copy, as well as all the materials necessary for their labors, to
make bargains as to payment, and to superintend the work during their progress.
These transcribers, Mr.
Maitland in his "Dark Ages" tells us, were monks and their clerks,
some of whom were so skilled that they could perform all the different
branches. They were exhorted by the rules of their order to learn writing, and
to persevere in the work of copying manuscripts as being one most acceptable to
God; those who could not write were recommended to bind books. This was in line
with the behest of the famous monk Alciun who lived in the eighth century and
who entreated all to employ themselves in copying books, saying:
"It is a most meritorious work, more useful to the health than
working in the fields, which profits only a man’s body, while the labour of a
copyist profits his soul." When
black ink was used in liturgical writings, the title page and heads of chapters
were written in red ink; whence comes the term rubric. Green, purple, blue and
yellow inks were sometimes used for words, but chiefly for ornamenting capital
letters.
A large room was in
most monasteries set apart for such labors and here the general transcribers
pursued their avocations; in addition, small rooms or cells, known also as
scriptoria, occupied by such monks as were considered, from their piety and learning,
to be entitled to the indulgence, and used by them for their private devotions,
as well as for the purpose of transcribing works for the use of the church or
library. The scriptoria were frequently enriched by donations and bequests from
those who knew the value of the works carried on in them, and large estates
were often devoted to their support.
"Meanwhile along
the cloister’s painted side,
The monks--each bending
low upon his book
With head on hand
reclined--their studies plied;
Forbid to parley, or in
front to look,
Lengthways their
regulated seats they took:
The strutting prior
gazed with pompous mien,
And wakeful tongue,
prepared with prompt rebuke,
If monk asleep in
sheltering hood was seen;
He wary often peeped
beneath that russet screen.
"Hard by, against
the window’s adverse light,
Where desks were wont
in length of row to stand,
The gowned artificers
inclined to write;
The pen of silver
glistened in the hand
Some of their fingers
rhyming Latin scanned;
Some textile gold from
halls unwinding drew,
And on strained velvet
stately portraits planned;
Here arms, there faces
shown in embryo view,
At last to glittering
life the total figures grew."
--FOSBROOKE. The public
scribes of those days were employed mostly by secular individuals, although
subject to be called upon at any moment by the fathers of the church. They
worked in their homes except when any valuable work was to be copied, then in
that of their employer, who boarded and lodged them during the time of their
engagement.
To differentiate the
character of the class of pigments or materials then employed in making colored
inks, from those of the more ancient times is difficult; because we not only
find many of like character but of larger variety. These were used more for
purposes of illuminating and embellishing than for regular writing.
Even when printing had
been invented spaces were frequently left, both in the block books and in the
earliest movable type, for the illumination by hand, of initial letters so as
to deceive purchasers into the belief that the printed type which was patterned
closely after the forms of letters employed in MSS. writings was the real
thing. The learned soon discovered such frauds and thereafter these practices
were abandoned.
CHAPTER X. RENAISSANCE
INK.
INK OF GRAY COLOR
BELONGING TO THE SIXTEENTH CENTURY AND ITS CAUSES--INFLUENCE OF THE FATHERS OF
THE CHURCH RESPECTING INK DURING THE DARK AGES--THE REFORMATION AND HOW IT
AFFECTED MEDIÆVAL MSS.--REMARKS OF BALE ABOUT THEIR DESTRUCTION--QUAINT INK
RECEIPT OF 1602--SELECTION FROM THE TWELFTH NIGHT RELATING TO PEN AND
INK--GENERAL CONDITIONS WHICH OBTAINED UNTIL 1626--THE FRENCH GOVERNMENT AWARDS
AN INK CONTRACT IN THAT YEAR--OTHER GOVERNMENTS ADOPT THE FRENCH FORMULA--INKS
OF THE SEVENTEENTH CENTURY ALMOST PERFECT IN THEIR COLOR PHENOMENA--NO ADDED
COLOR EMPLOYED IN THEIR MANUFACTURE.
THE gray color of most
of the inks found on documents written in the sixteenth century is a noteworthy
fact. Whence its cause is a matter for considerable speculation. The majority
of these inks unquestionably belong to the "gall" class and if
prepared after the formulas utilized in preceding centuries should indicate
like color phenomena. As these same peculiarities exist on both paper, vellum
and parchment, it cannot be attributed to their use. Investigations in many
instances of the writings indicate the exercise of a more rapid pen movement
and a consequent employment of inks of greater fluidity than those of an earlier
history. Such fluidity could only be obtained by a reduction of the quantity of
gummy vehicles together with an increase of ink acidity. The acids which had
theretofore been more or less introduced into inks, except oxalic acid, could
not effect such results. Consequently, as the monuments of this gray ink
phenomena are to be found belonging to all the portions of the Christian world,
with a uniformity that is certainly remarkable, it becomes a fair deduction to
assume that the making of inks bad passed into the hands of regular
manufacturers who adulterated them with "added" color.
We can well believe
that the influences which the fathers of the Church exerted during the thousand
years known as the "Dark Ages," in respect to ink and kindred
subjects, must have been very great. That they endeavored to perpetuate for the
benefit of succeeding generations in book and other forms, this kind of
information, which they distributed throughout the world we know to be true.
Most of these sources of ink information, however, gradually disappeared as
constituting a series of sad events in the unhappy war which followed their
preparation.
The Reformation began
in Germany in the first quarter of the sixteenth century, and with it the
eighty years of continual religious warfare which followed. During this period
the priceless MSS. books of information, historical, literary and otherwise,
contained in the monastic libraries outside of Italy were burnt.
We are told:
"In England cupidity and intolerance destroyed recklessly. Thus,
after the dissolution of monastic establishments, persons were appointed to
search out all missals, books of legends, and such ‘superstitious books’ and to
destroy or sell them for waste paper; reserving only their bindings, when, as
was frequently the case, they were ornamented with massive gold and silver,
curiously chased, and often further enriched with precious stones; and so
industriously had these men done their work, destroying all books in which they
considered popish tendencies to be shown by illumination, the use of red
letters, or of the Cross, or even by the--to them --mysterious diagrams of
mathematical problems--that when, some years later, Leland was appointed to
examine the monastic libraries, with a view to the preservation of what was
valuable in them, he found that those who had preceded him had left little to
reward his search." Bale, himself
an advocate for the dissolution of monasteries, says:
"Never had we bene offended for the losse of our lybraryes beyng so
many in nombre and in so desolute places for the moste parte, yf the chief
monuments and moste notable workes of our excellent wryters had bene reserved,
yf there had bene in every shyre of Englande but one solemyne lybrary for the
preservacyon of those noble workes, and preferrments of good learnyuges in our
posteryte it had bene yet somewhat. But to destroye all without consyderacyon
is and wyll be unto Englande for ever a most horryble infamy amonge the grave
senyours of other natyons. A grete nombre of them wych purchased of those
superstycyose mansyons reserved of those lybrarye bokes, some to serve theyr
jaks, some to scoure theyr candelstyckes, and some to rubb theyr bootes . some
they solde to the grossers and sope sellers, and some they sent over see to the
bokebynders, not in small nombre, but at tymes whole shippesful. I know a
merchant man, whyche shall at thys tyme be namelesse, that boughte the
content-, of two noble lybraryes for xl shyllyngs pryce, a shame it is to be
spoken. Thys stuffe hathe he occupyed in the stide of greve paper for the space
of more than these ten years, and yet hathe store ynough for as many years to
come. A prodyguous example is thys, and to be abhorred of all men who love
theyr n atyon as they shoulde do." Passing
to later epochs, A. D. 1602, the following quaint receipt proves interesting as
showing that the "gall" inks were well known at that time:
"To make common
Ink, of Wine take a quart,
Two ounces of Gumme,
let that be a part;
Five ounces of Galls,
of Cop’res take three,
Long standing doth make
it the better to be;
If Wine ye do want,
raine water is best,
And then as much stuffe
as above at the least,
If the Ink be too
thick, put Vinegar in,
For water doth make the
colour more dimme."
Shakespeare in his
Twelfth Night III, 2, has also referred to them in the following amusing
strain:
"Go write it in a
martial hand; be curst and brief;
it is no matter how
witty, so it be eloquent, and
full of invention;
taunt him with the license of
ink; if thou thou’st
him thrice, it shall nor be
amiss; and as many lies
as will lie on a sheet of
paper, although the
sheet were big enough for
the bed of Ware in
England, set ’em down; go,
about it. Let there be
gall enough in thy ink,
though thou write with
a goose pen, no matter:
about it."
The general black ink
conditions for a period of at least three hundred years, if we exclude the
sixteenth century, had been but repetitions of each other. They so remained
until the year 1626, when the French government concluded an arrangement with a
chemist by the name of Guyot, for the manufacture of a "gall" ink
without added color and which thereby guaranteed and insured more sameness in
respect to desirable ink qualities. That government with a few modifications
relative to the proportions of ingredients continued its employment, which was
followed by the contemporaneous writers. Other governments later partially
adopted the French formulas while some of them gave the matter no attention,
although their records and those of the cities or towns not only of Europe but
early America, the United States and Canada are found in most instances to have
been written with an ink of this character.
Where prior to 1850,
inks containing a different base (with the single exception of indigo) were
used, they have either disappeared or nearly so and it is not an infrequent
occurrence among those who are accustomed to examine old records to find that
signatures or dates to valuable instruments, pages of writings and indeed
sometimes the writings in an entire book are more or less obliterated.
The black inks of a
large portion of the seventeenth century, on documents of every kind, are found
to be nearly perfect as to color conditions, which is evidence of the extreme
care used in their preparation and the exclusion of "added" color in
ink manufacture.
CHAPTER XI. ANCIENT INK
TREATISES.
INK TREATISES OF THE
FIFTEENTH, SIXTEENTH AND SEVENTEENTH CENTURIES--JOHN BAPTISTA PORTA AUTHOR OF
THE FIRST--SECRET INKS---NERI, CANEPARIUS, BOREL, MERRET, KUNCKEL AND OTHER
AUTHORS WHO REFER TO INK MANUFACTURE--PROGRESS OF THE ART OF HANDWRITING
ILLUSTRATED IN THE NAMES OF OVER A HUNDRED CALLIGRAPHERS CHRONOLOGICALLY
ARRANGED.
THE literature of the
fifteenth, sixteenth and seventeenth centuries on the subject of black and
colored ink formulas, secret inks, etc., is both diversified and of
considerable importance. The following authors and citations are deemed the
most noteworthy:
John Baptista Porta, of
Naples, born A. D. 1445 and died A. D. 1515, is best known as the inventor of
the "camera obscuro;" was also the author of many MSS. books
compiled; he says,
"As the results of discussions of long years held at my own house
which is known as de Secreti, and into which none can enter unless he claim to
be an inventor of new discoveries." Two
of these treatises which were extant in the first half of the seventeenth
century, dated respectively 1481 and 1483, dwell at great length on secret inks
and specifically mention as translated into the English of the time "sowre
galls in white wine," and "vitriol;" repeating Italian formulas
pertaining to the "Secreta" of the twelfth century.
About secret ink he
tells us:
"There are many and almost infinite ways to write things of
necessity, that the Characters shall not be seen, unless you dip them into
waters, or put them near the fire, or rub them with dust, or smeer them over. * * * * * * * *
"Let Vitriol soak in Boyling water: when it is dissolved, strain it
so long till the water grow clear: with that liquor write upon paper: when they
are dry they are not seen. Moreover, grinde burnt straw and Vinegar: and what
you will write in the spaces between the former lines, describe at large. Then
boyl sowre Galls in white Wine, wet a spunge in the liquor: and when you have
need, wipe it upon the paper gently, and wet the letters so long until the
native black colour disappear, but the former colour, that was not seen, will be
made apparent. Now I will show in what liquors paper must be soaked to make
letters to be seen. As I said, Dissolve Vitriol in water: then powder Galls
finely, and soak them in water: let them stay there twenty-four hours: filtre
them through a linen cloth, or something else, that may make the water clear,
and make letters upon the paper that you desire to have concealed: send it to
your Friend absent: when you would have them appear, dip them in the first
liquor, and the letters will presently be seen. *
* * * * * * *
If you write with the juice of Citrons, Oranges, Onyons, or almost any
sharp things, if you make it hot at the fire, their acrimony is presently
discovered: for they are undigested juices, whereas they are detected by the
heat of the fire, and then they show forth those colours that they would show
if they were ripe. If you write with a sowre Grape that would be black, or with
Cervices; when you hold them to the fire they are concocted, and will give the
same colour they would in due time give upon the tree, when they were ripe.
Juice of Cherries, added to Calamus, will make a green: to sow-bread a red: so
divers juices of Fruits will show divers colours by the fire. By these means
Maids sending and receiving love-letters, escape from those that have charge of
them. There is also a kind of Salt called Ammoniac: this powdered and mingled
with water, will write white letters, and can hardly be distinguished from the
paper, but hold them to the fire, and they will shew black." With respect to the preparation of black and
colored inks and also colors: Antonio Neri, an Italian author and chemist who
lived in the sixteenth century, in his treatise seems not only to have laid the
foundation for most of the receipts called attention to by later writers during
the two hundred years which followed, but to have been the very first to
specify a proper "gall" ink and its formula, as the most worthy of
notice.
Pietro Caneparius, a
physician and writer of Venice, A. D. 1612, in his work De Atrametis, gives a
more extensive view about the preparation and composition of inks and adopts
all that Neri had given, though he never quotes his name, and
adds--"hitherto published by no one." He does however mention many
valuable particulars which were omitted by Neri. Most of his receipts are about
gold, silver and nondescript inks, with directions for making a great variety
for secret writing and defacing. This book revised and enlarged was republished
in London, 1660.
In 1653 Peter Borel,
who was physician to Louis XIV, King, of France published his "Bibliotheca
Chemica," which contains a large number of ink receipts, two of which may
be characterized as "iron and gall" ones. They possess value on
account of the relative proportions indicated between the two chemicals. The
colored ones, including gold, silver and sympathetic inks are mostly
repetitions of those of Neri and Caneparius. The French writers, though, speak
of his researches in chemistry as "somewhat credulous."
Christopher Merret, an
English physician and naturalist, born A. D. 1614, translated Neri into our
language in 1654, with many notes of his own about him; his observations have
added nothing of value to the chemistry of inks.
Johann Kunckel, a noted
German chemist and writer in 1657, republished in the German language Neri’s
work with Merret’s notes, and his own observations on both. He also inserted
many other processes as the result of considerable research and seems to have
been thoroughly conversant with the chemistry of inks, advocating especially
the value and employment of a tanno-gallate of iron ink for record purposes.
Salmon, A. D. 1665, in
his Polygraphics, proceeds to give instructions relative to inks which
notwithstanding their merit are confounded with so many absurdities as to lessen
their value for those who were unable to separate truth from falsehood; but he
nevertheless dwells on the virtues of the "gall" inks.
Jacques Lemort, a Dutch
chemist of some note, issued a treatise, A. D. 1669, on "Ink Formulas and
Colors," seemingly selected from the books of those who had preceded him.
He expresses the opinion that the "gall" inks if properly compounded
would give beneficial results.
Formulas for making
inks are found tucked away in some of the very old literature treating of
"curious" things. One of them which appeared in 1669 directs:
"to strain out the best quality of iron employ old and rusty nails;"
another one says, that the ink when made is to remain in an open vessel
"for thirty days and thirty nights, before putting it in a parchment
bag."
An English compendium
of ink formulas, published in 1693, calls attention to many formulas for black
inks as well as gold, silver, and the colored ones; no comment, however, is
made in respect to any particular one being better than another as to
permanency, and these conditions would seem to have continued for nearly a
century later, though the art of handwriting was making giant strides.
It is a remarkable fact
that notwithstanding the numerous devotees to that art which included many of
the gentler sex, reproductions of whose skill in "Indian" ink are to
be found engraved in magnificent publications, both in book and other forms,
there is no mention in them or in any others included within this period about
the necessity of using any other durable ink for record or commercial purposes.
As indicative in some
degree of the progress of the art of handwriting and handwriting materials,
commencing A. D. 1525 and ending A. D. 1814, I present herewith a compilation
of the names of over one hundred of the best known calligraphers and authors of
the world, and not to be found as a whole in any public or private library. It
is arranged in chronological order.
1525.The first English
essay on the subject of "Curious Calligraphy" was by a woman who from
all accounts possessed most remarkable facility in the use of the pen as well
as a knowledge of languages. Her name was Elizabeth Lucar; as she was born in
London in 1510 and died 1537, her work must have been accomplished when only
fifteen years of age.
1540. Roger Ascham,
best known as the tutor of Queen Elizabeth.
1570. Peter Bales,
author of many works, "The Writing Schoolmaster," which he published
in three parts, being the best known. He was also a microscopic writer. His
rooms were at the sign of "The Hand and Golden Pen," London.
1571. John de
Beauchesne, teacher of the Princess Elizabeth, daughter of King James I. Author
of many copy books.
1588. John Mellis,
"Merchants Accounts," etc.
1600. Elizabeth Jane
Weston, of London and Prague, wrote many poems in old Latin.
1600. Hester Inglis,
"The Psalms of David."
1601. John Davies,
"The Writing Schoolmaster, or Anatomy of Fair Writing."
1616. Richard Gething,
"The Hand and Pen; 1645, "Chirographia" and many others.
1618. Martin Billingsley,
"The Writing Schoolmaster, or the Anatomie of Fair Writing." This
author was writing master to King Charles I.
1622. David Brown, who
was scribe to King James I. "Calligraphia."
1622. William Comley,
"Copy-Book of all the most usual English Hands," etc.
1646. Josiah Ricrafte,
"The Peculiar Character of the Oriental Languages."
1650. Louis Hughes,
"Plain and Easy Directions to Fair Writing."
1650. John Johnson,
"The Usual Practices of Fair and Speedy Writing."
1651. John Clithers,
"The Pens Paradise," dedicated to Prince Charles.
1652. James Seamer,
"A Compendium of All the Usual Hands Written in England."
1657. Edward Cocker,
penman and engraver, famous in his time for the number and variety of his
productions. Author of "The Pen’s Triumph," "The Artist’s
Glory," "England’s Penman," and many more.
1659. James Hodder,
"The Penman’s Recreation," etc.
1660. John Fisher,
"The Pen’s Treasury."
1663. Richard Daniel,
"A Compendium of many hands of Various Countries."
1669. Peter Story or
Stent, "Fair Writing of Several Hands in Use."
1678. William Raven,
"An Exact Copy of the Court Hand."
1680. Peter Ivers,
famous for his engrossing and drawings.
1680. Thomas Watson,
"Copy-Book of Alphabets."
1681. John Pardie,
"An Essay on the German Text and Old Print Alphabets."
1681. Thomas Weston,
"Ancilla Calligraphiæ."
1681. Peter Gery,
"Copy book of all the Hands in use, Performed according to the Natural
Freeness of the Pen."
1681. William Elder,
"Copy-book of the most useful and necessary Hands now used in
England."
1683. John Ayers,
"Tutor to Penmanship," and many others.
1684. Caleb Williams,
"Nuncius Oris," written and engraved by himself.
1693. Charles Snell,
"The Penman’s Treasury Opened;" 1712, "Art of Writing in Theory
and Practice;" 1714, "Standard Rules," etc.
1695. Richard Alleine,
writing master.
1695. Eleazer Wigin,
"The Hand and Pen."
1695. John Sedden,
"The Penman’s Paradise."
1696. John Eade,
writing master.
1699. Joseph Alleine,
published several books about writing and accounts.
1699. Robert More,
"The Writing Masters Assistant." 1725. "The General
Penman."
1700. John Beckham,
father of the celebrated George Beckham, wrote and engraved several pieces for
"The Universal Penman."
1700. Edward Smith,
"The Mysteries of the Pen in fifteen Hands, Unfolded," etc.
1700. Henry Legg,
"Writing and Arithmetic."
1702. William Banson,
"The Merchants Penman."
1703. John Dundas,
microscopic writer.
1705. George Shelley,
"The Penmans Magazine." In 1730 he wrote several pages for
"Bickman’s Universal Penman."
1708. John Clark,
"The Penmans Diversion."
1709. James Heacock,
writing master.
1709. George Shelley,
"Natural writing in all hands."
1711. George Bickham,
one of the most famous of writers of his time, born 1684, died 1758, author of
"The Universal Penman." He published many works. 1711, "The
British Penman;" 1731, "Penmanship in its utmost Beauty and
Extent" and "The Universal Penman" are the best known.
1709. John Rayner,
"Paul’s Scholars Copy-Book."
1711. Humphrey Johnson,
"Youth’s Recreation: a Copy-Book of Writing done by Command of Hand."
1712. William Webster,
writing and mathematics. 1730, wrote several pages for "The Universal
Penman."
1713. Thomas Ollyffe,
"The Hand and Pen." 1714, "The Practical Penman."
1717. William Brooks,
"Delightful Recreation for the Industrious." Contributor to "The
Universal Penman."
1717. Abraham Nicholas,
"Various Examples of Penmanship." 1722, "The Compleat Writing
Master." Wrote also for "The Universal Penman."
1719. Ralph Snow,
"Youths Introduction to Handwriting."
1720. William Richards,
"The Complete Penman."
1723. John Jarman,
"A System of Court Hands."
1724. Henry Lune,
"Round Hand Complete."
1725. John Shortland,
writing master and contributor to "The Universal Penman."
1725. Edward Dawson,
writing master and contributor to "The Universal Penman."
1726. Moses Gratwick,
writing master and contributor to "The Universal Penman."
1727. John Langton,
"The Italien Hand."
1728. John Day, writing
master and contributor to "The Universal Penman."
1729. Gabriel Brooks,
writing master and contributor to, "The Universal Penman."
1730. William Keppax,
writing master and contributor to "The Universal Penman."
1730. John Bland,
"Essay in Writing." Also contributor to "The Universal
Penman."
1730. Solomon Cook,
"The Modish Round Hand."
1730. William Leckey,
"A Discourse on the Use of the Pen." Contributor to "The
Universal Penman."
1730. Peter Norman,
writing master and contributor to "The Universal Penman."
1730. Wellington Clark,
writing master and contributor to "The Universal Penman."
1730. Zachary Chambers,
"Vive la Plume." Contributor to "The Universal Penman."
1733. Bright Whilton,
writing master and contributor to "The Universal Penman."
1734. Timothy Treadway,
writing master and contributor to "The Universal Penman."
1738. George J.
Bickham, writing master; also wrote for "Bickham’s Universal Penman."
1739. Emanuel Austin,
writing master; he wrote 22 pages in "The Universal Penman."
1739. Samuel Vaux,
writing master and contributor to "The Universal Penman."
1740. Jeremiah Andrews,
writing master and tutor to King George III.
1740. Nathaniel Dove,
"The Progress of Time," and contributor to "The Universal
Penman."
1741. John Blande,
"Essay in Writing; 1730, contributor to "The Universal Penman."
1741. Richard Morris,
writing master and contributor to "The Universal Penman."
1747. Mary Johns,
microscopic writer and author.
1749. Charles Woodham,
"A Specimen of Writing, in the most Useful Hands now Practised in
England."
1750. John Oldfield,
"Honesty." He wrote one piece in "The Universal Penman."
1750. Joseph Champion,
"The Parallel or Comparative Penmanship." 1762, "The Living
Hands."
1751. Edward Lloyd,
"Young Merchants Assistant."
1758. Richard Clark,
"Practical and Ornamental Penmanship."
1760. Benjamin Webb,
writer of copy books, etc.
1762. William Chinnery,
"The Compendious Emblematist."
1763. William Massey,
"The Origin and Progress of Letters," containing valuable information
about the art.
1769. John Gardner,
"Introduction to the Counting House."
1780. Edward Powell,
writing master and designer.
1784. E. Butterworth,
"The Universal Penman" in two parts, published in Edinburgh.
1795. William Milns,
"The Penman’s Repository."
1799. William G.
Wheatcroft, "The Modern Penman."
1814. John Carstairs,
"Tachygraphy, or the Flying Pen." 2. "Writing made easy,
etc."
Illustrated works on
the subject of penmanship of contemporaneous times and not of English origin
are but few. The best known are:
1543. Luduvico
Vicentino, "A Copy book" published in Rome, seems to have been the
first.
1570. Il perfetto
Scrittore (The Perfect Writer) by Francesco Cresci, published in Rome.
1605. Spieghel der
Schrijkfkonste (or Mirror of Penmanship) written by Van den Velde, published in
Amsterdam.
1612. "Writing and
Ink Recipes," by Peter Caniparius, Venice and London.
1700. Der Getreue
Schreibemeister (or True Writing Master), by Johann Friedr Vicum, published in
Dresden.
From 1602 to 1709 many
"Indian" ink specimens were extant and are still of the different
schools of penmanship. The productions of Phrysius, Materot and Barbedor
illustrating the French style, Vignon, Sellery and others, for the Italian
hand, and Overbique and Smythers for the German text, and Ambrosius Perlengh
and Hugo, with a few more, complete the list.
CHAPTER XII. STUDY OF INK.
LACK OF INTEREST AS TO
THE COMPOSITION OF INK DURING PART OF THE EIGHTEENTH CENTURY--THE CONDITIONS
WHICH THEN PREVAILED NEARLY THE SAME AS THE PRESENT TIME--CHEMISTRY OF INK NOT
UNDERSTOOD--THIS LACK OF INFORMATION NOT CONFINED TO ANY PARTICULAR
COUNTRY--LEWIS, IN 1765, BEGINS A SCIENTIFIC INVESTIGATION ON THE SUBJECT OF
INKS --THE RESULTS AND HIS CONCLUSIONS PUBLISHED IN 1797--THE ROYAL SOCIETY OF
ENGLAND IN 1787 RECEIVES COMPLAINTS ABOUT THE INFERIORITY OF INKS --ITS
SECRETARY READS A PAPER THE SAME YEAR--THE PAPER CITED IN FULL--DR. BOSTOCK IN
1830 COMMUNICATES TO THE SOCIETY OF ARTS WHAT HE ESTIMATES TO BE THE CAUSES OF
IMPERFECTIONS IN INK--ACTION OF THE FRENCH ACADEMY OF SCIENCES--COMPLICATIONS
SURROUNDING THE MANUFACTURE OF INK ONLY THIRTY-FIVE YEARS AGO.
THE increasing demands
for ink, and the lack of interest as to its composition during the eighteenth
century, if viewed in the same lights which prevail in our own times, permitted
the general manufacture of cheap grades of ink which possessed no very lasting
qualities. The chemistry of Inks was not fully understood, indeed we find
Professer Turner of the College of Edinburgh declaring in 1827:
"Gallic acid was discovered by Scheele in 1786, and exists ready
formed in the bark of many trees, and in gall-nuts. It is always associated
with tannin, a substance to which it is allied in a manner hitherto
unexplained. It is distinguished from tannin by causing no precipitate in a
solution of gelatine. With a salt of iron it forms a dark blue coloured
compound, which is the basis of ink. The finest colour is procured when the
peroxide and protoxide of iron are mixed together. This character distinguishes
gallic acid from every other substance excepting tannin." The general lack of information or
knowledge respecting ink chemistry or its time-phenomena was not confined to
any particular country, and it does not appear that any general or specific
attention was scientifically directed to it until 1765, when William Lewis, F.
R. S., an English chemist, publicly announced that he proposed to investigate
the subject. His experimentations covered a period of many years and their
results and his theories as to the phenomena of inks were published in 1797.
The most valuable of his conclusions were that an excess of iron salt in the
ink is detrimental to color permanence (such ink becoming brown on exposure)
and also that acetic acid in the menstruum provides an ink of greater body and
blackness than sulphuric acid does (a circumstance due to the smaller
resistance of acetic acid to the formation of iron gallo-tannate). Many of his
other observations were later shown to have been erroneous. Dr. Lewis was the
first to advocate logwood as a tinctorial agent in connection with iron and
gall compositions.
Ribaucourt, a French
ink maker, in 1798 determined that an excess of galls is quite as injurious to
the permanence of ink as an excess of iron.
Pending the completion
of the researches of Lewis, the Royal Society of England, affected by
complaints from all quarters relative to the inferiority of inks as compared
with those of earlier times, brought the subject to the attention of many of
its members for discussion and advice. Its secretary, Charles Blagden, M. D.,
read a paper before the society, June 28, 1787, which was published in the
"Philosophical Transactions" and widely circulated. It is so
interesting that copious extracts are given:
"In a conversation some time ago with my friend Thomas Astle, Esq.,
F. R. S. and A. S., relative to the legibility of ancient MSS. a question arose,
whether the inks in use eight or ten centuries ago, which are often found to
have preserved their colour remarkably well, were made of different materials
from those employed in later times, of which many are already become so pale as
scarcely to be read. With a view to the decision of this question, Mr. Astle
obligingly furnished me with several MSS., on parchment and vellum, from the
ninth to the fifteenth centuries inclusively, some of which were still black,
and others of different shades of colour, from a deep yellowish brown to a very
pale yellow, in some parts so faint as to be scarcely visible. On all of these
I made experiments with the chemical re-agents which appeared to me best
adapted to the purpose, namely, alkalis both simple and phlogisticated, the
mineral acids, and infusions of galls.
"It would be tedious and superfluous to enter into a detail of the
particular experiments, as all of them, one instance only excepted, agreed in
the general result, to shew that the ink employed anciently, as far as the
above-mentioned MSS. extended, was of the same nature as the present; for the
letters turned of a reddish or yellow brown with alkalis, became pale, and were
at length obliterated, with the dilute mineral acids, and the drop of acid
liquor which had extracted a letter, changed to a deep blue or green on the
addition of a drop of phlogisticated alkali; moreover, the letters acquired a
deeper tinge with the infusion of galls, in some cases more, in others less.
Hence it is evident, that one of the ingredients was iron, which there is no
reason to doubt was joined with the vitriolic acid; and the colour of the more
perfect MSS. which in some was deep black, and in others purplish black,
together with the restitution of that colour, in those which had lost it, by
the infusion of galls, sufficiently proved that another of the ingredients was
a stringent matter, which from history appears to be that of galls. No trace of
a black pigment of any sort was discovered, the drop of acid which had completely
extracted a letter, appearing of an uniform pale ferrugineous color, without an
atom of black powder, or other extraneous matter, floating in it.
"As to the durability of the more ancient inks, it seemed, from
what occurred to me in these experiments, to depend very much on a better
preparation of the material upon which the writing was made, namely, the
parchment or vellum; the blackest letters being those which had sunk into it
deepest. Some degree of effervescence was commonly to be perceived when the
acids came into contact with the surface of these old vellums. I was led,
however, to suspect, that the more modern; for in general the tinge of colour,
produced by the phlogisticated alkali in the acid laid upon them, seemed less
deep; which, however, might depend in part upon the length of time they have
been kept: and perhaps more gum was used in them, or possible they were washed
over with some kind of varnish, though not such as gave gloss.
"One of the specimens sent me by Mr. Astle, of the fifteenth
century, and the letters were those of an engrossing hand, angular, without any
fine strokes, broad and very black. On this none of the above-mentioned
re-agents produced any considerable effect; most of them seemed to make the
letters blacker, probably by cleaning the surface; and the acids, after having
been rubbed strongly on the letters, did not strike any deeper tinge with the
phlogisticated alkali. Nothing had a sensible effect toward obliterating these
letters but what took off part of the surface of the vellum, when small rolls,
as of a dirty matter, were to be perceived. It is therefore unquestionable,
that no iron was used in this ink; and from its resistance to the chemical
solvents, as well as a certain clotted appearance in the letters when examined
closely, and in some places a slight degree of gloss, I have little doubt but
they were formed with a composition of a black, sooty or carbonaceous powder
and oil, probably something like our present printer’s ink, and am not without
suspicion that they were actually printed (a subsequent examination of a larger
portion of this supposed MSS. has shown that it is really a part of a very
ancient printed book).
"Whilst I was considering of the experiments to be made, in order
to ascertain the composition of ancient inks, it occurred to me that perhaps
one of the best methods of restoring legibility to decayed writing might be to
join phlogisticated alkali with the remaining calx of iron, because, as the
quantity of precipitate formed by these two substances very much exceeds that
of the iron alone, the bulk of the colouring matter would thereby be greatly
augmented. M. Bergman was of opinion that the blue precipitate contains only
between a fifth and a sixth part of its weight of iron, and though subsequent
experiments tend to show that, in some cases at least, the proportion of iron
is much greater, yet upon the whole it is certainly true, that if the iron left
by the stroke of a pen were joined to the colouring matter of phlogisticated
alkali, the quantity of Prussian blue thence resulting would be much greater
than the quantity of black matter originally contained in the ink deposited by
the pen, though perhaps the body of colour might not be equally augmented. To
bring the idea to the test, I made a few experiments as follows:
"The phlogisticated alkali was rubbed upon the bare writing in
different quantities, but in general with little effect. In a few instances,
however, it gave a bluish tinge to the letters, and increased their intensity,
probably where something of an acid nature had contributed to the diminution of
their colour.
"Reflecting that when phlogisticated alkali forms its blue
precipitate with iron the metal is first usually dissolved in an acid, I was
next induced to try the effect of adding a dilute mineral acid to writing
besides the alkali. This answered fully to my expectations, the letters
changing very speedily to a deep blue colour, of great beauty and intensity.
"It seems of little consequence as to the strength of colour obtained,
whether the writing be first wetted with the acid, and then the phlogisticated
alkali be touched upon it, or whether the process be inverted, beginning with
the alkali; but on another account I think the latter way preferable. For the
principal inconvenience which occurs in the proposed method of restoring MSS.
is, that the colour frequently spreads, and so much blots the parchment as to
detract greatly from the legibility; now this appears to happen in a less
degree when the alkali is put on first, and the dilute acid is added upon it.
"The method I have hitherto found to answer best has been to spread
the alkali thin with a feather or a bit of stick cut to a blunt point, though
the alkali has occasioned no sensible change of colour, yet the moment that the
acid comes upon it, every trace of a letter turns at once to a fine blue, which
soon acquires its full intensity, and is beyond comparison stronger than the
colour of the original trace had been. If now the corner of a bit of blotting
paper be carefully and dexterously applied near the letters, in order to suck
up the superfluous liquor, the staining of the parchment may be in a great
measure avoided: for it is this superfluous liquor which absorbing part of the
colouring matter from the letters becomes a dye to whatever it touches. Care
must be taken not to bring the blotting paper in contact with the letters,
because the colouring matter is soft whilst wet, and may easily be rubbed off.
The acid I have chiefly employed has been the marine; but both the vitriolic
and nitrous succeed very well. They should undoubtedly be so far diluted as not
to be in danger of corroding the parchment, after which the degree of strength
does not seem to be a matter of much nicety.
"The method now commonly practiced to restore old writings, is by
wetting them with an infusion of galls in white wine." (See a complicated process for the
preparation of such a liquor in Caneparius De Atramentis, A. D. 1660, p. 277)
"This certainly has a great effect; but is subject, in some degree,
to the same inconvenience as the phlogisticated alkali, of staining the
substance on which the writing was made. Perhaps if, instead of galls
themselves, the peculiar acid of or other matter which strikes the black with
iron were separated from the simple astringent matter, for which purpose two
different processes are given by Piesenbring and by Scheele, this inconvenience
might be avoided. It is not improbable, likewise, that a phlogisticated alkali
might be prepared better suited to this object than the common; as by rendering
it as free as possible from iron, diluting it to a certain degree, or
substituting the volatile alkali for the fixed. Experiment would most likely
point out many other means of improving the process described above; but in its
present state I hope it may be of some use, as it not only brings out a
prodigious body of colour upon letters which were before so pale as to be
almost invisible, but has the further advantages over the infusions of galls,
that it produces its effect immediately, and can be confined to these letters
only for which such assistance is wanted." The
Society of Arts in 1830, received a communication from Dr. Bostock, in the
course of which he stated that the "tannin, mucilage and extractive matter
are without doubt the principal causes of the difficulty which is encountered
in the formation of a perfect and durable ink and for a good ink the essential
ingredients are gallic acid and a sesqui salt of iron." Owing to his
working with galls he was unable to make decisive experiments, but he
concludes, and that rightly, that in proportion as ink consists merely of
gallate of iron, it is less liable to decomposition and any kind of
metamorphosis.
In 1831 the Academy of
Sciences in France took up the matter and designated a committee composed of
chemists with instructions to study the subject of a permanent ink. After long
research it reported that it was unable to recommend any better ink than the
tanno-gallate of iron one then in use, but "it should be properly
compounded."
Peddington
investigated, 1841-48, the ancient MSS. collected by the Asiatic Society of
Bengal, Calcutta, and published the results in "Examination of Some
Decayed Oriental Works in the Library of the Asiatic Society," which are
of much interest as relating to "mineral" inks, the "gall"
inks being unknown in Asia after the twelfth century.
Up to thirty-five years
ago, the manufacture of "gall" inks necessitated a complicated series
of processes and long periods of time to enable the ink to settle properly,
etc. It was Professor Penny of the Anderson University who suggested the way to
avoid one of the processes pertaining to ink-making by utilizing the known
fact, that tannin is more soluble in cold than in warm or hot water. It was
adopted all over the world and revolutionized the manufacture of ink, by doing
away with boiling processes and hot macerations of ingredients. With hardly in
exception the best tanno-gallate of iron ("gall") inks are now
"cold" made.
CHAPTER XIII. STUDY OF
INK.
INVESTIGATIONS BY STARK
OF INK QUALITIES COVERING A PERIOD OF TWENTY-THREE YEARS--ABSTRACT FROM HIS
REPORT OF 1855--DR. CHILTON EXPERIMENTS IN NEW YORK CITY 1856--ACTION OF THE
PRUSSIAN GOVERNMENT IN 1859 AND EMPLOYMENT OF AN OFFICIAL INK--WATTENBACH’S GERMAN
TREATISE ON THE ARCHIVES OF THE MIDDLE AGES--WILLIAM INGLIS CLARK ATTEMPTS TO
PLACE THE MANUFACTURE OF INK ON A SCIENTIFIC BASIS--SUBMITS HIS VALUABLE
RESEARCHES AND DEDUCTIONS TO THE ENINBURGH UNIVERSITY IN 1879--SCHLUTTIG AND
NEUMANN IN 1890 ESTABLISH A STANDARD FORMULA FOR IRON AND GALL INK--NAMES OF
SOME INK INVESTIGATORS OF THE NINETEENTH CENTURY.
DR. JAMES STARK, a
famous chemist, submitted the results of twenty-three years of investigations
of writing inks in a paper read by him in 1855 before the Society of Arts, in
Edinburg, Scotland. The following is the abstract as printed by the London
Artisan at the time:
"The author stated that in 1842 he commenced a series of
experiments on writing inks, and up to this date (1855), had manufactured 229
different inks, and had tested the durability of writings made with these on
all kinds of paper. As the result of his experiments be showed that the
browning and fading of inks resulted from many causes, but in ordinary inks
chiefly from the iron becoming peroxygenated and separating as a heavy
precipitate. Many inks, therefore, when fresh made, yielded durable writings;
but when the ink became old, the tanno-gallate of iron separated, and the
durability of the ink was destroyed. From a numerous set of experiments the
author showed that no salt of iron and no precipitate of iron equalled the
common sulphate of iron--that is, the commercial copperas--for the purpose of
ink-making; and that even the addition of any persalt, such as the nitrate or
chloride of iron, though it improved the present color of the ink, deteriorated
its durability. The author failed to procure a persistent black ink from
manganese, or other metal or metallic salt. The author exhibited a series of
eighteen inks which had either been made with metallic iron or with which
metallic iron had been immersed, and directed attention to the fact that though
the depth and body of color seemed to be deepened, yet in every case the
durability of writings made with such inks was so impaired that they became
brown and faded in a few months. The most permanent ordinary inks were shown to
be composed of the best blue gall nuts with copperas and gum, and the
proportions found on experiment to yield the most persistent black were six
parts of best blue galls to four parts of copperas. Writings made with such an
ink stood exposure to sun and air for twelve months without exhibiting any
change of color, while those made with inks of every other proportion or
composition had more or less of their color discharged when similarly tested.
This ink, therefore, if kept from moulding and from depositing its
tanno-gallate of iron, would afford writings perfectly durable. It was shown
that no gall and logwood ink was equal to the pure gall ink in so far as
durability in the writings was concerned. All such inks were exhibited which,
though durable before the addition of logwood, faded rapidly after logwood was
added to them. Sugar was shown to have an especially hurtful action on the
durability of inks containing logwood--indeed, on all inks. Many other plain
inks were exhibited, and their properties described --as gallo-sumach ink,
myrabolams ink, Runge’s ink, --inks in which the tanno-gallate of iron was kept
in solution by nitric, muriatic, sulphuric, and other acids, or by oxalate of
potash, chloride of lime, etc. The myrabolams was recommended as an ink of some
promise for durability, and as the cheapest ink it was possible to manufacture.
All ordinary inks, however, were shown to have certain drawbacks, and the author
endeavored to ascertain by experiment whether other dark substances could be
added to inks to impart greater durability to writings made with them, and at
the same time prevent those chemical changes which were the cause of ordinary
inks fading. After experimenting with various substances, and among others with
Prussian blue and indigo dissolved in various ways, he found the sulphate of
indigo to fulfil all the required conditions and, when added in the proper
proportion to a tanno-gallate of iron ink, it yielded an ink which is agreeable
to write with, which flows freely from the pen and does not clog it; which
never moulds, which, when it dries on the paper, becomes of an intense pure
black, and which does not fade or change its color however long kept. The
author pointed out the proper proportions for securing those properties, and
showed that the smallest quantity of the sulphate of indigo which could be used
for this purpose was eight ounces for every gallon of ink. The author stated
that the ink he preferred for his own use was composed of twelve ounces of
gall, eight ounces of sulphate of indigo, eight ounces of copperas, a few
cloves, and four or six ounces of gum arabic, for a gallon of ink. It was shown
that immersing iron wire or filings in these inks destroyed ordinary inks. He
therefore recommended that all legal deeds or documents should be written with
quill pens, as the contact of steel invariably destroys more or less the
durability of every ink. The author concluded his paper with a few remarks on
copying inks and indelible inks, showing that a good copying ink has yet to be
sought for, and that indelible inks, which will resist the pencilings and
washings of the chemist and the forger, need never be looked for." Professor Leonhardi, of Dresden, who had
given much attention to the subject of inks, introduced in 1855 what he termed
a new ink, and named it "alizarine ink," alizarin being a product
obtained from the madder root, which he employed for "added" color in
a tanno-gallate of iron solution. It possessed some merit due to its fluidity,
and for a time was quite popular, but gradually gave place to the so-called
chemical writing fluids; it is now obsolete.
Champour and Malepeyre,
Paris, 1856, issued a joint manual, "Fabrication des Encres," devoted
almost exclusively to the manufacture of inks and compiles many old
"gall" and other ink formulas.
In 1856 Dr. Chilton of
New York City published the results of ink experiments which he had made. The
accompanying extracts are taken from the local press of the month of April of
that year:
"Some ingenious experiments to test the durability of writing inks
have recently been made by Dr. Chilton, of New York City. He exposed a
manuscript written with four different inks of the principal makers, of this
and other countries, to the constant action of the weather upon the roof of his
laboratory. After an exposure of over five months, the paper shows the
different kind of writing in various shades of color. The English sample,
Blackwood’s, well known and popular from the neat and convenient way that it is
prepared for this market, was quite indistinct.
"The American samples, David’s, Harrison’s and Maynard’s are
better. The first appears to retain its original shade very neatly; the two
last are paler. This test shows conclusively the durability of ink; and while,
for many purposes, school and the like, an ink that will stand undefaced a year
or so, is all that is necessary, yet there is hardly a bottle of ink sold, some
of which may not be used in the signature or execution of papers that may be
important to be legible fifty or one hundred years hence.
"For state and county offices, probate records, etc., it is of
vital importance that the records should be legible centuries hence. We believe
that some of the early manuscripts of New England are brighter than some town
and church records of this century.
"In Europe at the present time, great care is taken by the
different governments in the preparation of permanent ink--some of them even
compounding their own, according to the most approved and expensive formulas.
"Manuscripts of the eleventh and twelfth centuries now in the state
paper office of Great Britain, are apparently as bright as when first written;
while those of the last two hundred years are more or less illegible, and some
of them entirely obliterated." While
the information sought to be conveyed in the last statement may be in some
respects correct, it must be remembered that most of the MSS. extant dating
before the thirteenth century were written in "Indian" ink, while the
great majority of those of the last two hundred years were not; and this fact
alone would account to some extent for the differences mentioned.
The German (Prussian)
government in 1859, as the result of an investigation, employed what they
termed "Official Ink of the First Class," i. e., a straight
tanno-gallate of iron ink without added color; and if permanence were required
as against removal by chemicals, it was accomplished by writing on paper saturated
with chromates and ultramarine.
In 1871 Professor
Wattenbach of Germany published a treatise entitled "Archives during the
Middle Ages," which has some valuable references to the color phenomena of
inks.
William Inglis Clark in
1879 submitted to the Edinburgh University a thesis entitled "An Attempt
to Place the Manufacture of Ink on a Scientific Basis," and which very
justly received the commendation of the University authorities. His researches
and rational deductions are of the greatest possible value judged from a
scientific standpoint. The introduction of blue-black ink is a phase of the
development towards modern methods which he discusses at much length.
The object of adding a
dye in moderation, he asserts, is to give temporary color to the ink and where
indigo-paste is used, it has been assumed that it kept the iron gallo-tannate
in solution, whereas any virtue of this kind which indigo-paste possesses is
more likely due to the sulphuric acid which it contains than to the indigo
itself. The essential part of the paste required is the sulpho-indigodate of
sodium, now commonly called indigo-carmine. He further remarks that the
stability of an ink precipitate depends upon the amount of iron which it
contains and which on no account should be less than eight per cent; he adds
rightly, if gallic acid be preferably used in substitution for tannin, "no
precipitate is obtained under precisely similar conditions." This point
followed up explains in a measure why a gall infusion prepared with hot water
is not suitable for a blue-black, while a cold water infusion is. In the latter
case a comparatively small percentage of tannin is extracted from the galls,
while much is extracted with hot water and the consequence is, on adding the
indigo blue the color is not brought out as it should be. Substantially the
same thing occurs with ink made with the respective acids, although the blue
color remains for a time unimpaired in the tannin ink, apparently due to the
fact that ferrous-tannate reduces indigo blue to indigo white, a change which
the low reducing power of ferrous-gallate does little to effect. The vegetable
matter in common inks facilitates the destruction, or rather alteration and
precipitation of the indigo, for the dye appears in the iron precipitate and may
be extracted from it with boiling water.
Dr. Clark’s
investigations seek to demonstrate the superiority of tannin and gallic acid
over infusions of the natural galls, and he undertakes to determine the correct
ratio of tannin and sulphate of iron to be used as ink. His experiments in this
line show that:
1. The amount of
precipitate increases as the proportion of iron to tannin is increased.
2. The composition of
the precipitate is so valuable as to preclude the possibility of its being a
definite body. Increase of iron in the solution has not at first any effect on
the composition of the precipitate, but afterwards iron is found in it in
greater but not proportional amount.
3. At one point the
proportions of iron in the precipitate and in solution are the same, and this
is at between 6 and 10 parts of iron to 100 parts of tannin.
4. The proportion of
iron in the precipitate varies greatly with the length of time the ink has been
exposed. At first the precipitate contains 10 per cent of iron, but by and by a
new one having only 7.5 per cent is formed, and in from forty to seventy days
we find one of 5.7 per cent. Simultaneously iron increases in the ink
(proportionate to the tannin).
5. The results show,
and practice confirms, that 16 parts of iron (80 ferrous sulphate) and 100
parts of tannin are best for ink manufacture.
The research now
travelled in a direction which accumulating experience showed to be obligatory.
Blue-black tannin ink lost color, and the reducing nature of the tannin tended
to the formation of a highly objectionable precipitate in the ink, which made
writing anything but a pleasure. These two faults were doubtless linked
together in some way and seemed not to exist when gallic acid was used, for ink
so made was found to precipitate only after a long exposure, it required no
free acid to keep the precipitate in solution, and retained the indigo blue
color for a long time; alkalis did not decompose the ink, and provided blacker
and more permanent writing. Determination of the correct proportions of gallic
acid and ferrous-sulphate was the subject of prolonged experiments conducted on
similar lines to those already detailed. The conclusions as to precipitation
were also similar. Thirty parts of iron (150 of ferrous-sulphate) and 100 parts
of gallic acid were found to be the most suitable proportions for ink-making.
It is advisable, however, not to discard tannin altogether, owing to the slow
blackening of the gallic acid ink, and a little tannin gives initial blackening
and body, while it is absolutely necessary for copying ink. Initial blackness
can also be ensured by oxidizing 21 per cent of the ferrous-sulphate without
adding the extra acid necessary to the formation of a ferric salt.
The concluding portion
of his research is devoted to the influence of sugar upon the permanence of
ink, and the results of the experiments are summed up in the following
sentences: "It would be injurious to add 3 per cent of sugar to a tan in
ink, while from 4 to 10 per cent would be quite allowable. Most copying inks
contain about 3.5 per cent of sugar-- not far from the critical amount. With
gallic acid more than 3 per cent of sugar hardly varies the precipitate, but
the importance of this point is somewhat diminished by the fact that the
presence of sugar is by no means necessary in a writing ink. Dextrin is a much
superior substance to use. Curiously this body rapidly precipitates a tannin
ink; hence it is useless for copying ink, but for the gallic ink it is an
excellent thickener."
Chen-Ki-Souen, "Lencre
de China," by Maurice Jametel, appeared in Paris in 1882, but as the title
indicates, it is the old "Indian" or Chinese ink that is discussed.
Schluttig and Neumann
in 1890 issued their Edition Dresden on the subject of "Iron and Gall
inks." In this valuable work is to be found the formula which has been
generally adopted as the standard where one is used for tanno-gallate of iron
ink.
The investigations of
other scientific men like Lepowitz, Booth, Desormeaux, Chevreuse, Irvine,
Traille, Böttger, Riffault, Precht, Nicholés, Runge, Gobert, Penny, Arnold,
Thomson (Lord Kelvin), Davids, Kindt, Ure, Wislar and many more who have dealt
with the chemistry of inks, present to us some testimony during a considerable
portion of the nineteenth century of the efforts made to secure a good ink.
CHAPTER XIV.
CLASSIFICATIONS OF INK.
INK USED BY US HAS
NOTHING IN COMMON WITH THAT OF THE ANCIENTS--MANUFACTURERS OF THE PRESENT TIME
HAVE LARGELY UTILIZED FORMULAS EMPLOYED IN PAST CENTURIES--THE COMMON
ACCEPTATION OF THE TERM INK--SEVEN DIFFERENT CLASSES OF INKS AND THEIR
COMPOSITION BRIEFLY TOLD--FAILURE OF EFFORTS TO SECURE A REAL SAFETY INK.
THE inks used by us
have nothing in common with those of the ancients except the color and gum, and
mighty little of that.
Those of the
"gall" class employed in the fourteenth, fifteenth, sixteenth,
seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, some formulas of which are utilized by
the manufacturers of ink in our own time, consisted generally in combination;
infusions of nut-galls, sulphate of copper or iron, or both, and fish-glue or
gum, slightly acidulated. The frequent introduction of the so-called "added"
color into these inks, time has shown to have been a grave mistake.
The common acceptation
of the term "ink" may be said to characterize an immense number of
fluid compounds, the function of which in connection with a marking instrument
is to delineate conventional signs, characters and letters as put together and
commonly called writing, on paper or like substances.
To classify them would
be impossible; but black writing ink, chemical writing fluid, colored writing
ink, copying ink, India ink, secret or sympathetic ink, and indelible ink make
seven classes; the others may be denominated under the head of miscellaneous
inks, and of them all, there is no single ink answering every requirement and
few answer at all times the same requirements. Ink may be either a clear
solution of any coloring matter or of coloring matter held in suspension. It is
a remarkable fact that although most inks are chemical compositions and many
times made after the same formula, identical results cannot always be
calculated or obtained. This is more particularly to be noted in the case of
black writing inks otherwise known as the tanno-gallate of iron inks [gallic
and gallotanic acid obtained from nut-galls, sulphate of iron, (green copperas)
and some gummy vehicle]
The variations would
appear to be largely due to the difference in quality of the gall-nuts,
treatment, and temperature of the atmosphere; perhaps, however, not so much
to-day as it was ten or twenty years ago, when to make ink of this character
boiling processes were employed. Most of them as already stated are now
"cold" made.
Inks of this class
consist of a finely divided insoluble precipitate suspended in water by the use
of gum and possessing a slight acidity.
The requisites of a
good black writing ink or black writing fluid require it to flow readily from
the pen, to indicate in a short time a black color and to penetrate the paper
to an appreciable degree, and more important than all the rest, to be of great
durability. When kept in a closed vessel no sediment of any account should be
precipitated, although such will be the case in open ink-wells, and this the
quicker the more the air is permitted to get to it. If it is to be used for
record or documentary purposes it must not be altogether obliterated if brought
into contact with water or alcohol, and should depend for permanency on its
chemical and not on its pigmentary qualities.
The second class,
called for distinction "chemical writing fluids," possesses the same
essential ingredients to be found in class one, but much less in quantity and
with some "added" colored substance which I shall term
"loading," for its real purpose is to cheapen the cost of production
and not altogether as some manufacturers state "simply to give them an
agreeable color."
Previous to the
discovery of the soluble anilines, logwood, indigo, madder, orchil and other
dyeing materials were used for a period of some eighty years and vanadium for
some twenty years (very costly at that time), for this purpose, but since 1874,
and with frequent changes as the newer aniline compounds were invented, these
by-products of coal-tar, as well as logwood, etc., have been and are to-day
employed for "loading," or as the manufacturer expresses, it
"added color." The chemical writing fluids as now prepared, yield
when first written a blue or green color with a tendency to change to black
afterwards. They are not as permanent as those of the first class.
Another black ink not
durable, however, is "logwood;" its extract is combined with a little
chromate of potassium and boiled together in water. It possesses its own
"gum" and contains some tannin. In combination with alum and water,
it forms a dark purple ink.
The colored writing
inks, of which "red" is the more important, are in great number and
with hardly an exception at the present time, manufactured by adding water and
water-glass to a soluble aniline red color. Cochineal which was used for red
ink formerly is now almost obsolete. Nigrosine, one of the best known of them,
is much used as a cheap "black" ink, but as it is blue black and
never becomes black, it really belongs to the family of "colored"
writing inks. They possess an undeserved popularity for they flow freely from
the pen which they do not corrode, nor do they thicken or spoil in the inkwell;
they are however very "fugitive" in character and should not be
employed for record, legal, monetary or other documentary purposes. The indigo
and prussian blue inks are well known, the former under certain conditions a
very permanent ink, the latter soon disintegrating.
Copying inks are of two
kinds, one dependent on the addition of glycerine, sugar, glucose or like
compounds to the black writing inks or chemical writing fluids heretofore
mentioned, which are thereby kept in a moist offsetting condition; the other
due to the solubility of the pigmentary color with water, such as the aniline
inks which are given more body than those for ordinary purposes--and the
logwoods in which the pigment is developed and given copying qualities by
chemicals, and hence becomes responsive to the application of a sheet of paper
dampened with water. Copying ink should never be used for "record"
purposes as it is affected by changes of the temperature.
India ink, sometimes
called China ink, or as formerly known by the ancients and in classical and
later times "Indian ink," is now used more for drawing and engrossing
than it is for commercial purposes. It belongs to the "carbon" class
and in some form was the first one used in the very earliest times. In China it
is applied with a brush or pith of some reed to the "rice" paper also
there manufactured. It is easily washed away unless bichromate of ammonium or
potassium in minute quantities be added to it, and then if the paper on which
it appears be exposed for a short time to the action of the actinic rays of
sunlight, this gummy compound will be rendered insoluble and cannot be removed
with any fluid, chemical or otherwise. It possesses also great advantages in
drawing, since it acts as a paint, and will give any degree of blackness
according to the quantity of water mixed with it.
Secret or sympathetic
inks are invisible until the writing is subjected to a subsequent operation,
such as warming or exposing to sunlight. To further aid the object in view, the
paper may be first steeped in a liquid and the writing only made visible by
using another liquid which has some chemical affinity with the previous one.
The number of this kind were but few but have multiplied as chemistry
progressed. The ancients were acquainted with several modes. Ovid indiscreetly
advises the Roman wives and maidens if they intend to make their correspondence
unreadable to the wrong persons to write with new milk, which when dried may be
rendered visible by rubbing ashes upon it or a hot iron. Pliny suggests milky
juices of certain plants of which there are a considerable variety.
Indelible ink is not
used for writing purposes on paper, but is found best adapted for marking linen
and cancellation or endorsing purposes. It is chiefly composed of nitrate of
silver preparations, to which heat must be applied after it has been dried; or
a pigment is commingled with the same vehicles used in making common printing
ink and in its use treated as such.
Diamonds, gold, silver,
platinum and a host of other materials are manufactured into ink and are to be
placed under the head of miscellaneous inks. They are in great number and of no
interest in respect to ink writing except for engrossing or illuminating.
Still another ink once
held in much esteem and now almost obsolete is the so-called "safety"
ink.
Manufacturers, chemists
and laymen in great number for many years wasted money, time and energy in
diligent worship at a secret shrine which could not give the information they
sought. A summary of the meager and barren results they secured is of little
value and unimportant. Hence, there is no real "safety" ink.
It is true that
lampblack (carbon) as made into ink, resists any chemical or chemicals, but
simple water applied on a soft sponge will soon remove such ink marks. The
reason for this is obvious, the ink does not penetrate the paper.
"Safety" ink
which will not respond to acids may be affected by alkalis, or if resisting
them separately, will yield to them in combination.
CHAPTER XV. OFFICIAL AND
LEGAL INK.
FIRST COMPLETE OFFICIAL
INVESTIGATION OF INK IN THIS COUNTRY--THE HONOR DUE TO ROBERT T. SWAN OF
BOSTON--RÉSUMÉ OF HIS REPORTS TO THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF
MASSACHUSETTS--THE SWAN LAW ADOPTED IN 1894 BY THE STATE OF MASSACHUSETTS--UNITED
STATES TREASURY DEPARTMENT ADOPTS AN OFFICIAL INK IN 1901--UNSUCCESSFUL ATTEMPT
TO SECURE INK LEGISLATION IN THE STATE OF NEW YORK--COMMENTS OF THE PUBLIC
PRESS OF THAT PERIOD--DIFFERENT WORKS WHICH MORE OR LESS DWELL ON THE SUBJECT
OF INK FROM 1890 TO 1900--CITATIONS FROM ALLEN’S COMMERCIAL ORGANIC
ANALYSIS--REFERENCE TO PAPER ABOUT INK READ BEFORE THE NEW YORK STATE BAR
ASSOCIATION.
IT was not, however,
until 1891 that the subject of the constitution of an enduring record ink
received the consideration its importance deserved and in this the youngest of
countries. To Robert T. Swan of Boston is all honor due for the very unique and
comprehensive methods adopted in his investigations. Appointed
"commissioner of public records" of the state of Massachusetts, he
has set an example which may well be followed by other states, as has been done
in a lesser degree by Connecticut and ten years later by the United States
Treasury Department, which in this respect is so ably represented in part by
Dr. Charles A. Crampton of Washington, D. C.
Mr. Swan in his reports
to the legislature of his state for the last twelve years, deals with the
subject of the constitution of "permanent inks" so thoroughly, and
with it affords information of so practical and useful a character, that the
fullest references to them prove both instructive and interesting. In his
report of 1891 he remarks:
"Upon commencing an examination of the records in various places, I
was impressed with the great importance of the use of inks which should be
permanent, and the necessity of an investigation which might prevent the
further use of inks that for one reason or another were unfit for use upon
records. I found that, as a rule, the inks upon the most ancient records had
preserved their color, many undoubtedly being blacker than when used, but that
the later records lost the jet-black appearance of the older. This, it is true,
is not wholly due to the change of inks, for the use of quills, the soft
surface of the old paper, the absence of blotting paper and the greater time
spent in writing, were all conducive to a heavier deposit of ink; but evidence
is ample that in comparatively recent years inks of poor quality came in use.
Proof of this is given by an examination of the records in the state house. Up
to about 1850 it was the custom in the office of the Secretary of the
Commonwealth to use for engrossing the acts, inks made of a powder which was
mixed in the office; and until that time the acts which are engrossed upon
parchment show, with but few exceptions, no signs of fading. From 1850 for
several years the writing in many cases is becoming indistinct, that upon an
act in 1851, and upon two in 1855, having nearly disappeared. Since 1860, acts
showing different intensity of color are found, but whether this is their
original color or not cannot be determined.
That the fading can be attributed to the parchment, as some claim, is
disproved by the fact that of the signatures upon the same act a few have faded
while others have not. Upon an act approved January 4, 1845, the signature of
the President of the Senate has nearly disappeared, that of the Speaker of the House
is more legible, while that of the Governor, and the figure 4, which he
evidently inserted, are jet black.
"The indexes in the volumes of archives in the office of the
secretary, which were written about 1840, were evidently made with a different
ink from that used for engrossing, and faded so badly that the important words
had to be rewritten.
"In the office of the State Treasurer the records to about 1867 are
very black and distinct, but the ink used during a few years following has
faded.
"The records of births, marriages and deaths, in the registration
volumes in the secretary’s office, furnish an excellent illustration of the
different qualities of the inks now used. These records are original returns
made by the city and town clerks, and from 1842 to 1889 show instances of the
use of inks which are now almost illegible. Here again the fault cannot be
attributed to the paper, for endorsements made in the secretary’s office upon
the most faded returns at the time of their receipt are as black as when made.
"The volumes of copies of the old records of Lexington, made in
1853, have faded until they are quite indistinct.
"Some of the old inks, though retaining their black color have,
from the presence of acid in the ink or paper, eaten through the paper as
thoroughly as if the writing had been done with a sharp instrument. In part of
one old volume of court records, the ink, while not injuring the paper or
becoming illegible upon the face of the leaves, has gradually become legible
upon the reverse, while the heavy paper has been impervious to the other inks
used. * * * * * *
To ascertain what kind of inks were in use by the town clerks, I
examined the registration volumes before referred to, and, as before stated,
found many poor inks in use. In a few cases blue inks were used, and in two
violet, which is, as a rule, if not always, a fugitive color. A number of the
returns in these volumes of as recent date as 1875 were almost illegible, and
three made in 1888 were nearly as indistinct.
"The more I looked into the subject, the more I became convinced
that the whole subject of ink was one Upon which the persons using it were
comparatively ignorant. Consultation with experts satisfied me that good inks
were being injured by improper treatment; that the custom of mixing inks and of
adding water to them was unsafe; and that among the inks reported as in use
upon the records there were many manufactured for commercial Uses which should
not be used upon records, and which the manufacturers would say were not
intended for record inks. I therefore sent to the manufacturers of the inks
reported as in use by the recording officers, and to some others, the following
letter and inquiries:
"The fading of much of the ink used in records of comparatively
recent date, while as a rule the records of two hundred years ago are as
legible as when written, establishes the fact that for permanent qualities much
of the modern ink is inferior to the ancient, and that inks are used that are
unfit for making a record which should stand for all time.
" ‘I am led to believe that most ink in manufacturers make inks
which are good for commercial and other uses where there is no desire for a
permanent record, but which they would not recommend for use where the
important object was the permanency of the record. One of the dangers to which
our records are exposed can be obviated by the use of proper inks; and I desire
to obtain the opinion of the leading manufacturers on the subject, that I may
advise the recording officers of the State what are, and what are not, safe
inks to use for records.
" ‘I shall esteem it a favor, therefore, if you will answer the
enclosed questions, and return them at your convenience. Your reply will be
treated as confidential as far as names are concerned, except in the answer to
question No. 5, and that will not be printed if you so request. Any general
opinion which will aid the recording officers in their selection of ink or
paper will be welcomed.
" ‘1. Do you
consider it safe to use for a permanent record aniline inks?
" ‘2. Do you
consider it safe to use for a record logwood inks?
" ‘3. Do your
consider nut-gall and iron inks absolutely safe for a permanent record?
" ‘4. Do you
consider carbon ink the only permanent ink?
" ‘5. What inks of
your manufacture would you advise against using for a permanent record?
" ‘6. Do you
advise generally against the inks known as writing fluids, when permanency is
the first requisition?
" ‘7. Do you
manufacture a writing fluid?
" ‘8. Do you
consider it safe to add water to ink intended for permanent record, which has
grown thick by exposure to the air?
" ‘9. Do you
believe that the obliteration of ink is ever due to the chemicals left in the
paper? (This question has been asked of the paper manufacturers also.)
" ‘10. Do you
consider it safe to mix inks without knowing to what chemical group the inks so
mixed belong?’
"Replies were received from twenty-two manufacturers. Several of
the inks in the market, though bearing the name of certain persons, were found
to be manufactured for them by manufacturers who had already answered the
questions. Their replies were, therefore, not considered.
"To the first question, ‘Do you consider it safe to use for a
permanent record aniline inks!’ the unanimous answer was decidedly no. Aniline
black is absolutely permanent, but as it is not yet known how to render it
soluble in water, it has not been much used in ink.
"To the inquiry in regard to logwood inks, nearly all answered no,
and most of those who did not qualified their answers to such an extent as to
imply distrust.
"Upon the question of the permanency of nut-gall and iron inks, the
answers were more varied; one answering no, and four answering directly yes,
the remaining answers being in brief that such inks were permanent if properly
made.
"To the question, ‘Do you consider carbon ink the only permanent
ink?’ the answers were varied and contradictory. Most of the manufacturers said
a carbon ink could not be permanent, because carbon was insoluble; and some said
that no chemical union could exist between carbon and the other ingredients in
ink. Others claimed that carbon was the one permanent color, and cited the old
Indian and Chinese inks which have stood for centuries as illustrations of its
permanency. These statements were so widely different that I pursued the
inquiry further, and found it was conceded that, if a process could be
discovered by which carbon could be dissolved and made to retain its color, no
known substance would make so permanent an ink; but that there was no such
process, and in the inks now made the carbon was simply held in suspension in
the ink without any chemical union; but I found also that improvement has been
made, and that it is possible to combine the carbon with chemicals which will
cause the carbon to embody itself. More than ordinary care should, however, be
exercised in the purchase of carbon inks, for the lack of chemical union would
cause a tendency to precipitate the carbon if the ink were improperly made.
"The replies to the inquiry, ‘Do you advise generally against the
inks known as writing fluids, when permanency is the first requisition?’ were
in a way the most unsatisfactory, and savored somewhat of advertising. One
manufacturer made no fluid, and had no opinion to express. Most of the others
made fluids. Nine advised generally against their use; four recommended them in
preference to ink; and the others either advised generally against them, but
recommended their own, or qualified the answer in such a way as to throw doubt
on them.
"The argument in their favor seems to be that their fluidity makes
them permeate the paper, and, in the change of color which usually takes place
after using, a dyeing of the paper results. The objections are, that to obtain the
fluidity body must be sacrificed, and there is not enough substance deposited
upon the paper. The objections made by two manufacturers of fluids I give in
their own words.
" ‘We advise generally against the inks known simply as writing
fluids--those not intended to yield a letter-press copy--because they are
universally made, first, with as little solid matter as possible,--i. e. weak;
second, with an excess of iron beyond that required to combine with the tannin,
so as to develop all the color possible and flow with the greatest freedom. The
combined writing and copying fluids, and the copying fluids on the other hand
if properly made, may be justly recommended where permanency is the first
requisition, particularly the older ones, which should be the most durable of
all nut-gall and iron inks, because in them particularly concentration is aimed
at, and the iron need not necessarily, and should not, be in excess of that
required to combine with the tannin present. A steel pen during use injures,
and often greatly, the durability of a writing ink by giving up iron to it.
" ‘For your purpose, where extreme permanency is the first
requisition, I should not advise the use of an ordinary writing fluid. Many
manufacturers cannot obtain sufficient fluidity in their writing fluids without
making their inks very dilute, and observing a particular method of manufacture
which, although providing more attained color for a time, sacrifices the
permanent quality of their color in a great measure. I should advise the use of
an ink decidedly stronger.’
"The addition of water was almost universally condemned, for
reasons stated later. As proof that this was not for the mercenary purpose of
indirectly advising the use of more ink, some of the manufacturers said the ink
should be kept in small-mouthed ink-stands, and when not in use should be as
tightly sealed as possible, to prevent evaporation.
"In reply to the inquiry as to whether chemicals left in the paper
ever obliterated the ink, several of the manufacturers said they knew of such
cases, and all were agreed that, if the chlorides used for bleaching the paper
were not washed out, they would dangerously affect any ink. The practice of
mixing inks was universally condemned.
"Permanency against the action of time is the quality sought for in
this investigation, and it is claimed that better evidence as to that quality
is furnished by the test of time than by any other; and manufacturers have
shown or referred to specimens of writing made with their ink many years ago, as
proof of its merit in this particular. If there was any surety that the
standard of quality was always kept up in all of the oldest inks on the market,
it would be safe to accept that test, but this may not be a fact; and, as has
been stated, some of the recording officers believe that it is not.
Moreover, if only the old inks were to be accepted, it would be against
the spirit of the age, which is to adopt the improvements which science makes
possible; and manufacturers who at great cost of time and money have made
improvements, would be deprived of the compensation which they deserve. The old
inks were as a rule heavy, and had a tendency to settle; and the endeavor on
the part of some manufacturers has been to preserve the permanency, and at the
same time produce thinner inks which would be more agreeable to use.
"Improvements have been made in the direction of free-flowing inks,
and these are fast becoming popular; and, while for correspondence and
commercial uses they are undoubtedly sufficiently permanent, for records many
of them are not, and it was with a view of preventing the use of these upon
records that this investigation was made. No attention has been given to the
permanency of the inks, as against their removal by acids.
"The use of proper ink is considered so important by the British
government that the inks used in the public departments are obtained by public
tender, in accordance with the conditions drawn up by the controller of H. M.
stationery office, with the assistance of the chief chemist of the inland
revenue department, to whom the inks supplied by the contractor are from time
to time submitted for analysis. Suitable inks for the various uses are thus
obtained, and their standard maintained. The last form of ‘invitation to
tender,’ or ‘proposal,’ as we term it, is appended, as being instructive.
I cannot learn that the United States government uses any such care as
the British government in the matter of ink, although the question has been a
troublesome one in the departments.
"The State department issues no special rules for determining
suitable inks, or requiring that particular inks shall be used. Proposals are
asked for the lowest bids for the articles of stationery required, the last
form of proposal asking for bids upon seven black inks, one crimson, and one
writing fluid, which are named.
"With the market full of inks worthless for records, the only
safety for our records seems to be in the establishment of a system similar to
the English, which shall fix upon proper inks for various uses, which all
recording officers shall be required to use.
"I believe that the recording officers will be glad to have the
question of permanent inks decided for them, and to know whether inks which
were in use many years ago, and have stood the test thus far, are maintained at
their old standard. In the face of sharp competition among manufacturers, they
fear they are not." Mr. Swan,
proceeding still further, secured the services of two of the most distinguished
professors of chemistry in this country, Messrs. Markoe and Baird, and
submitted to them in camera sixty-seven samples of different inks, known only
by numbers, for chemical analysis; in a long and exhaustive report on the work
they had set out to accomplish, and also with a dissertation on the chemistry
of inks in general, they complete their report as follows:
"As a conclusion, since the great mass of inks on the market are
not suitable for records, because of their lack of body and because of the
quantity of unstable color which they contain, and because the few whose
coloring matters are not objectionable are deficient in galls and iron, or
both, we would strongly recommend that the State set its own standard for the
composition of inks to be used in its offices and for its records, have the
inks manufactured according to specifications sent out, and receive the
manufactured products subject to chemical assay. In this way only can there be
a uniformity in the inks used for the records throughout the State, and in no
other way can a proper standard be maintained." Mr. Swan comments on the report of his chemists, and calls attention
to other tests made by himself:
"The conclusions at which I arrived were drawn, as stated, from
manufacturers or recording officers, wholly independently of the chemists, but
they will be found to coincide in many particulars with theirs. I did consult
them in regard to the practicability of maintaining a State standard for record
ink, which they have approved.
"The commendation by the chemists of some of the so-called writing
fluids explains in a degree the variety of opinions advanced by the
manufacturers in regard to the durability of fluids. Some of them will be seen
to possess the qualities of ink, and the name fluid is evidently given to meet
the commercial demand for fluids.
"Several persons, manufacturers among them, expressed greater
confidence in tests of exposure of inks to the light and weather than to
chemical analysis. I, therefore, as a dry test, placed on the inside of a
window pane receiving a strong light, writing made under exactly the same
conditions with each of sixty-seven inks, which remained there from March 13 to
December 8. Similar writing was exposed to light and the weather from September
25 to December 8, and the result of the resistance of the inks in both tests is
an almost exact confirmation of the report of the chemists, inks of the same
class varying in their resistance according to their specific gravity or amount
of added color.
"It may be safely said, therefore, that of sixty-seven inks of
which I procured samples, all but seventeen are unsuitable for records, and
among these the chemists say but one is fully up to the established scientific
standard of quantity of iron sulphate. The reason is plain,--the demand for commercial
inks is large, for record, small, and the supply has been to meet the
demand." The British
government advertises for tenders each year, the requirements for black writing
ink in 1889 reads:
"To be made of Best Galls, Sulphate of Iron, and Gum. The Sulphate
of Iron not to exceed in quantity one-third of the weight of the Galls used,
and the specific gravity of the matured Ink not to exceed 1045° (distilled
water being 1000°)." That of Black Copying Ink "To be made of the
above materials, but of a strength one fourth greater than the Writing Ink, and
with the addition of Sugar or Glycerine. The specific gravity of the matured
Ink not. to exceed 1085°." And that of Blue-Black Writing Ink "To be
made of finest Galls, Sulphate of Iron, Gum, Indigo, and Sulphuric Acid. The
specific gravity of the Ink when matured not to exceed 1035°." Mr. Swan again remarks in his report of 1892:
"Many of the inks which should not be used upon records are free
flowing and more agreeable to use than permanent inks, containing more body. As
long as recording and copying is paid for by the page, and the object is to
accomplish the most in the least time, these inks will be in popular use, and
used, and blotted off the paper before they have much more than colored it, only
to disappear eventually. The State should set a standard for a record ink; and,
while our present system of keeping records and furnishing supplies will not
allow that its use be required on all public records, as in England, it would
seem practicable for the secretary of the Commonwealth to advertise for
proposals for inks of a certain standard, which the manufacturers should be
bound to maintain, and that these should be used in all the State offices. With
a State standard ink adopted, its use by recording officers would soon
follow." In 1894 Mr. Swan’s
indefatigable efforts were crowned with success, the state of Massachusetts
adopting his recommendations included in the following act:
"SECTION 1. No person having the care or custody of any book of record
or registry in any of the departments or offices of the Commonwealth shall use
or allow to be used upon such books any ink excepting such as is furnished by
the secretary of the Commonwealth.
"SECTION 2. The secretary of the Commonwealth shall from time to
time advertise for proposals to furnish the several departments and offices of
the Commonwealth in which books of record or registry are kept with ink of a
standard and upon conditions to be established by the secretary at such periods
and in such quantities as may be required, and may contract for the same.
"SECTION 3. The ink so furnished shall be examined from time to
time by a chemist to be designated by the secretary of the Commonwealth, and if
at any time said ink shall be found to be inferior to the established standard
the secretary shall have authority to cancel any contract made for furnishing
said ink, and the quantity so found inferior shall not be paid for." Professor Markoe, referred to before,
was appointed "chemist" by the Secretary of the Commonwealth and
prepared what he considered the best formula, for a standard ink, which was
competed for by a number of ink manufacturers after proper advertisement, and a
contract awarded. Mr. Swan says that this departure was received with favor by
recording officers. No change was made in the formula until after the death of
Professor Markoe in 1900, when Dr. Bennett F. Davenport of Boston was selected
as his successor. He submitted a modified formula to be employed in the
manufacture of an official or standard ink. It was adopted and such an ink is
without exception now used by all recording officers of both Massachusetts and
Connecticut.
In 1901 the United
States treasury department adopted a similar ink except that it permitted the
introduction into it of an unnamed blue coloring material.
Early in 1894 and
during the legislative session of the state of New York, after consultation
with General Palmer, the then secretary of state, I prepared a bill somewhat on
the lines as laid down in the Massachusetts statute. The press all over the
state at once took up the matter and urged that some such measure should be
enacted into law. A New York City newspaper discussed it as follows:
"A bill is to be introduced in the legislature this week, probably
to-morrow night, providing for an official ink to be used by every public
officer throughout the State of New York in the writing of public documents and
in making entries in the records.
"The official ink is for the purpose of making public records
permanent and to guard against fraud by the alteration of the records. As the
law stands at the present time in the state every official, whether municipal,
county or state, is allowed to purchase and use for the records of his office
whatever ink he may choose. The consequence is that there is no uniformity in
public records throughout the state, and entries, transcripts and certificates
are written with hundreds of various kinds of inks.
"The serious part of the business, however, is the evanescent
character of some of the kinds now used, especially of the cheaper grades.
These are the inks made from aniline and other dyes which are held in solution
in water. Such inks are made from a fine, cheap powder, of which nigrosine is
used in making black inks, eosine for red, and methylene for blue ink, and they
cost only a few dimes a gallon to manufacture. The writing made with such inks
quickly dries by the evaporation of the water, when it merely requires the
application of a little soap and water to wash them out, leaving the paper
absolutely clean, besides being fugitive.
"It is said that as a result of the present lack of system in this
matter there are now public records of the city of New York in which the ink
has entirely faded. These records have been made within the past forty years,
and are now worthless because of the character of the inks originally used.
"In the Police department of this city a blue ink is often used
which is made from prussian blue. A large portion of the entries in the books
of the Police department are made with ink of this kind, and the warrants and
other public documents with which the police have to do are similarly written.
"A little soap and water will wipe out this writing, so that the
record can be easily altered at any time. The use of this ink in the Police
department is said to date from the time of Tweed, which is significant of the
original purpose for which it was adopted.
"A permanent writing fluid such as it is now proposed to adopt
throughout the state would not only secure uniformity in the character of the
inks used, but it would also throw many obstacles in the way of altering the
records.
"The present Secretary of State is heartily in accord with the
proposed legislation. He was seen last week by Mr. David N. Carvalho, who has
made a life study of the subject and who drew the bill and is pushing the
reform.
"Mr. Carvalho said yesterday: ‘This ink, whose use it is intended
to secure in the making of public records in this state, is more costly than
those made from aniline and other dyes, which fade and wash. In it the black
particles are suspended in water by the addition of gum. This kind of ink has
an affinity for oxygen, and hence it oxidizes and turns black. When
unadulterated it only becomes blacker with the passage of time, and cannot be
washed from the paper by the use of water.’
" ‘I could show you,’ continued Mr. Carvalho, ‘public records of
this city made within forty years which are entirely illegible and consequently
worthless, because cheap inks were used in the writing. These include not only
records of wills in the Surrogate’s office, but entries and transfers of real
estate which are likely to come up in the course of litigation at any time,
thereby affecting the rights of many citizens.
" ‘I can tell you at once upon seeing an old document the character
of the ink that was used in the writing, and I have seen many old papers over a
hundred years of age in which the writing was as clear as the day it was made,
simply because a good writing ink was used. On the other hand writing made with
cheap aniline ink may under certain circumstances fade out within a year, and
in a book which is much handled is almost certain to be rubbed out in time.
" ‘It has frequently happened that in the course of litigation,
especially over real estate, that old records made with poor inks have been
produced which the court refused to accept as evidence, thereby depriving some
citizen of his rights. At the present time many officials in this state, in
fact, the majority of them, are using these cheap and worthless inks and the
records they are making will be of little or no value in a few years.
"‘It is to put a stop to this abuse that the present bill has been
drawn up, and there is no argument which can be raised against it.’" It appears that there was one,
however, as the bill failed to pass for the stated reason that it came under
the head of "class" legislation. The great state and city of New York
with costly and magnificent depositories continue to place in them, for
safe-keeping, valuable records and other ink-written instruments which will
become illegible before the present century comes to an end.
Professor Lehner, a
German chemist, in 1890 published a treatise "Die
Tinten-Fabrikation," which has been translated and added to by Dr. Brannt,
of Philadelphia, editor of "The Techno-Chemical Receipt-Book," who
remarks:
"The lack of a recent treatise in the English language containing
detailed descriptions of the raw materials and receipts for the preparation of
Inks, and the apparent necessity, as shown by frequent inquiries, for such a
volume, were the considerations which led to the preparation of The Manufacture
of Ink." This work compiles a
great number of formulas, and rather favors the views of the chemist Dr.
Bostock respecting the iron and gall inks. The book possesses value for
reference purposes to the manufacturer.
Auguste Peret, author
of "The Manufacture of Ink," 1891, has put together a lot of
excellent material relative to ink-making and valuable for reference purposes.
The late Dr. William E.
Hagan of Troy, New York, in 1894 issued his book, "Disputed
Hand-writing." He devotes two chapters to the discussion of ancient and
modern inks and their chemistry. He has been kind enough to quote the writer as
the first to remove ink in open court with chemicals in order to determine the
existence of pencil writing beneath the ink. The pencil being carbon was not
affected thereby and with the subsequent restoration of the bleached ink by the
use of the correct re-agent.
In the same year Dr.
Persifor Frazer of Philadelphia published his "Manual of the Study of
Documents." A few pages are given to the study of inks, and a part thereof
is devoted to the researches of Carré, Hager, Baudrimont, Tarry, Chevallier and
Lassaigne, to determine suspected forgeries. The chapter on "the sequence
in crossed lines," where he indicates his method of determining which of
two crossed ink lines was written first, is both original and a real
contribution to science.
Alfred H. Allen, F. C.
S., of England, perhaps the highest authority on the subject of tannins, dyes
and coloring matters in his "Commercial Organic Analysis," revised
and edited by Professor J. Merritt Mathews of Pennsylvania, edition of 1900,
devotes eight pages to the subject of the "Examination of Ink Marks."
He says:
"Ordinary writing ink was formerly always made from a decoction of
galls, to which green vitriol was added. Of late, the composition of writing
inks has become far less constant, aniline and other dyes being frequently
employed, and other metallic salts substituted for the ferrous-sulphate
formerly invariably used. The best black ink is a tanno-gallate of iron,
obtained by adding an infusion of nut-galls to a solution of ferrous-sulphate
(copperas)." In 1897 the author in
a paper read before the New York State Bar Association at Albany, entitled
"A Plea for the Preservation of the Public Records," discussed the
question of the stability of inks and their phenomena and took occasion to make
recommendations as to their constitution and future methods of employment. A
vote of thanks was adopted and the association referred the paper to the Committee
on Law Reform, where no doubt it still slumbers.
CHAPTER XVI. ENDURING INK.
ASCERTAINMENT OF A
CORRECT INK FORMULA THE WORK OF OVER A CENTURY--CHARACTER OF THE EVIDENCE WHICH
ESTABLISHES IT--THE INVESTIGATIONS OF THE AUTHOR IN THIS DIRECTION AND COMPARISON
WITH THOSE OF COMMISSIONER SWAN--ELIMINATION OF THE "ADDED" COLORS
AND THEIR ORIGIN--DISCUSSION OF THE RELATIVE MERITS OF LAMPBLACK, MADDER AND
INDIGO--THE DURABLE VIRTUES OF INDIGO WHEN EMPLOYED ALONE--CAUSE OF THE
BROWNING OF INKS--LONGEVITY OF INK DUE TO VEHICLE WHICH CARRIES IT--WHEN
PERFECT INK WILL BE INVENTED.
TO ascertain the
correct formula of a substantially permanent ink, as we have learned, has been
the aim during a century or more, of able chemists, manufacturers and laymen.
Their experiments and study of ancient and modern documents all point
unerringly in the direction of an ink containing iron and galls.
Accumulated evidence
may be said to establish itself in the light of investigation and experience
and becomes more and more a certainty when considered, reviewed and discussed
in connection with a chronological history of the "gall" inks since
they came into semi-official and other uses centuries ago. Descriptions of MSS.
containing ink writings hundreds of years old, many of them as legible as when
first written, are silent witnesses whose testimony cannot be assailed. Such
information when assembled together minimizes many of the conditions which have
existed and interposed in preventing during the last four decades a general
adoption or re-adoption of such a tanno-gallate of iron ink, the lasting qualities
of which some of our forefathers estimated would, and as we know have stood the
test of time.
Assuming this character
of ink to have been employed in past centuries, the cause or causes for the
differentiations in respect to color and durability become of paramount
importance.
The investigations of
the writer in this direction, while in some respects traveling the same road
followed by others, diverged from them and has been more in the nature of a
comparative analytical and microscopic examination of ancient with ancient and
modern with modern documents in connection with numerous chemical experiments,
the manufacture of hundreds of inks and the study of their time and other
phenomena.
To accomplish this,
ancient documents not written with "Indian" ink, but with those
obviously containing combinations of iron and galls or other tannins, were
selected and grouped into color families. They began with the fourteenth
century, continuing well into the nineteenth, to the number of nearly four hundred,
each of them of a different date and different year. Some of them were so pale
and indistinct as to be illegible, others less so and by gradual steps they
approached to a definite black; many of them as rich and deep in color as if
they had been written not centuries ago but within a few years. Signatures on
the same document represented different degrees of color, so that the question
of the material on which the writing appeared affecting the appearance of the
ink, was not a factor; but the difference in the inks used to make the
signatures was the determining factor.
At this point it may be
noted that the investigations conducted by Mr. Swan before referred to and
those by the writer and the resultant observations of each were substantially
alike. Many of the writer’s, however, preceded those of Mr. Swan’s, for during
the years 1885 and 1886, having had the custody of part of the Archives of the
City of New York there were many opportunities to study this subject which were
taken advantage of, before and after which time frequent examinations were made
of writings much more ancient than those pertaining to New York.
Assuming a second
premise was to assert that the inks employed in the writing of these documents
were "straight" or possessed some "added" pigment or color.
Again, the vehicles to hold the particles or possibly preserving substances,
might be factors.
All literature possible
referring to ink formulas was examined to ascertain the names of materials
recommended or formerly "added" to gall inks, because if the
pristineness of the blacker inks was due to the added pigment it was a safe
proposition that it was still existent in the ink, and that if it could be
discovered part at least of the problem would be, simplified.
The "added"
color compounds, excluding those of the aniline family which pertain to the
more modern ink compositions, are of two classes: those possessing tannin and
color-yielding materials and those containing only a color-yielding material.
Many of the first class have been used in the manufacture of ink both with
infusions of nut-galls or alone, while but very few of the second class have
been used for either purpose. The decomposing action of light, oxygen and
moisture on many of each class placed them beyond the purview of consideration,
while the dates of the discovery and the fact of the small percentage of tannin
contained in others permitted them also to be discarded. For instance:
vanadium, which is fairly permanent, was discovered only in 1830; chanchi, the
ink plant of New Granada discovered in the sixteenth century, possessing
excellent lasting qualities, does not assimilate perfectly with other
constituents used in the manufacture of ink, but is best when used alone;
Berlin blue (prussian blue) is well spoken of, but was only discovered by
accident in 1710 by Diesbach, a preparer of colors at Berlin; logwood, more
used for this purpose than any other material, was first imported into Europe
in the sixteenth century and causes a deterioration of the durable qualities of
the tanno-gallate of iron; Brazil-wood and archil, and their allies, are
exceedingly fugitive; bablah, the fruit of the acacia arabica, myrabolams, of
Chinese growth, catechu, and sumac which though used in the time of Pliny, each
contains a percentage of gallic acid too small to meet the requirements.
Divi-divi, a South American product, came into use only at the end of the
sixteenth century and has not stood the test of time.
This sifting process
completely eliminated all but lampblack, madder and indigo in some form as a
permanent "added" color pigment. Lampblack, which is we know forms
the basis of "Indian" ink, is not soluble and requires a very heavy
gummy vehicle to prevent its immediate precipitation, and while it could have
been used in combination with tanno-gallate of iron as an ink, the fact that it
was possible to chemically remove the ancient inks which remained black, was a
sufficient demonstration that this carbon substance, which is not affected by
chemicals, either as contained in the fluid ink or as dusted on after writing,
could have formed no part of the ancient tanno-gallate of iron inks.
Madder is mentioned as
of very ancient times and was cultivated in Europe as early as the tenth
century; its addition to an iron and gall ink is said to be an invention of the
year 1855; it is certain, however, that it was used for a like purpose as early
as 1826, and a fair presumption that it was frequently employed in some form
during the preceding four centuries. It has under certain conditions very
lasting properties as the madder-dyed cloths found wrapped around Egyptian
mummies demonstrates, but does not assist the tanno-gallate of iron to retain
its black color; on the contrary it seems to lessen this quality.
That indigo for added
color was employed by ink manufacturers in the eighteenth century is shown by
the formulas appearing in the literature of that time. It was used alone as an
ink long before, as well as contemporaneously with, those of the tanno-gallate
of iron family. Its lasting properties are most remarkable if it be true that,
used as a dye, there is still in existence specimens of it on cloth five
thousand or more years old. The history of its use alone as an ink is difficult
to ascertain back of a certain period; the writer has several specimens of it,
one written in 1692 whose color is a green blue; another written about a
century ago is believed to be as bright blue as the day it was placed on the
paper; from 1810 to 1850 it was in common use particularly in hot climates where
it was "home-made." Consequently if the old "gall" inks
contained a lasting added color, indigo must have been the one, Dr. Stark whose
investigations along this line for twenty-three years have already been cited
has said that he preferred for his own use an ink composed of galls, sulphate
of indigo and copperas (sulphate of iron); this means a tanno-gallate of iron
ink with indigo for "added" color. Like formulas calling for
different proportions of constituents both before and after his time in England
and the continents of Europe and America are to be found in considerable
number, proving that its use was more or less constant in this respect. To
determine, then, whether or not the blacker specimens of the ancient writings
contained indigo in any of its forms was most important, and the plan adopted
most simple. Specimens of writing in ink of which the manufacturer’s name was
known as well as his formula and only thirty years old showed evidence of
considerable "browning;" some of them when tested in juxtaposition
with those of from fifty to one hundred years old which had turned completely
brown, gave approximately the same results, and differentiated largely from the
results obtained from jet black specimens of eighty to five hundred or more
years of age. In a number of the browner ones indigo was found to be present
while in many of the black ones it was not, demonstrating that the reason for
the continuing blackness of the older inks is not due to an added color or
pigment of any kind and furthermore that the "Stark" and
corresponding ink formulas after the test of time did not retain their original
blackness but deteriorated to a brown color; moreover, that their purpose as in
the present day was to give an agreeable and immediate color result, a free-flowing
ink, and to cheapen the cost of manufacture when compared with that of an
unadulterated tanno-gallate of iron ink.
No disagreement being
now possible as to the lasting color virtues of a properly proportioned
tanno-gallate of iron ink without an "added" color or pigment, there
remained the sole question as to the vehicle utilized to hold this combination
in suspension and whether or not it had to do with the continuing blackness of
the older inks.
The answer must lie
between the vegetable product known as gum and the animal product known as
gelatine. The first disintegrates, quickly absorbs moisture and gradually
disappears, while gelatine (isinglass) "contains under conditions 50%
carbon, although its molecular formula has not yet been determined. It cannot
be converted into vapor and does not form well-defined compounds with other
bodies; it is insoluble in alcohol which precipitates it in flakes from its
aqueous solution. It is also precipitated by tannin, which combines with it to
form an insoluble non-putrescible compound. Gallic acid, however, does not
precipitate it." (Bloxam.)
Possessing an
undisturbed and complete history it was the very substance employed long before
the discovery of gall ink, and is found present in the earliest specimens of
the "Indian" inks which remain to us.
It must now be evident
that there can be no material difference of opinions as to what has been so
clearly and conclusively established, viz. that ink which contains a base of
tanno-gallate of iron (without "added" color) is a permanent ink, and
the length of its durability and continuing pristineness can be disturbed only
by inferior quality of constituents, wrong methods of admixture and its future
environment. Hence any black ink with this combination missing is of no
practical value whatever either for record or commercial uses.
"Indian" ink,
except for specific purposes, belongs to the great past and will so continue
with its virtues unchallenged and proven, until some solvent is discovered for
the carbon which forms nearly the whole of its composition, at which time the
perfect ink can be said to have been discovered.
CHAPTER XVII. INK
PHENOMENA.
CONDITION OF INK WHEN
FIRST PLACED ON PAPER--ITS METAMORPHOSIS AND AFFINITIES--IGNORANCE OF THE
FORGER AS TO ITS ORIGINAL ENVIRONMENT--TREATMENT OF OLD INK MARKS--HOW PAPER
MAY DISCOLOR INK--THE USES OF ACID IN INK--VEHICLES TO HOLD INK PARTICLES AND
PRESERVE THEM--INKS FIVE CENTURIES OLD DO PRESERVE THEIR GLOSS--SOME CAUSES OF
INK DISINTEGRATION--WHEN INK BECOMES IRRESPONSIVE TO THE ELEMENTS--
DEMONSTRATED TRUTHS ABOUT INK CONSTITUENTS AND COLOR PHENOMENA--NATURAL
EVOLUTION OF AN INK MARK--LENGTH OF TIME REQUIRED TO BECOME BLACK--FIRST
INDICATIONS OF AGE--DISAPPEARANCE OF INK QUALITIES--ARTIFICIAL AGING OF INK--TESTS
FOR IT AND HOW TO CONFIRM THEM--BLEACHING AND REMOVAL OF INK FROM PAPER
CRIMINALLY CONSIDERED--CHEMISTRY OF SUCH MARKS--THEIR RESTORATION--VARIATIONS
IN METHODS WHICH CAN BE EMPLOYED.
ALL inks when first
placed on paper are of course in a fluid state. Gradual evaporation of moisture
causes a change not only in color but in the case of the iron and gall inks, in
their chemical constitution, being immediately affected by their environment,
whether due to the character of the paper on which they rest, the kind or
condition of the pen used, or most important of all, the elements. Those who
use the black inks and chemical writing fluids will have noticed these
characteristics. The pale brown, blue or green as first written, and the
gradual change after a short period to an approaching blackness, are reactions
due largely to atmospheric conditions, the oxygen uniting with that for which
it has affinity and instantly beginning with time to make its march, producing
natural phenomena, which can be only superficially imitated but never exactly
reproduced. When we further take into consideration that the forger cannot
always know of the circumstances which surround the placing of original ink on
paper and that be cannot manufacture the time which has already elapsed, it is
not strange that attempted fraud can often be made evident and complete
demonstrations given of the methods employed.
With the passage of
time, the particles in some inks which are held together on the paper by gummy
vehicles, commence to disintegrate and change from intense black to the brown
color of iron rust, the "added" color which of itself is fugitive in
character, soon departs; the vegetable astringent separating from the iron salt
decays gradually and disappears and finally terminates in a mere stain or dust
mark which can be blown off the paper. Sometimes, the written surface of such
paper can be treated by carefully moistening it with a decoction of nut-galls
or its equivalent in the presence of a weak acid, then if any iron be present,
a measurable degree of restoration of color will ensue and remain for a short
period.
Again, the
discoloration of an iron ink may be due to the character of the paper; if of
the cheaper grades and the bleaching compounds employed in their manufacture
are not thoroughly washed out, then the ink not only begins to absorb oxygen
from the atmosphere but the chlorine in the paper attacks it and the process of
destruction is thereby hastened.
The introduction of
acid into ink has two purposes, one to secure more limpidity, and the other to
cause it to penetrate the paper and in this way bind together the constituent
particles of both ink and paper. Most of the chemical writing fluids of this
decade carry a superabundance of acid in their composition, which in time will
burn through the paper and ultimately destroy it.
All tanno-gallate of
iron inks require some vehicle to hold their particles in a state of
suspension, otherwise there would be precipitation and such an ink could not be
used. To meet this requirement a variety of gums are employed by manufacturers,
gum acacia being the principal one. Its purpose is threefold--as before stated,
to hold the ink particles in suspension--to prevent the ink from flowing too
rapidly, and after drying withoutblotting, to act as an envelope to encase the
now fixed ink and prevent or interfere with its absorption of an excess of
oxygen. The longer these latter conditions obtain the longer will the ink
retain its pristineness, its durability and permanence. The "time proved"
ink-written specimens of five hundred years or more ago which continue to
retain their original intense black color and "glossy" appearance, do
not, however, yield any evidence of the use of vegetable gums in their
composition. Where such instances have been noticed the gloss is invariably
missing. But, where anygloss is present, it was and is because of the
employment of isinglass (fish-glue) as the vehicle to hold the ancient ink
particles.
Hence the variations of
color seen in ancient paper writings, as already stated, were due not only to
possible imperfect admixtures of the component parts of the inks, but to the
use of vegetable gums in their preparation. In the course of time these have
been absorbed by moisture which hastened disintegration, causing a gradual
disappearance of their original blackness and gloss and finally a return to the
rusty color of oxidized iron.
It therefore follows,
my observations and deductions being correct, the older a writing made with
tanno-gallate of iron ink, where isinglass is the binder, and which has not
been "blotted," the harder and more impervious and irresponsive it
becomes to the action of the natural elements or of chemical reagents.
The truths demonstrated
in this proposition cannot be denied. They fortify as certain that a properly
proportioned mixture in water of an infusion of nut-galls or gallo-tannic acid
and sulphate of iron, with isinglass as the vehicle to bold the particles in a
state of suspension, if written with on good paper and allowed to dry without
blotting, in a short time becomes encased or enveloped in such vehicle, which
is thereby rendered substantially insoluble and absolutely prevents any
extensive oxidation. Also, as a further consequent result, there is chemically
created an unchangeable and continuing black color more permanent and durable
than the substance on which it appears.
With a sample of
standard commercial chemical writing fluid, write on "linen" paper
without blotting it; in thirty hours, if exposed to the air and from three to
five days if kept from it, the writing-{sic} should have assumed a color
bordering on black; it becomes black at the end of a month under any
conditions, and so continues for a period of about five or six years, when if
examined under a lens of the magnification of ten diameters, there will be a
noticeable discoloration of the sides or pen tracks which slowly spreads during
a continuing period of from ten to fifteen years, until the entire pen marks
are of a rusty brown tint. A species of disintegration and decay is now
progressing and when approximately forty years of age, has destroyed all ink qualities.
If, however,
"chemical writing fluid" is first treated by exposure to the fumes of
an ammoniacal gas, a "browning" of the ink occurs, not only of the
pen tracks but of the entire ink mark. If examined now with a lens, the ink is
found to be thin enough to permit the fibre of the paper to be seen through it,
thus indicating artificial age. Furthermore, if a 20 per cent strength of
hydrochloric acid be applied, the "added" color (usually a blue one)
is restored to its original hue; alike experiment on "time" aged ink
gives only the yellow brown tint of pure gall and iron combinations, the
"added" color having departed caused by its fugitive characteristics.
Again, if a solution of chlorinate of lime or soda be applied, the ink mark is
instantly bleached, where in the case of honest old ink marks, it takes
considerable time to even approximate a like result.
To confirm the chemical
tests which may be employed in the determination of the artificial aging of ink
marks, photographs made by permitting light to transmit through the paper and
to interfere with its rays by filtering them through a "color" screen
containing orange and some green, will indicate the presence of a fugitive
substance in the ink, usually the "added" color employed in its
manufacture.
The process of
bleaching or "removal" of ink marks from paper is frequently employed
in the attempted eradication of words or figures and the substitution of others
on monetary instruments, commonly called "raising." Its purpose is usually
a criminal one and some observations as to the modus operandi and its chemistry
are not out of place here.
Ink marks made with a
compound consisting of the combination of iron and an infusion of galls or its
equivalent (a tanno-gallate of iron ink), as treated with certain chemicals,
change from a compound with color to a chemical compound, with no color.
Nothing has in fact been absolutely removed or eradicated, but it is a mere
change of form, a sort of re-arrangement of the particles, the ingredients
which formed the original color being still present, but in such a condition
that they are invisible to the eye. A restoration of the invisible ink marks so
that they can be observed, becomes possible by the use of chemical reagents and
is the reverse of the one of erasure or bleaching, and changes the constituents
again into a compound which has color from the one which had none. It does,
not, however, reproduce the exact composition originally existing. Such a
reagent simply goes to the basis of the material as first used, takes up what
was left and reforms the particles sufficiently to make them abundantly
recognizable. An apt illustration of these chemical changes of color is found
in what is known as the phenolphtalein test solution, which is colored deep
purplish-red by alkali hydrates or carbonates, and then by the addition of an
acid rendered colorless, to be again reddened by an overplus of the alkali and
so on ad infinitum.
A popular material for
the purpose of making chemical erasures is chlorinated lime or soda, which
becomes more active by first touching the ink mark to be removed with a one
half strength solution of acetic acid; this hastens the liberation of chlorine
gas, the active agent which causes the "bleaching" to take place.
Hydrogen peroxide, also a bleaching compound, is less rapid in its action than
chlorinate of soda; the same may be said of combinations of oxalic and
sulphurous acids.
The most effective
re-agent for the restoration of a chemically "bleached" iron ink mark
is the sulphide or sulphuret of ammonia (it has several names). This
penetrating chemical blackens metals or their salts, whether visible or not, if
brought together. It must not be used by direct contact, the best and safest
plan being to place a quantity in a small saucer, to be set on the floor of a
closed box; to fasten to the box lid the specimen to be operated on; in this
way the restoration is due to the fumes of the chemical and a possible danger
of destruction of the specimen much lessened, especially if the marks are very
light or delicate ones. The restoration of color under particular conditions
may also be obtained by treatment with tannic acid, potassium ferro-cyanide
(acidulated) or a weak solution of an infusion of galls.
CHAPTER XVIII. INK
CHEMISTRY.
SOME OBSERVATIONS AS TO
CHEMICAL EXAMINATION OF INK MARKS BY ALLEN--ERASING OF INKS BY CHEMICAL
MEANS--APPROVED CHEMICAL TESTS IN THE ASCERTAINMENT OF INK CONSTITUENTS.
A COMPILATION of the
methods of Robertson, W. Thompson (Lord Kelvin), Irvine, Wislar, Hoffman and
others, relative to the chemical examination of ink marks, is to be found in
"Allen’s Commercial Organic Analysis." Their experiments, however,
date back many years ago, a few of them before the time of the use of the
"anilines" for added color. The so-called "alizarin" ink
referred to has now become obsolete. The following is the citation in part:
"In chemico-legal cases it is sometimes of importance to ascertain
the nature of the ink used, to compare it with specimens of writing of known
history, and to ascertain the relative ages of the writings. A minute
inspection should first be made with a magnifying power of about 10 diameters,
and any peculiarities of color, lustre, shade, etc., duly noted, and where
lines cross each other which lie uppermost. The examination is often
facilitated by moistening the paper with benzine or petroleum spirit, whereby
it is rendered semi-transparent. The use of alcohol or water is inadmissible.
"Valuable information is often obtainable by treating writing or
other ink-marks with reagents. Some inks are affected much more rapidly than
others, though the rate of change depends greatly on the age of the writing.
Normal oxalic acid (63 grammes per litre), or hydrochloric acid of
corresponding strength, should be applied to a part of the ink marked with a
feather or camel-hair brush (or the writing may be traced over with a quill
pen), and the action observed by means of a lens, the reagent being allowed to
dry on the paper. Recent writing (one or two days old) in gallic inks is
changed by one application of oxalic acid to a light gray, or by hydrochloric
acid to yellow. Older stains resist longer, in proportion to their age, and a
deeper color remains. Log-wood ink marks are mostly reddened by oxalic acid,
and alizarin marks become bluish, but aniline inks are unaffected. With
hydrochloric acid, logwood ink marks turn reddish or reddish-gray, alizarin
marks greenish, and aniline ink marks reddish or brownish-gray. The treatment
with acid should be followed by exposure to ammonia vapors, or blotting paper
wet with ammonia may be applied. Thus treated, marks in logwood ink turn dark
violet or violet-black. The age of ink marks very greatly affects the rate of
their fading when treated with dilute ammonia, the old marks being more
refractory. The behavior of ink marks when treated with solution of bleaching
powder is often characteristic, the older writings resisting longer; but unless
the reagent be extremely dilute, writings of all ages are removed almost
simultaneously. Hydrogen peroxide acts more slowly than bleaching solution, but
gives more definite results. After bleaching the mark by either reagent, the
iron of the ink remains mordanted on the paper, and the mark may be restored by
treatment with a dilute solution of galls, tannic acid, or acidulated
ferro-cyanide. The same reagents may be used for restoring writing which has
been faded from age alone.
"When ink marks have been erased or discharged by chemical means,
traces of the treatment are often recognizable. After effecting the erasure,
the spot is often rubbed over with a powdered alum or gum sandarac, or coated
with gelatin or size. The bleaching agents most likely to have been used are
oxalic, citric, or hydrochloric acid, bleaching powder solution, or acid sulphite
of sodium. Moistened litmus paper will indicate the presence of a free acid,
and in some cases treatment with ammonia fumes will restore the color. The
presence of calcium, chlorides, or sulphates in the water in which the paper is
soaked will afford some indication of bleaching powder or a sulphite having
been used. Potassium ferro-cyanide will detect any iron remaining in the paper.
Exposure to iodine vapor often affords evidence of chemical treatment, and
other methods of examination readily suggest themselves." M. Piesse, in the Scientific American, is
authority for a method of removing ink, found on "patent" check
paper:
"Alternately wash the paper with a camel’s-hair brush dipped in a
solution of cyanide of potassium and oxalic acid; then when the ink has
disappeared wash the paper with pure water." Inks of the tanno-gallate of iron family, whether containing
"added" color or not, can be more or less "erased" by
chlorinate of lime or soda, in the presence of a weak acid. These chemicals do
not, however, materially affect the prussian blue inks, which require solutions
of hydrate of potash or soda. Real indigo can be removed by chloroform,
morphine or an aniline salt (indigo and aniline both owe their names to the
same Portuguese source), which possess the rare property of dissolving pure
indigo. Such combination, if refractory in the presence of permanganate of
potash with sulphuric acid, must be followed by an application of sulphurous
acid. In like manner, inks composed of by-products of coal tar, can be
effectively treated, when irradicable with plain water or soap and water.
The erasure and removal
of most inks from paper can be accomplished by the application of the chemicals
heretofore enumerated. The requirements in this direction of some inks,
however, though of rare occurrence, are to be met by the employment of other
and particular reagents.
Many of the tests
specified in the Allen citation to determine the character of ink constituents,
if made alone are practically valueless, because the same behavior occurs with
different materials employed in the admixture of ink. To avoid error in
judgment the operator should verify if possible by confirmatory tests. Thus, in
the one for logwood, sulphurous acid will cause a logwood ink mark to turn
yellow; mercuric chloride, orange; tartar-emetic, red; and if the marks are
faded ones, solutions of sulphate of iron or bichromate of potash will restore
them respectively to a violet or blue-black color.
Prussian blue, aniline
blue and indigo blue are to be tested as follows: Solution of chloride of lime,
no change of color for prussian blue; decoloration or faint yellow for aniline
blue or indigo. To discriminate between the two latter, test with solution of
caustic soda, when decoloration or change of color will indicate aniline blue
and permanence will indicate presence of indigo blue.
In the manufacture of
the blue-black inks, a variety of violets have been and are still employed.
Among them are aniline violet, iodine violet, madder, alkanet, orchil and
logwood.
(a) Apply chloride of
lime solution: 1. No change of color indicates alkanet. 2. Any change, one of
the other five.
(b) Apply lemon juice:
1. The violet becomes brighter if it is one of the aniline violets, to be
distinguished from each other by applying one part of hydrochloric acid to
three parts of water, when it will become violet-blue, changing to red if it is
common aniline-violet, but blue changing to a green hue and upon adding plain
water to a lilac or pearl gray if it is iodine-violet (Hoffman’s). It will also
turn from red to yellow in lemon juice. To test for the other three violets:
(a) Apply chloride of lime, to be followed by a solution of yellow prussiate of
potash: absence of a blue coloration leaves orchil and logwood to be
considered. To distinguish between them apply solution of hydrate of lime,
whereby a change to gray, followed by complete decoloration indicates logwood,
and a change to violet-blue, orchil.
The substances utilized
with but few exceptions for red ink are the "eosins," possessing
different names like erythrosine, as well as different hues. Antecedent to
about thirty-five years ago, cochineal (known as "carmine"), madder,
Brazil wood and saffron formed the basis of most of the red inks.
Make a soap solution
adding a small quantity of ammonia, lemon juice, muriate of tin, all in water:
1. No change upon application indicates madder. 2. Any change, the presence of
one of the three other reds: (a) thus a complete decoloration with a return of
the color indicates saffron; (b) reappearance of the red color though weaker,
aniline-red: (c) production of a yellowish red or light yellow color, cochineal
or Brazil wood, to be distinguished from each other by the application of
concentrated sulphuric acid, when Brazil wood will at once give a bright
cherry-red, and cochineal a yellowish orange.
No yellow inks are in
commercial use. Documents do, however, often contain yellow marks about which
information is required as to their origin. As a rule they are iron rust,
picric acid, turmeric, fustic, weld, Persian berries or quercitron. In order to
recognize the different colors, the presence or absence of iron rust and picric
acid must first be determined.
Apply a warm sample of
a slightly acid solution of yellow prussiate of potash; iron rust will be
indicated by a blue coloration.
Apply a weak solution
of cyanide of potassium; picric acid will yield a blood-red coloration.
If picric acid and iron
rust are both absent, apply a bit of ordinary wetted soap: 1. It turns
reddish-brown and becomes yellow again with hydrochloric acid--turmeric; 2. It
turns quite dark--fustic; 3. It is unaffected--weld, Persian berries or
quercitron. To distinguish between these three, apply sulphuric acid, the color
of weld will disappear, and of the others remaining apply tin-salt solution,
when a change to orange indicates Persian berries, and no change or a very
slight one, quercitron.
Inks containing also
logwood, fustic, Brazil wood, or madder, were all of them more or less employed
some years ago. Their color phenomena, following long periods of time, is much
the same. Tests as prescribed in the accompanying table for such inks will
serve to classify them preliminary to subsequent and more certain ones.
LOGWOOD.FUSTIC.BRAZIL
WOOD.MADDER.Concentrated Hydrochloric AcidRed-YellowRedDark RedPale
YellowDilute Hydrochloric AcidReddishYellow-BrownLight RedPale
YellowConcentrated and dilute Nitric AcidRedRed-YellowDark PurplePale
YellowConcentrated Sulphuric AcidBlackDark PurpleRedPale YellowDilute Sulphuric
AcidRedBrown-RedPurplePale YellowPotassium ChromateBlackStannous
ChlorideVioletYellowLight RedLight RedTartaric AcidGray-BrownYellowRed YellowPale
YellowLOGWOOD.FUSTIC.BRAZIL WOOD.MADDER.Sulphate of CopperDark
GrayTanninYellow-RedYellowNo changePale YellowPotashDark RedYellowCrimsonLight
RedPotassium PermanganateLight BrownBrown YellowPotassium
IodideRed-YellowPyrogallic AcidYellow-BrownYellowChrome-YellowDark VioletSodium
(Salt)VioletRedSulphate of IronGray to BlackDark VioletAlumViolet Red
BrownFaint RedCHAPTER
XIX. FRAUDULENT INK BACK GROUNDS.
DETECTION OF
ALTERATIONS IN DOCUMENTS BY CHEMICAL TESTS WHICH APPLY SOLELY TO THE
PAPER--ACCURACY OF RESULTS OBTAINED BY USE OF IODINE EXCELS THAT OF ALL OTHER
CHEMICALS--IT APPLIES BEST TO LINEN PAPER--MODERN HARD PAPER DOES NOT GIVE
COMPLETE INFORMATION--EFFECT OF IODINE ON MARKS MADE BY A STYLUS OR GLASS PEN.
FIFTY years ago and
long before the employment of the fugitive "anilines" for ink uses,
and "wood pulp" as a material for paper, two French chemists,
Chevallier and Lassiagne, published in the Journal de Chimie Médical, an
article "On the Means to be Employed for Detecting and Rendering
Perceptible Fraudulent Alterations in Public and Private Documents," which
as translated is valuable enough to quote in full:
"The numerous experiments which have been already tried at various
times, have made known the processes which may frequently be put in practice
for causing the reappearance of traces of writing effaced by chemical
reactions, and for throwing light on the work of the guilty. But there are
cases in which all the means proposed for this purpose fail, and then the
criminal may escape justice from the want of conclusive material proofs. If, as
has already been proved, it is not always possible to cause the reappearance of
the effaced writing, for which written words have with a fraudulent intent been
substituted, at least, as our experiments demonstrates, we may recognize, by
some effects which are manifest on the surface of the altered paper, the places
where the criminal act has been performed, circumscribe them by a simple
chemical reaction visible to the least practiced eye, and even measure their
extent. In a word, the visible alterations produced on a deed are susceptible,
owing to the partial modifications which the surface of the paper has
undergone, of being differently affected by certain chemical actions, and of
being rendered visible. The following experiments, made in a judicial
investigation, furnish us with the following facts:
"1st. The surface of paper sized in the ordinary way, or letter
paper, no longer presents with certain reactions, the same uniformity where it
has been either accidently moistened in several places by various liquids, or
left in contact for a certain time with agents capable of removing or
destroying the characters which have been traced on it with ink.
"2d. The application of a thin layer of gum, of starch, or farina,
of gelatine, or fish-glue, with a view of sizing certain parts of the paper, or
of causing certain bodies to adhere to it momentarily, is detected by an action
similar to that which shows paper to have lately been wetted by the contact of
liquids.
"3d. The heterogeneousness of the pulp of the papers, and the kind
of size with which they are impregnated, lead to differences in the results
which are observed with the same chemical reagents. We shall now examine each
of these propositions, and describe the means which we have employed in
endeavoring to solve questions of so high a degree of interest.
"1st. The homogeneousness of sized paper not partially altered by
the contact of liquids (water, alcohol, salt-water, vinegar, saliva, tears,
urine, acid salts, and alkaline salts) is demonstrated by the uniform
coloration which this surface takes on being exposed, if not wholly, at least
in various parts, to the action of the vapor of iodine disengaged at the
ordinary temperature from a flask containing a portion of the metalloid. When
the surface of paper not stained by any of the above mentioned liquids is
exposed to the action of this vapor for three or four minutes in a room the
temperature of which is about 60° F., a uniform yellowish, or light-brownish
yellow, coloration is noticed on the whole extent exposed to the vapor of
iodine; in the contrary case, the surface which has been moistened, and
afterwards dried in the open air, is perfectly distinguished by a different and
well circumscribed tint. On the papers into which paste starch and resin have
been introduced, the stains present such delicate reactions that we may
sometimes distinguish by their color the portion of paper which has been
moistened with alcohol from that which has been moistened with water. The stain
produced by alcohol takes a bistre-yellow tint; that formed by water is colored
of a more or less deep violet blue, the desiccation having been effected at the
ordinary temperature. For the stains occasioned on these same papers by other
aqueous liquids, the tint, apart from its intensity, resembles that of the
stains of pure water. The feeble or dilute acids act like water on the surface
of the same paper containing starch in its paste; but the concentrated mineral
acids, by altering more or less the substances which enter into the composition
of the latter, give test to the stains which present differences. We are always
able to recognize by the action of the vapor of iodine the parts of the paper
which have been put in contact with chemical agents, the energy of which has
been arrested by washing in cold water. We are able, on several ancient deeds,
written on stamped paper, and a few words of which had been removed by us with
chemical agents, to recognize the places where their action was exerted, to see
and to measure the extent which they occupied on the surface of the paper.
"The testing of a paper with the vapor of iodine will present this
double advantage over the methods hitherto practiced for detecting
falsifications in writings, that it points out at once the place in the paper
in which any alteration may be suspected, and that, on the other hand, it
enables us to act afterwards with the reagents proper for causing the
reappearance of the traces of ink, when that is possible. If the means which we
now propose cannot always make the former writing appear, they demonstrate the
places where the alterations must have been made, when, however, the want of
uniformity presented by the surface of the paper is not explained by any circumstance.
This proof becomes, therefore, a weapon which the guilty person cannot avoid.
But might not the presence of a stain, or several stains, developed by the
vapor of iodine, in different parts of a public or private deed, give rise to a
suspicion, where these stains have, perhaps, been occasioned by the spilling of
some liquid on the surface of the paper? and would it not be rash and unjust to
raise an accusation from such a fact? There would indeed be great temerity in
drawing such a conclusion from a fortuitous circumstance; but the inference
which may be drawn from the place occupied by these stains on the surface of
the paper, from the more or less significant words found in those places, would
not permit an accusation to be so lightly brought, where simple reasoning would
be sufficient to destroy its basis. Besides, the subsequent reactions which
would be made would certainly never revive words formerly written and effaced;
whilst the latter effects may be often produced, more or less visibly, on those
parts of the paper on which falsification has been practiced, figures or words
being substituted for other figures or words.
"2d. The applications made to the surface of a sheet of paper, with
a view of covering it again at certain parts with a fine layer of gum,
gelatine, starch or flour paste, or in other places to cause other sheets of
paper to adhere, may be recognized not only by the reflection of light falling
upon the paper inclined at a certain degree of obliquity, and by the
transmission of light through the paper, but also by the varying action which
the vapor of iodine exerts on the surface which is not homogeneous. Papers
containing starch and resin are more powerfully acted upon by this vapor than
papers of a less complex composition. Both in the parts covered with starch, or
paste flour, are colored in a few minutes of a violet blue; but with starched
papers alone a more intense coloration is manifest on the places covered again
with a thin layer of gum arabic, size or gelatine. By looking, then, on the
surface of the paper, held somewhat obliquely to incidental light, we
distinguish clearly, by their different aspects, the parts on which these
various substances have been applied. The vapor of iodine, in condensing at the
ordinary temperature on the surface of the papers to which any kind of size has
been applied in various places, produces differences which are most commonly
well recognized by the greater or less transparence of the paste of the paper.
3d. The heterogeneousness of the pulp of the various papers of commerce,
and the nature of the size with which they are penetrated, cause differences,
either in the coloration which the surface of these papers takes when exposed
to the vapor of iodine, or in the tint which is manifested in the portions of
the size deposited in certain portions of that surface; thus, papers with
starched pulp generally turn brown, or blue, according to the amount of water
that remains in their interstices; other papers turn yellow only under the
influence of the vapor of iodine, and the parts which have received
superficially a layer of another agglutinative body resist this action for a
certain time, and are distinguished from the parts of the paper which are not
covered with it." My own
investigations confirm to a great extent the value of these experiments and the
accuracy of the deductions, in so far as they relate to "linen"
paper; but they do not always obtain when made in connection with paper of
inferior grades.
It is also true that
dry paper is affected differently under the influence of the vapor of iodine,
as would be paper which had been moistened and then dried; but the part which
had been moist assumes the color of blue-violet, while unaltered paper assumes
a yellow-brown color. Even when the paper thus treated is moistened all over
with water, there will be a difference, for those parts which had been before
moistened, will appear a dark violet-blue, while the other parts will show a
plain blue coloration.
In cases where pencil
writing has been removed with a soft rubber or fresh bread, the parts thus
erased will assume, when subjected to iodine fumes, a brown color trending
towards violet and much darker than the undisturbed portions of the paper.
Lines impressed upon paper with a "stylus," a glass or ordinary dry
pen, can be made visible by the fumes of iodine, the lines showing with a
stronger coloration than the surrounding paper.
CHAPTER XX. FUGITIVE INK.
SOME OBSERVATIONS ABOUT
"ADDED" COLOR TO INK--INVENTION OF COAL TAR COLORS--CHRONOLOGICAL
HISTORY OF THE "ANILINES" EMPLOYED AS INK--OTHER SUBSTANCES USED FOR
THE SAME PURPOSE.
THE term "added
color," as applied to ink, is the popular phraseology for a multitude of
materials which have been more or less utilized for a period of centuries, in
adulterating and coloring ink. In olden times they were introduced into ink
with an honest belief that it would also improve and ensure its lasting
qualities, but latterly more often to cheapen the cost of its manufacture.
Reference has been made to a large variety of these substances used for this
purpose and the story told of the effect of the test of time upon them as
indicative of their supposed value. Attention has also been directed to the
discovery during the nineteenth century of the colors which owe their origin to
by-products of coal tar.
Generically these
colors are classified as "anilines." They have worked a revolution in
all the arts in which colors are used. Employed without a mordant, with few
exceptions, they are measurably affected by both light, heat, moisture, or
other changes and as made into inks are never permanent. Hence they should not
be used for records, because if obliterated from any cause whatever, there are
no known means to render them again legible.
The origin and history
of the "anilines" are known. Viewed from an ink standpoint they are
of vast interest. So extended in number are the "anilines" (they run
into the thousands) that they include every shade of black and all possible
tints or hues of the colors of the rainbow.
The chronological
history of such of these artificial colors which appertain to ink or its
manufacture is important as locating the dates of their invention and
commercial use.
The first discovery of
"aniline" is credited to Helot in 1750. In 1825 Faraday in rectifying
naphtha discovered benzole, which by the action of strong nitric acid be
converted into nitro-benzole; and this latter, when agitated with water, acetic
acid and iron filings produced aniline. Unverdorben in 1826 discovered an
analogous material in products obtained by the destructive distillation of
indigo. Runge in 1834 claims to have detected it in coal tar and called it
kyanol, which after oxidation became an insoluble black pigment and known as
aniline black. It could not, however, be used as an ink. Zinan in 1840,
experimenting along the same lines, produced another compound terming it
benzidam. Fritsche in the same year by the distillation of indigo with caustic
potash developed a product which he also called aniline, the name being derived
from the Portuguese word anil, meaning indigo. Shortly afterwards A. W. Hoffman
established the identity of these substances.
Aniline when pure is a
colorless liquid, possessing a rather ammoniacal odor. It soon becomes yellow
and yellow-brown under the influence of light and air. It does not affect
litmus paper.
In 1856 Perkins
accidentally discovered the violet dye called mauve, which acquired
considerable commercial importance besides its utility for ink purposes.
Nicholson in 1862
succeeded in producing the first of the soluble blue anilines.
The discovery of
induline, one of the modifications of aniline black, was made known in 1864.
Nigrosine, produced by
the action of concentrated sulphuric acid on the insoluble indulines, was
discovered in 1868.
The soluble indulines
and nigrosines differentiate in appearance, the first a bronzy powder and the
latter a black lustrous powder. When made into ink they possess about equal
color values.
In 1870 the German chemists,
Graebe and Liebermann, announced that they had succeeded in producing
artificial alizarin,--the coloring matter of the madder root. Commercial value
was not given to this discovery until it was put on the market in 1873,
although it did not meet all the requirements.
Springmühl in 1873
obtained an accessory product in the artificial manufacture of alizarin out of
anthracene, from which a beautiful blue was made, superior in many respect to
the aniline blues. It differed from aniline in having the same color in
solution. Alkalis destroyed the color but acids restored it. The process was
kept a secret for a long time. This product was originally sold as high as
$1,500 for a single pound.
Caro, a German chemist,
invented in 1874 the red color known as eosine, which was brought to this
country in the following year and sold for $125 per pound. Its color is
destroyed by acids.
Orchil or archil (the
red color) was discovered in 1879. The commercial use of the so-called
"orchil substitutes" (purples) began, however, in the years 1885 and
1887.
Artificial indigo, as
the result of many years of experimenting, came into commercial use under the
name of "indigo pure" only in 1897. It had previously been produced
synthetically in a variety of ways, but the cost of the production was far
above that of the natural product. Baeyer and Emmerling in 1870, Suida in 1878,
Baeyer in 1878, Baeyer and Drewsen in 1882, and Heumann in 1890, can be said to
have been the pioneers in the production of artificial indigo.
The intensity of some
of the aniline colors may be indicated by the fact that a single grain of
eosine in ten millions of water exhibits a definite rose-pink color.
It is asserted that in
the last three years many improvements have been made in the permanent
qualities of some of the soluble anilines, but no material which is soluble in
plain water should ever be employed as an ink for record purposes.
Preceding the discovery
of the "anilines," as already related, other substances had been
employed for "added" color in the admixture of ink, principally
madder, Brazil wood, indigo, and logwood.
Only a casual reference
has heretofore been made to Brazil wood and logwood.
Brazil wood, also
called peach wood, is imported from Brazil. Its employment as a dyestuff is
known to be of great antiquity, antedating considerably the discovery of South
America. Bancroft states, "The name ‘Brazil’ was given to the country on
account of the extensive forests of the already well-known ‘Brazil wood,’ which
was found by its Portuguese discoverers. The dyestuff thus gave its name to the
country from which it was afterwards principally obtained. The word ‘Brazil’
appears to have been originally used to designate a bright red or flame color.
Thus in a contract between the cities of Bologna and Ferrara, in 1194, the
dyestuff kermez is referred to as grana de Brazile and Brazil wood, both
dyestuffs at that time being obtained from India." For "added"
color to ink and alone it was much used in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries.
Logwood, employed more
extensively for "added" color than any other color compound, was
introduced into Europe by the Spaniards, A. D. 1502. In England it does not
appear to have been much used until about 1575. In 1581 the Parliament
prohibited its use "because the colours produced from it were of a
fugacious character." Its use was legalized in 1673 by an act, the
preamble of which reads, "The ingenious industry of modern times hath
taught the dyers of England the art of fixing, the colours made of logwood,
alias blackwood, so as that, by experience, they are found as lasting as the
colours made with any sort of dyeing wood whatever." It is obtained
principally from the Campeachy tree, which grows in the West Indies and South
America.
The practical utility
of logwood as the base for an ink was a discovery of Runge in 1848, who found
that a dilute solution of its coloring matter, to which had been added a small
quantity of neutral chromate of potassium, produced a deep black liquid which
apparently remained clear and did not deposit any sediment. This composition
became very popular on account of its cheapness and dark purple color. It is of
a fugitive character, though, and has passed almost entirely out of commercial
use.
CHAPTER XXI. ANCIENT AND
MODERN INK RECEIPTS.
"INDIAN"
INK--SPANISH LICORICE--BITUMEN--CARBON FROM PETROLEUM--PROCESS TO OBTAIN GALLIC
ACID--EFFECT OF SUGAR IN INK--DARK COLORED GALLS BEST FOR INK
MAKING--SUBSTITUTES FOR GALLS--RELATIVE PROPORTIONS OF IRON AND GALLS--ANECDOTE
OF PROFESSOR TRIALL--ESTIMATION OF SULPHATE OF COPPER--QUAINT INK
RECIPE--RIBAUCOURT’S INK--HORSELEY’S INK--ELSNER’S INDELIBLE MARKING INK--BLACK
INK FOR COMMON AND COPYING USES--COMMON BLACK INK--SHINING BLACK INK--PROCESS
FOR "BEST" INK--INDELIBLE BLACK INK WITHOUT GALLS OR IRON--INK
POWDER--STEEL PEN INK--SOME EARLY LITERATURE OF THE COAL TAR PRODUCTS--INK
PLANT OF NEW GRANADA--"IMPERISHABLE" INK--FIRE-PROOF
INK--"INERADICABLE" INK--EXCHEQUER INK--"PERMANENT" RED
INK--SUBSTITUTE FOR "INDIAN" INK--TO PREVENT INK FREEZING--BACTERIA
IN INK--GOLD AND OTHER INKS USED FOR ILLUMlNATING.
INNUMERABLE receipts
and directions for making inks of every kind, color and quality are to be found
distributed in books more or less devoted to such subjects, in the encyclopædias,
chemistries, and other scientific publications. If assembled together they
would occupy hundreds of pages. Those cited are exemplars indicating the trend
of ideas belonging to different nations, epochs, and the diversity of
materials. They can also be considered as object lessons which conclusively
demonstrate the dissatisfaction always existing in respect to the constitution
and modes of ink admixture. Many of them are curious and are reproduced without
any amendments.
"Indian ink is a black pigment brought hither from China, which on
being rubbed with water, dissolves; and forms a substance resembling ink; but
of a consistence extremely well adapted to the working with a pencil-brush, on
which account it is not only much used as a black colour in miniature painting;
but is the black now generally made use of for all smaller drawings in chiaro
obscuro (or where the effect is to be produced from light and shade only).
"The preparation of Indian ink, as well as of the other
compositions used by the Chinese as paints, is not hitherto revealed on any
good authority; but it appears clearly from experiments to be the coal of fish
bones, or some other vegetable substance, mixed with isinglass size, or other
size; and most probably, honey or sugar candy to prevent its cracking. A
substance, therefore, much of the same nature, and applicable to the same
purposes, may be formed in the following manner.
"Take of isinglass six ounces, reduce it to a size, by dissolving
it over the fire in double its weight of water. Take then of Spanish liquorice
one ounce; and dissolve it also in double its weight of water; and grind up
with it an ounce of ivory black. Add this mixture to the size while hot; and
stir the whole together till all the ingredients be thoroughly incorporated.
Then evaporate away the water in baleno mariæ, and cast the remaining
composition into leaden molds greased; or make it up in any other form."
"The colour of this composition will be equally good with that of
the Indian ink: the isinglass size, mixt with the colours, works with the
pencil equally well with the Indian ink; and the Spanish liquorice will both
render it easily dissolvable on the rubbing with water, to which the isinglass
alone is somewhat reluctant; and also prevent its cracking and peeling off from
the ground on which it is laid." *
* * * * * *
There is found in small currents near the Baltick Sea, in the Dutchy of
Prussia a certain coagulated bitumen, which, because it seems to be a juice of
the earth is called succinum; and carabe, because it will attract straws; it is
likewise called electrum, glessum, anthra citrina, vulgarly yellow amber.
"This bitumen being soft and viscous, several little animals, such
as flies, and ants, do stick to it, and are buried in it.
"Amber is of different colours, such as white, yellow and black.
"The white is held in greatest esteem in physick, tho’ it be
opacous; when it is rubbed against anything, it is odoriferous, and it yields
more volatile salt than the rest. The yellow, is transparent and pleasant to
the eye, wherefore beads, necklaces, and other little conceits are made of it.
It is also esteemed medicinal, and it yieldeth much oil.
"The black is of least use of all. (Sometimes used by the ancients
in making ink.)
"Some do think that petroleum, or Oil of Peter, is a liquor drawn
from amber, by the means of subterrenean fires, which make a distillation of
it, and that jet, and coals are the remainders of this distillation.
"This opinion would have probability enough in it, if the places,
from whence this sort of drogues does come, were not so far asunder the one
from the other; f or petroleum is not commonly found but in Italy, in Sicily,
and Provence. This oil distils through the clefts of rocks, and it is very
likely to be the oil of some bitumen, which the subterranean fires have
raised." * * * * * * *
There are various processes for obtaining gallic acid, one of which is
to moisten the bruised galls and expose them for four or five weeks to a
temperature of 80° Fahr.; by which a mouldy paste is formed, which is pressed
dry and then digested in boiling water, which after evaporation yields the
acid, and mixed with the solution of green copperas, makes the, ink. A quicker
process, however, is to put the bruised galls into a cylindrical copper of a
depth equal to its diameter, and boil them in nine gallons of water--taking
care to replace the water lost by evaporation. The decoction to be emptied into
a tub, allowed to settle, and the clear liquid being drawn off, the lees are
emptied into another tub to be drained. The green copperas must be separately
dissolved in water, and then mixed with the decoction of the galls. A
precipitate is then formed in the state of a fine black powder, the subsidence
of which is prevented by the addition of the gum, which, separately dissolved
in a small quantity of hot water, combines with the clear black liquid. Besides
its effect in keeping the fine insoluble particles in suspension, the gum
mucilage improves the body of the ink, prevents its spreading or sinking too
much into the paper in writing, and also acts beneficially by forming a sort of
compact varnish in it, which tends to preserve its colour, and shield it from
the action of the air. If, however, too much mucilage is used, the ink flows
badly from quill pens, and still more so from steel pens, which require a very
limpid ink. The addition of sugar increases the fluidity of ink, and permits
the quantity of gum to be increased over what it would bear without it; but, on
the other hand, it causes it to dry more slowly, and besides it frequently
passes into vinegar, when it acts injuriously on the pens. The dark-coloured
galls, known as the blue Aleppo ones, are said by Ribaucourt, and others who
have given much attention to the ingredients for ink-making to be the best for
that purpose, and they are generally used by the best makers.
"From their high price, however, and that of galls generally,
sumach, logwood, and even oak bark are too frequently substituted in the
manufacture of inks, but it need scarcely be said always injuriously. Ink made
according to the receipt given above is much more rich and powerful than many
of those commonly made. To reduce it to their standard one half more water may
be safely added; or even twenty gallons of tolerable ink may be made from the
same weight of materials. Sumach and logwood admit of only about one-half or
less of the green copperas that galls will take, to bring out the maximum
amount of black colour. The colour of black ink gradually darkens in
consequence of the peroxidation of the iron in it on exposure to the air, but
it affords a more durable writing when used pale; its particles being then
finer, penetrate the paper more intimately, and on its oxidation is mordanted
into it. It is advisable so soon as the ink has acquired a moderately deep
tint, to draw it off clear into bottles and cork them well.
"According to the most accurate experiments on the preparation of
black writing inks, it appears that the proportion of the green copperas ought
to be, and not to exceed, a third of the decoction of galls used; but the
proportions used vary according to the practical experience of ink-makers, who
have all receipts of their own, which they deem best, and, of course, keep
secret. In the precipitate an excess of colouring matter, which is necessary
for its durability, is preserved in it. The blue galls alone ought to be
employed in making the best quality of black ink. Logwood is a useful.
ingredient, because its colouring matter unites with the sulphate of iron and
renders it not only of a very dark colour, but also less capable of change from
the action of acids or of the atmosphere. Many attempts have been made by
amateurs to make a good permanent black ink. A good story is told of Professor
Traill. He had succeeded, after a long series of experiments, in producing an
ink which he deemed to be in all respects A 1, and which resisted the action of
all acids and alkalies alike. The pleased savant sent samples of it for trial
to several banks and schools, where it gave general satisfaction; but, alas, an
experimenting scribbler, thoughtlessly or otherwise, applied a simple test
undreamt of by the Professor, and with a wet sponge completely washed off his ‘indelible,’
and thereby finished his career as an amateur ink-maker!" * * * * * * *
"Nicholson, in his Dictionary of Chemistry, an old but valuable
work, says that Ribaucourt found vitriol of copper, in a certain proportion, to
give depth and firmness to the colour of black ink; but, from whatever cause,
this has not taken a place among the commonly-used ink-making
ingredients--probably because it acts injuriously on steel pens." * * * * * * *
"A quart of rain Wate. 3 Ounces of Blue Knolly Gawalls. Bruise ym
it must stand & be stirred 3 or 4 times in ym Day & then Strain out out
all ye gawells all ten Days and 2 Ounces of Clear Gummary Beck & 1/2 an
Ounce of Coperous 1/2 an Ounce of Rock Alum half an Ounce of Loafe sugar ye
Bigness of a Hoarsel nut of Roman Vitterall Bray ym all small Before they be
put in it must be stirred very well for ye space of two weeks.
"A receit forink.--1727
"William Satherwaite." (The
above receipt is a literal copy of the original, now in my possession. It
purports to have been written with the mixture it specifies.)
* * * * * * *
"M. de Champnor and M. F. Malepeyre, 1862, in their Mannel state
that Ribaucourt’s ink is one of the best then in use. The formula for its
preparation is as follows:
Aleppo galls, in coarse powder8 ouncesLogwood chips4
""Sulphate of iron4 ""Powdered gum-arabic3
""Sulphate of copper1 ""Crystallized sugar1 ""
Boil the galls of logwood together in twelve pounds of water for an
hour, or till half the water has been evaporated; strain the decoction through
a hair sieve, and add the other ingredients; stir till the whole, especially
the gum, be dissolved; and then leave at rest for twenty-four hours, when the
ink is to be poured off into glass bottles and carefully corked. * * * * * * *
"Mr. J. Horsley gives the following receipt: Triturate in a mortar
thirty-six grains of gallic acid with three and one-half ounces of strong
decoction of logwood, put it into an eight ounce bottle, together with one
ounce of strong ammonia. Next dissolve one ounce of sulphate of iron in half an
ounce of distilled water by the aid of heat; mix the solutions together by a
few minutes’ agitation, when a good ink will be formed, perfectly clear, which
will keep good any length of time without depositing, thickening, or growing
mouldy, which latter quality is a great desideratum, as ink undergoing that
change becomes worthless. It will not do to mix with ordinary ink, nor must
greasy paper be used for writing on with it."--Chemical News (1862). * * * * * * *
"New Indelible Marking Ink.--Dr. Elsner gives the following as a
stamping ink for goods before undergoing bleaching, or treating with acids or
alkalis. It consists merely of one ounce of fine Chinese vermilion and one
drachm of protosulphate of iron, well triturated with boiled oil varnish." * * * * * * *
"Put Aleppo galls, well bruised, 4 1/2 oz. and logwood chipped, 1
oz. with 3 pints soft water, into a stoneware mug: slowly boil, until one quart
remains: add, well powdered, the pure green crystals of sulphate of iron, 2 1/2
oz. blue vitriol or verdigris, (I think the latter better) 1/2 oz. gum arabic 2
oz. and brown sugar, 2 oz. Shake it occasionally a week after making: then
after standing a day, decant and cork. To prevent moulding add a little brandy
or alcohol.
"The common copperas will not answer so well as it has already
absorbed oxygen." * * * * *
* *
"Pour a gallon of boiling soft water on a pound of powdered galls,
previously put into a proper vessel. Stop the month of the vessel, and set it
in the sun in summer, or in winter where it may be warmed by any fire, and let
it stand two or three days. Then add half a pound of green vitriol powdered,
and having stirred the mixture well together with a wooden spatula, let it
stand again for two or three days, repeating the stirring, when add further to it
5 ounces of gum arabic dissolved in a quart of boiling water, and lastly, 2
ounces of alum, after which let the ink be strained through a coarse linen
cloth for use.
"Another. A good and durable ink may be made by the following
directions: To 2 pints of water add 3 ounces of the dark coloured rough-skinned
Aleppo galls in gross powder, and of rasped logwood, green vitriol, and gum
arabic, each, 1 oz.
"This mixture is to be put into a convenient vessel, and well
shaken four or five time a day, for ten or twelve days, at the end of which
time it will be fit for use, though it will improve by remaining longer on the
ingredients. Vinegar instead of water makes a deeper coloured ink; but its
action on pens soon spoils them." *
* * * * * *
"Beat up well together in an iron mortar the following ingredients
in a dry state; viz. 8 oz. of best blue gall-nuts, 4 oz. of copperas, or
sulphate of iron, 2 oz. of clear gum arabic, and 3 pints of clear rain water.
"When properly powdered, put to the above; let the whole be shaken
in a stone bottle three or four times a day, for seven days, and at the end of
that time, pour the liquid off gently into another stone bottle, which place in
an airy situation to prevent it from becoming foul or mothery. When used put
the liquid into the ink-stand as required."
Take 6 quarts (beer measure) of clear water, soft or hard, and boil in
it for about an hour 4 oz. of the best Campeachy logwood, chipped very thin
across the grain, adding, from time to time, boiling water to supply in part
the loss by evaporation; strain the liquor while hot, and suffer it to cool. If
the liquor is then short of 5 quarts, make it equal to this quantity by the
addition of cold water. After which let 1 lb. of bruised blue galls, or 20 oz.
of the best common galls, be added. Let a paste be prepared by triturating 4
oz. of sulphate of iron (green vitriol) calcined to whiteness, and let half an
ounce of acetite of copper (verdigris) be well incorporated together with the
above decoction into a mass, throwing in also 3 oz. of coarse brown sugar and 6
oz. of gum Senegal, or Arabic. Put the materials into a stone bottle of such a
size as to half fill it; let the mouth be left open, and shake the bottle well,
twice or thrice a day. In about a fortnight it may be filled, and kept in
well-stopped bottles for use. It requires to be protected from the frost, which
would considerably injure it."
Infuse a pound of pomegranate peels, broken to a gross powder, for 24
hours in a gallon and a half of water, and afterwards boil the mixture till
1-3d of the fluid be wasted. Then add to it 1 lb. of Roman vitriol, and 4 oz.
of gum arabic powdered, and continue the boiling till the vitriol and gum be
dissolved, after which the ink must be strained through a coarse linen cloth,
when it will be fit for use.
"This ink is somewhat more expensive, and yet not so good in hue as
that made by the general method, but the colour which it has is not liable to
vanish or fade in any length of time." *
* * * * * *
"Infuse a pound of galls powdered and 3 ounces of pomegranate
peels, in a gallon of soft water for a week, in a gentle heat, and then strain
off the fluid through a coarse linen cloth. Then add to it 8 oz. of vitriol
dissolved in a quart of water, and let them remain for a day or two, preparing
in the meantime a decoction of logwood, by boiling a pound of the chips in a
gallon of water, till 1-3d be wasted, and then straining the remaining fluid
while it is hot. Mix the decoction and the solution of galls and vitriol together,
and add 5 oz. of gum arabic, and then evaporate the mixture over a common fire
to about 2 quarts, when the remainder must be put into a vessel proper for that
purpose, and reduced to dryness, by hanging the vessel in boiling water. The
mass left, after the fluid has wholly exhaled, must be well powdered, and when
wanted for use, may be converted into ink by the addition of water." * * * * * * *
"Ten parts of logwood are to be exhausted with eighty of boiling
water. To the solution one thousandth of its weight of yellow chromate of
potash is to be added gradually. The liquid turns brown and at last blue-black.
No gum is needed, and the ink is not removed by soaking in water. --Chemical
Gazette, London (1850)." * *
* * * * *
"Shellac, 2 oz.; borax, 1 oz.; distilled or rain water, 18 oz. Boil
the whole in a closely covered tin vessel, stirring it occasionally with a
glass rod until the mixture has become homogeneous; filter when cold, and mix
the fluid solution with an ounce of mucilage or gum arabic prepared by
dissolving 1 oz. of gum in 2 oz. of water, and add pulverized indigo and
lampblack ad libitum. Boil the whole again in a covered vessel, and stir the
fluid well to effect the complete solution and admixture of the gum arabic.
Stir it occasionally while it is cooling; and after it has remained undisturbed
for two or three hours, that the excess of indigo and lamp-black may subside,
bottle it for use. The above ink for documentary purposes is invaluable, being
under all ordinary circumstances, indestructible. It is also particularly well
adapted for the use of the laboratory. Five drops of creosote added to a pint
of ordinary ink will effectually prevent its becoming mouldy." * * * * * * *
"In November, 1854, Mr. Grace Calvert read a paper before the
London Society of Arts in which he said that he hoped before long some valuable
dyeing substances other than carbo-azotic acid would be prepared from coal tar.
"In another paper read before the same society in 1858 he said: ‘This
expectation has now been fulfilled. Messrs. Perkins and Church have obtained
several blue coloring substances from the alkaloids of coal tar, and one from
naphthalene.’ Also that himself and Mr. Charles Lowe had succeeded in obtaining
coal tar products yielding colors of a beautiful pink, red, violet, purple, and
chocolate. (These were not soluble in water)." * * * * * * *
"Among vegetable substances useful in the arts is one that has long
been known in New Grenada under the name of the ink-plant, as furnishing a
juice which can be used in writing without previous preparation. Characters
traced with this substance have a reddish color at first, which turns to a deep
black in a few hours. This juice is said to be really less liable to thicken
than ordinary ink, and not to corrode steel pens. It resists the action of
water, and is practically indelible. The plant is known as coryaria
thymifolia." * * * * * * *
"Desormeaux recommends that the sulphate of iron be calcined to
whiteness; coarse brown sugar instead of sugar candy; 1/4 oz. acetate of
copper, instead of one ounce of the sulphate, and a drop or two of creosote or
essential oil of cloves to prevent moulding." (See Ribaucourt receipt, p.
194.) * * * * * * *
"Mr. John Spiller communicated to the London Chemical News (1861) a
paper on the employment of carbon as a means of permanent record. The
imperishable nature of carbon, in its various forms of lamp-black, ivory-black,
wood-charcoal, and graphite or black lead, holds out much greater promise of
being usefully employed in the manufacture of a permanent writing material;
since, for this substance, in its elementary condition and at ordinary
temperatures, there exists no solvent nor chemical reagent capable of affecting
its alteration.
"The suggestion relative to the mode of applying carbon to these
purposes, which it is intended more particularly now to enunciate, depends on
the fact of the separation of carbon from organic compounds rich in that
element, sugar, gum, etc., by the combined operation of heat and of chemical
reagents, such as sulphuric and phosphoric acids, which exert a decomposing
action in the same direction; and by such means to effect the deposition of the
carbon within the pores of the paper by a process of development to be
performed after the fluid writing ink has been to a certain extent absorbed
into its substance--a system of formation by which a considerable amount of
resistance, both to chemical and external influences, appears to be secured. An
ink of the following composition has been made the subject of experiment:
"Concentrated sulphuric acid, deeply colored with indigo1 fluid
ounce.Water,6 fluid ouncesLoaf Sugar,1 ounce, troy.Strong mucilage of gum
arabic2 to 3 fluid ounces.
"Writing traced with a quill or gold pen dipped in this ink dries
to a pale blue color; but if now a heated iron be passed over its surface, or
the page of manuscript be held near a fire, the writing will quickly assume a
jet black appearance, resulting from the carbonization of the sugar by a warm
acid, and will have become so firmly engrafted into the substance of the paper
as to oppose considerable difficulty to its removal or erasure by a knife. On
account of the depth to which the written characters usually penetrate, the
sheets of paper selected for use should be of the thickest make, and good white
cartridge paper, or that known as ‘cream laid,’ preferred to such as are
colored blue with ultramarine; for, in the latter case, a bleached halo is
frequently perceptible around the outlines of the letters, indicating the
partial destruction of the coloring matter by the lateral action of the acid.
"The writing produced in this manner seems indelible; it resists
the action of "salts of lemon," and of oxalic, tartaric, and diluted
hydrochloric acids, agents which render nearly illegible the traces of ordinary
black writing ink; neither do alkaline solutions exert any appreciable action
on the carbon ink. This material possesses, therefore, many advantageous
qualities which would recommend its adoption in cases where the question of
permanence is of paramount importance. But it must, on the other hand, be
allowed that such an ink, in its present form, would but inefficiently fulfil
many of the requirements necessary to bring it into common use. The peculiar
method of development rendering the application of heat imperative, and that of
a temperature somewhat above the boiling point of water, together with the
circumstance that it will be found impossible with a thin sheet of paper to
write on both sides, must certainly be counted among its more prominent
disadvantages." * * * * * *
*
"Fire-proof ink for writing or printing on incombustible paper is
made according to the following recipe: Graphite, finely ground, 22 drams;
copal or other resinous gum, 12 grains; sulphate of iron, 2 drams; tincture of
nut-galls, 2 drams; and sulphate of indigo, 8 drams. These substances are
thoroughly mixed and boiled in water, and the ink thus obtained is said to be
both fire-proof and insoluble in water. When any other color but black is desired,
the graphite is replaced by an earthly mineral pigment of the desired
color." * * * * * * *
"Ineradicable Writing.--A French technical paper, specially devoted
to the art and science of paper manufacture, states that any alterations or
falsifications of writings in ordinary ink maybe rendered impossible by passing
the paper upon which it is intended to write through a solution of one
milligram (0.01543 English grain) of gallic acid in as much pure distilled
water as will fill to a moderate depth an ordinary soup-plate. After the paper
thus prepared has become thoroughly dry, it may be used as ordinary paper for
writing, but any attempt made to alter, falsify, or change anything written
thereon, will be left perfectly visible, and may thus be readily
detected." * * * * * * *
"Exchequer Ink.--To 40 pounds of galls, add 10 pounds of gum, 9
pounds of copperas, and 45 gallons of soft water. This ink will endure for
centuries." * * * * * * *
"Take of oil of lavender, 120 grains, of copal in powder, 17
grains, red sulphuret of mercury, 60 grains. The oil of lavender being
dissipated with a gentle heat, a colour will be left on the paper surrounded
with the copal; a substance insoluble in water, spirits, acids, or alkaline
solutions.
"This composition possesses a permanent colour, and a MSS. written
with it, may be exposed to the process commonly used for restoring the colour
of printed books, without injury to the writing. In this manner interpolations
with common ink may be removed." * *
* * * * *
Boil parchment slips or cuttings of glove leather, in water till it
forms a size, which, when cool, becomes of the consistence of jelly, then,
having blackened an earthern plate, by holding it over the flame of a candle,
mix up with a camel hair pencil, the fine lamp-black thus obtained, with some
of the above size, while the plate is still warm. This black requires no
grinding, and produces an ink of the same colour, which works as freely with
the pencil, and is as perfectly transparent as the best Indian ink." * * * * * * *
"Instead of water use brandy, with the same ingredients which enter
into the composition of any ink, and it will never freeze." * * * * * * *
"Bacteria in Ink--According to experiments which have recently been
completed at Berlin and Leipzig by the leading bacteriologists of Germany the
ordinary inks literally teem with bacilla of a dangerous character, the
bacteria taken therefrom sufficing to kill mice and rabbits inoculated
therewith in the space of from one to three days." * * * * * * *
"The most easy and neat method of forming letters of gold on paper,
and for ornaments of writing is, by the gold ammoniac, as it was formerly
called: the method of managing which is as follows:
"Take gum ammoniacum, and powder it; and then dissolve it in water
previously impregnated with a little gum arabic, and some juice of garlic. The
gum ammoniacum will not dissolve in water, so as to form a transparent fluid,
but produces a milky appearance; from whence the mixture is called in medicine
the lac ammoniacum. With the lac ammoniacum thus prepared, draw with a pencil,
or write with a pen on paper, or vellum, the intended figure or letters of the
gilding. Suffer the paper to dry; and then, or any time afterwards, breath on
it till it be moistened; and immediately lay leaves of gold, or parts of leaves
cut in the most advantageous manner to save the gold, over the parts drawn or
written upon with the lac ammoniacum; and press them gently to the paper with a
ball of cotton or soft leather. When the paper becomes dry, which a short time
or gentle heat will soon effect, brush off, with a soft pencil, or rub off by a
fine linen rag, the redundant gold which covered the parts between the lines of
the drawing or writing; and the finest hair strokes of the pencil or pen, as
well as the broader, will appear perfectly gilt." It is usual to see in old manuscripts, that are highly ornamented,
letters of gold which rise considerably from the surface of the paper or
parchment containing them in the manner of embossed work; and of these some are
less shining, and others have a very high polish. The method of producing these
letters is of two kinds; the one by friction on a proper body with a solid
piece of gold: the other by leaf gold. The method of making these letters by
means of solid gold is as follows:
"Take chrystal; and reduce it to powder. Temper it then with strong
gum water, till it be of the consistence of paste; and with this form the
letters; and, when they are dry, rub them with a piece of gold of good colour,
as in the manner of polishing; and the letters will appear as if gilt with
burnisht gold." (Kunckel, in his
fifty curious experiments, has given this receipt, but omitted to take the
least notice of the manner these letters are to be formed, though the most
difficult circumstance in the production of them.)
CHAPTER XXII. INK
INDUSTRY.
IMPORTANCE OF HONEST
INK MANUFACTURE--ABSENCE OF INFORMATION AS TO NAMES OF MOST ANCIENT INK
MAKERS,--WHERE TO LOOK FOR ANCIENT INK--THEIR PHENOMENAL IDENTITY--INK AND
PAPER AS ASIATIC INVENTIONS ENTER EUROPE IN THE TWELFTH CENTURY--BOTH IN
GENERAL USE IN THE FOURTEENTH CENTURY--MONKS AND SCRIBES AS THEIR OWN INK
MANUFACTURERS--MODERN INDUSTRY OF INK BEGINS IN 1625--ITS GROWTH AND PRESENT
SITUATION--THE GENERAL IGNORANCE OF THE SUBJECT--INK INDUSTRY IN THE EIGHTEENTH
CENTURY--THE FIRST PIONEERS ABROAD AND THOSE AT HOME--OBSERVATIONS RESPECTING
INK PHENOMENA OF THE PAST EIGHTY YEARS--WHAT SOME INK MAKERS SAY ABOUT
IT--LITTLE DEMAND FOR PURE INKS--SOME SKETCHES OF THE LEADING INK MANUFACTURERS
OF THE WORLD--ESTIMATION OF QUANTITY OF INK MADE IN THE UNITED STATES--THE
"LIFE" OF A MARK MADE WITH ORDINARY WRITING FLUID--ESTIMATION OF MOST
INKS BY PROFESSORS BAIRD AND MARKOE--FORMULA OF THE OFFICIAL INK OF THE STATE
OF MASSACHUSETTS--VIEWS OF SOME PROMINENT INK MANUFACTURERS ABOUT SUCH
INK--SOME COMMERCIAL NAMES BESTOWED ON DIFFERENT INKS--THE 200 OR MORE NAMES OF
INK MANUFACTURERS OF THE NINETEENTH CENTURY.
THE consideration of
the effect of the use of ink upon civilization from primitive times to the
present, as we have seen, offers a most suggestive field and certifies to the
importance of the manufacture of honest inks as necessary to the future
enlightenment of society. That it has not been fully understood or even
appreciated goes without saying; a proper generalization becomes possible only
in the light of corroborative data and the experiences of the many.
History has not given
us the names of ancient ink makers; but we can believe there must have been
during a period of thousands of years a great many, and that the kinds and
varieties of inks were without number. Those inks which remain to us are to be
found only as written with on ancient MSS.; they are of but few kinds, and in
composition and appearance preserve a phenomenal identity, though belonging to
countries and epochs widely separated. This identity leads to the further
conclusion that ink making must have been an industry at certain periods,
overlooked by careful compounders who distributed their wares over a vast
territory.
"Gall" ink
and "linen" paper as already stated are Asiatic inventions. Both of
them seem to have entered Europe by way of Arabia, "hand in hand" at
the very end of the eleventh or beginning of the twelfth centuries and for the
next two hundred years, notwithstanding the fact that chemistry was almost an
unknown science and the secrets of the alchemists known only to the few, this
combination gradually came into general vogue.
In the fourteenth
century we find one or both of them more or less substituted for
"Indian" ink, parchment, vellum and "cotton" paper. It was,
however, the monks and scribes who manufactured for their own and assistants’
use "gall" ink, just as they had been in the habit of preparing
"Indian" ink when required, which so far as known was not always a
commodity.
As an industry it can
be said to have definitely begun when the French government recognized the
necessity for one, A. D. 1625, by giving a contract for "a great quantity
of ‘gall ink’ to Guyot," who for this reason seems to occupy the unique
position of the father of the modern ink industry.
Ink manufacture as a
growing industry heretofore and to a large extent at present, occupies a
peculiarly anomalous situation. Other industries follow the law of evolution
which may perhaps bear criticism; but the ink industry follows none, nor does
it even pretend to possess any.
Thousands are engaged
in its pursuit, few of whom understand either ink chemistry or ink phenomena.
The consumer knows still less, and with blind confidence placidly accepts
nondescript compounds labeled "Ink," whether purchased at depots or
from "combined" itinerant manufacturing peddlers and with them write
or sign documents which some day may disturb millions of property. And yet in a
comparative sense it has outpaced all other industries.
With the commencement
of the eighteenth century we find the industry settling in Dresden, Chemnitz,
Amsterdam, Berlin, Elberfield and Cologne. Still later in London, Vienna,
Paris, Edinburgh and Dublin, and in the first half of the nineteenth century in
the United States, it had begun to make considerable progress.
Among the first
pioneers of the later modern ink industry abroad, may be mentioned the names of
Stephens, Arnold, Blackwood, Ribaucourt, Stark, Lewis, Runge, Leonhardi,
Gafford, Böttger, Lipowitz, Geissler, Jahn, Van Moos, Ure, Schmidt, Haenle,
Elsner, Bossin, Kindt, Trialle, Morrell, Cochrane, Antoine, Faber, Waterlous,
Tarling, Hyde, Thacker, Mordan, Featherstone, Maurin, Triest and Draper.
In the period covered
by the nineteenth century at home, the legitimate industry included over 300
ink makers. Those best known are Davids, Maynard and Noyes, Carter, Underwood,
Stafford, Moore, Davis, Thomas, Sanford, Barnes, Morrell, Walkden, Lyons,
Freeman, Murray, Todd, Bonney, Pomeroy, Worthington, Joy, Blair, Cross, Dunlap,
Higgins, Paul, Anderson, Woodmansee, Delang, Allen, Stearns, Gobel, Wallach,
Bartram, Ford and Harrison.
The ink phenomena
included in the past eighty years has demonstrated a continuing retrogression
in ink manufacture and a consequent deterioration of necessary ink qualities.
When the attention of some ink makers are addressed to these sad facts, they
attribute them, either to the demand of the public for an agreeable color and a
free flowing ink, or to an inability to compete with inferior substitutes,
which have flooded the market since the discovery of the coal tar colors; they
have been compelled to depart from old and tried formulas, in the extravagant
use (misuse) of the so-called "added" color.
An exceptional few of
the older firms continue to catalogue unadulterated "gall" inks; but
the demand for them except in localities where the law compels their
employment, is only little.
Interesting deductions
can be made from the accompanying brief sketches of the leading ink manufacturers
of the world.
The "Arnold"
brand of inks possesses a worldwide reputation, although not always known by
that name, beginning A. D. 1724 under the style of R. Ford, and continuing
until 1772, when the firm name was changed to William Green & Co. In 1809
it became J. & J. Arnold, who were succeeded in 1814 by Pichard and John
Arnold, the firm name by which it is known at the present day. This last named
concern located at 59 Barbican, on the site of the old City Hall in London, and
later moved to their present address, No. 155 Aldersgate street. The inks made
by the "fathers" of the firm were "gall" inks without
"added" color. At the commencement of the nineteenth century we find
them making tanno-gallate of iron inks to which were added extractive matter
from logwood and other materials to form thick fluids for shipment to Brazil,
India and the countries where brushes or reeds were used as writing
instruments. For the more civilized portions of the world similar inks but of
an increased fluidity were supplied, that the quill pens might be employed. The
demands for still more fluid inks which would permit the use of steel pens,
resulted in the modern blue-black chemical writing fluid, the "added"
blue portion being indigo in some form. It was first put on the market in 1830.
They manufacture over thirty varieties of ink, but only one real
"gall" ink without "added" color.
In the early part of
May, 1824, Thaddeus Davids started his ink factory at No. 222 William street,
New York City. His first and best effort was a strictly pure tanno-gallate of
iron ink, which he placed on the market in 1827 under the name of "Steel
Pen Ink," guaranteed to write black and to possess "record"
qualities. In 1833 he made innovations following the lines laid down by Arnold
and also commenced the manufacture of a chemical writing fluid, with indigo for
"added" color. Many more "added" colors were employed at
different periods, like logwood and fustic, with the incorporation of sugar,
glucose, etc. In the early fifties the cheap grades of logwood ink after the
formula of Runge (1848) and which cost about four cents per gallon was
marketed, principally for school purposes; it was never satisfactory, becoming
thick and "color fading." Mr. Davids made many experiments with "alizarin"
inks in the early sixties but did not consider them valuable enough to put on
the market. In 1875 the firm introduced violet ink made from the aniline color
of that name. Experimentations in 1878 with the insoluble aniline blacks and
vanadium were unsuccessful; but the soluble aniline black (blue-black) known as
nigrosine they used and still use in various combinations. During this long
period their establishments have been in different locations. From No. 222
William street it was changed to Eighth street, with the office at No. 26 Cliff
street. In 1854 the works were removed to New Rochelle, Westchester county, N.
Y. In 1856 the firm name was Thaddeus Davids and Co., Mr. George Davids having
been admitted as a partner and their warehouse and offices at this time were
located at Nos. 127 and 129 William street, where a business of enormous
proportions, which includes the manufacture of thirty-three inks and other
products, is still carried on at the present day under the name and style of
"Thaddeus Davids, Co." The old "Davids’ Steel Pen Ink"
continues to be manufactured from the original formula and is the only
tanno-gallate of iron ink they make, without "added" color.
The Paris house of
"Antoine" as manufacturers of writing inks dates from 1840. They are
best known as the makers of the French copying ink, of a violet-black color,
made from logwood, which was first put on the market in 1853 under the name of
Encres Japonaise. In 1860 an agency was established in New York City. They make
a large variety of writing inks but do not offer for sale a tanno-gallate of
iron ink without "added" color.
"Carter’s"
inks came into notoriety in 1861, by the introduction of a "combined
writing and copying ink," of the gall and iron type and included
"added " color. It was the first innovation of this character. At the
end of the Civil War, John W. Carter of Boston, who had been an officer of the
regular army, purchased an interest in the business, associating with himself
Mr. J. P. Dinsmore of New York, the firm being known as Carter, Dinsmore &
Co., Boston, Mass. In 1895 Mr. Carter died and Mr. Dinsmore retired from the
business. The firm was then incorporated under the style of "The Carter’s
Ink Co." They do an immense business and make all kinds of ink. Of the
logwoods, "Raven Black" is best known. When the state of
Massachusetts in 1894 decided that recording officers must use a
"gall" ink made after an official formula, they competed with other
manufacturers for the privilege of supplying such an ink and won it. They do
not offer for sale, however, "gall" ink without added color. Their
laboratories are magnificently equipped; the writer has had the pleasure of
collaborating with several of their expert chemists.
The "Fabers,"
who date back to the year 1761, are known all over the world as lead pencil
makers. They also manufacture many inks and have done so since 1881, when they
built now factories at Noisy-le-Sac, near Paris. Blue-black and violet-black
writing and copying inks of the class made by the "Antoines" are the
principal kinds. They do not offer for sale, tanno-gallate of iron ink without
"added" color. A branch house in New York City has remained since
1843.
"Stafford’s"
violet combined writing and copying ink was first placed on the New York market
in 1869, though it was in 1858 that Mr. S. S. Stafford, the founder of the
house, began the manufacture of inks, which he has continued to do to the
present day. His chemical writing fluids are very popular, but he does not make
a tanno-gallate of iron ink without "added" color, for the trade.
Charles M. Higgins of
Brooklyn, N. Y., in 1880 commenced the manufacture of "carbon" inks
for engrossing, architectural and engineering purposes, and has succeeded in
producing an excellent liquid "Indian" ink, which will not lose its
consistency if kept from the air. It can also be used as a writing ink, if
thinned down with water. He does not make a tanno-gallate of iron ink without
"added" color.
Maynard and Noyes,
whose inks were much esteemed in this section for over fifty years, is no
longer in business, as is the case with many others well known during the first
half of the nineteenth century.
The enormous quantities
of ink of every color, quality and description made in the United States almost
surpasses belief. It is said that the output for home consumption alone exceeds
twelve millions of gallons per annum, and for export three thousand gallons per
annum.
It is very safe to
affirm that less than 1/50 of 1 per cent of this quantity represents a tanno-gallate
of iron ink without "added" color. Most colored inks and
"gall" ones which possess "added" color if placed on paper
under ordinary conditions will not be visible a hundred years hence.
This statement of mine
might be considered altogether paradoxical were it not for associated
evidential facts, which by proving themselves have established its correctness
and truth. To repeat one of them is to refer to the report of Professors Baird
and Markoe, who examined for the state of Massachusetts all the commercial inks
on the market at that time.
"As a conclusion, since the great mass of inks on the market are
not suitable for records, because of their lack of body and because of the
quantity of unstable color which they contain, and because the few whose
coloring matters are not objectionable are deficient in gall and iron or both,
we would strongly recommend that the State set its own standard for the
composition of inks to be used in its offices and for its records." An official ink modelled somewhat after the
formula employed by the government of Great Britain was contracted for by the
state of Massachusetts. It read as follows:
"Take of pure, dry tannic acid, 23.4 parts by weight. of crystal
gallic acid, 7.7 parts. of ferrous sulphate, 30.0 parts. of gum arabic, 10.0
parts. of diluted hydrochloric acid, 25.0 parts. of carbolic acid, 1.0 part. of
water, sufficient to make up the mixture at the temperature of 60° F. to the
volume of 1,000 parts by weight of water." Such
an ink prepared after this receipt would be a strictly pure tanno-gallate of
iron ink without any "added" color whatever.
The estimation in which
such an ink is held by the majority of the ink manufacturers is best
illustrated by quoting from two of the most prominent ones, and thus enable the
reader to draw his own conclusions.
"We do not make a tanno-gallate of iron ink without added color,
and so far as we know, there is no such ink on the market, as it would be
practically colorless and illegible." *
* * * * * *
"There is no such ink (a tanno-gallate of iron ink without added
color) manufactured by any ink-maker as far as I know. It is obsolete." The commercial names bestowed on the
multitude of different inks placed on the market by manufacturers during the
last century are in the thousands. A few of them are cited as indicative of
their variety, some of which are still sold under these names.
Kosmian Safety Fluid,
Bablah Ink, Universal Jet Black, Treasury Ledger Fluid, Everlasting Black Ink,
Raven-Black Ink, Nut-gall Ink, Pernambuco Ink, Blue Post Office Ink,
Unchangeable Black, Document Safety Ink, Birmingham Copying Ink, Commercial
Writing Fluid, Germania Ink, Horticultural Ink, Exchequer Ink, Chesnut Ink,
Carbon Safety Ink, Vanadium Ink, Asiatic Ink, Terra-cotta Ink, Juglandin Ink,
Persian Copying, Sambucin, Chrome Ink, Sloe Ink, Steel Pen Ink, Japanese Ink,
English Office Ink, Catechu Ink, Chinese Blue Ink, Alizarin Ink, School Ink,
Berlin Ink, Resin Ink, Water-glass Ink, Parisian Ink, Immutable Ink, Graphite
Ink, Nigrilin Ink, Munich Ink, Electro-Chemical, Egyptian Black,
"Koal" Black Ink, Ebony Black Ink, Zulu Black, Cobalt Black, Maroon
Black, Aeilyton Copying, Dichroic, Congress Record, Registration, "Old
English," etc.
The list of over 200
names, which follow, includes those of manufacturers of the best known foreign
and domestic "black" inks and "chemical writing fluids" in
use during the past century, as well as those of the present time.
AdrianaDelarve
HuntAllfieldDelangHydeAndersonDerheimsJahnAntoineDizeJamesArnaudonDraperJoyArnoldDruckKarmarschArtusDuhaldeKasleteyerBalladeDumasKindtBallandeDumovlenKlaprothBarnesDunandKloenBartDunlapKnafflBartramEllisKnechtBeaurElsnerLanauxBehrensFaberLanetBelmondiFaucherLarenaudiereBerzeliusFauxLemancyBizangerFeatherstoneLenormandBlackwoodFesneauLeonhardiBlairFontenelleLewisBolleyFordLey
KaufBonneyFourmentinLinkBossinFreemanLipowitzBoswellFuchsLorméBöttgerGaffardLuhringBoutenguyGastaldiLyonsBraconnotGeisslerMacCulloghBrandeGeoffroyMackensieBufeuGobelMathieuBuftonGooldMaurinBureGoupeirMaynard
and
NoyesCarterGrasseMelvilleCawGreenMendesCellierGuesnevilleMeremeeChampionGullierMergetChaptalGuyonMinetChevallierGuyotMollerClarkeHaenlesMooreCloseHagerMordanCochraneHaldatMoserCollinHanleMorrellCookeHareMozardCoupier
and
CollinsHarrisonMurrayCoxeHausmanNashCrockHeerenNissenCrossHenryOhmeDarcetHerepathOttDavidsHevrantPaulDavisHigginsPayenDelunelHogyPerry
PeltzSanfordThomasPetibeauSchaffgotochThumannPlatzerSchleckumToddPlisseySchmidtTomkinsPomeroySchoffernTriallePonceletScottTriestProlliusSeldrakeTrommsdorffProustSelmiUnderwoodPusherSimonValletRappSouberinVan
MoosReadeSouirsseanVogelRedwoodStaffordWagnerReidStarkWalkdenReinigiSteinWallachReinmannStephensWaterlousRheinfeldStevensWindsor
and
NewtonRibaucourtSyuckerbuykWinternitzRickerSwanWoodmanseeRoderTabuyWorthingtonRuhrTarlingRungeThackerCHAPTER XXIII.
CHEMICO-LEGAL INK.
ESTIMATED VALUE OF
SCIENTIFIC EVIDENCE AS HELD BY THE COURT OF APPEALS--NOW BEYOND THE PURVIEW OF
CRITICISM--VERDICTS IN THE TRIALS OF CAUSES AFFECTED BY SUCH EVIDENCE--LENGTH
OF TIME NECESSARY TO OVERCOME PREJUDICE AND IGNORANCE--WHERE OBJECTIONS TO SUCH
EVIDENCE EMANATE-- SOME OBSERVATIONS ABOUT SUCH EVIDENCE GENERALLY--WHEN
PRECEDENT WAS MADE TO CHEMICALLY EXAMINE A COURT EXHIBIT BEFORE TRIAL--THE
CONTROVERSY IN WHICH JUDGE RANSOM MADE THIS NEW DEPARTURE--CITATION OF THE CASE
AND ITS OUTCOME--DECISION IN THE GORDON WILL CASE OBTAINED BY THE SCIENTIFIC
EVIDENCE--COMPLETE STORY ABOUT IT--HISTORY OF THE DIMON WILL CASE AND HOW
CHEMISTRY MADE IT POSSIBLE TO CONSIDER IT--OPINION OF JUDGE INGRAHAM--PEOPLE OF
THE STATE OF NEW YORK V. CODY--THE ATTEMPT TO PROVE AN ALLEGED
"GOULD" BIRTH CERTIFICATE GENUINE, FRUSTRATED BY CHEMICAL
EVIDENCE--THE DEFENDANT CONVICTED--THE PEOPLE V. KELLAM--CHEMICAL EVIDENCE
MAKES THE TRUTH KNOWN--THE HOLT WILL CASE AND THE EVIDENCE WHICH AFFECTED ITS
RESULT--THE TIGHE WILL CASE--OPINION OF JUDGE FITZGERALD.
"The administration of justice profits by the progress of science,
and its history shows it to have been almost the earliest in antagonism to
popular delusion and superstition. The revelations of the microscope are
constantly resorted to in protection of individual and public interests. . . .
If they are relied upon as agencies for accurate mathematical results in
mensuration and astronomy, there is no reason why they should be deemed
unreliable in matters of evidence. Wherever what they disclose can aid or
elucidate the just determination of legal controversies there can be no
well-founded objection to resorting to them." Frank v. Chemical Nat. Bank,
37 Superior Court (J. & S.) 34, affirmed in Court of Appeals, 84 N. Y. 209. THIS decision by a final court of
adjudicature, expresses in no uncertain terms the now generally estimated value
of evidence which science may reveal. The importance which that branch of it
denominated "Chemico-legal ink" has attained and its utilization in
many trials of causes both civil as well as criminal, places it beyond the
purview of criticism or objection. With the introduction of a new class of inks
in the last two decades, its scope has been much broadened.
Innumerable verdicts by
juries wherever the system prevails, all over the world, the opinions of
learned judges, whether presiding during a jury trial or sitting alone, more or
less affected by this character of evidence, presents fairly the trend of the
views of the public mind respecting it.
Constant experiment and
successful demonstrations, covering a period of over fifty years, was necessary
to overcome prevailing prejudices and ignorance.
The conditions to-day,
which happily obtain, are that the objection to the introduction of such
evidence finds its source usually in the side seeking to obscure and hide the
truth or facts, while the honest litigant or innocent individual hastens to
advocate its employment.
Another feature worthy
of consideration is that persons who possess intimate knowledge of ink
chemistry and who might otherwise successfully perpetrate fraud if opportunity
presented itself, refrain from making the attempt because of that very
knowledge, which is sufficient also to teach them of the possible exposure of
their efforts. Again, they and others are aware of the reliance placed on
chemico-legal evidence as an aid to the cause of justice by courts and juries
and this is an added reason why they hesitate to take chances. These
propositions being true, they establish another one, viz: that most of the
attempted frauds at the present time in this connection, are by the ignorant
and those whose conceit does not permit them to believe that any one knows more
than themselves.
Chemico-legal ink
evidence as before stated has been employed in the trials of causes for many
years; but it was not until the year 1889 that a precedent was established for
the chemical examination of a suspected document preceding any trial. The honor
of this departure from the ordinary modes of procedure belongs to the Hon.
Rastus S. Ransom, who was surrogate of the county of New York at the time.
The matter in
controversy was an alleged will executed in triplicate by one Thomas J. Monroe.
Charges were made that the three wills were spurious, as they were facsimiles
of each other. It was for the main purpose of determining the methods of their
make-up that Judge Ransom rendered the opinion and made the order for its
chemical examination which is cited in full:
Estate of Thomas J. Monroe.--"This is an application by the special
guardian and contestant in this proceeding, which is now pending before the
assistant, for leave to photograph the various papers which have been filed as
the will of the deceased, and to compel the filing of two parts of one of said
wills, which was executed in triplicate; likewise that the last paper be
subjected to chemical tests for the purpose of disclosing the nature of the
composition of the ink and the process or processes to which it has been
subjected.
"Upon the oral argument the surrogate decided the applications
first stated in favor of the petitioner, reserving only the question of his
power to direct or permit the chemical tests. The special guardian on the oral
argument stated that he was unable, to find any authority for the application.
"Consultation of the various sources of authority upon the subject
of expert testimony and the various tests for the purpose of establishing or
disproving handwriting has not resulted in the discovery of any authority for
granting the application. It is apparent, however, from some of the cases that
such an examination must have been permitted; for instance, in Fulton v. Hood
(34th Penn. State Reports, 365), expert testimony was received in corroboration
of positive evidence to prove that the whole of an instrument was written by
the same hand, with the same ink, and at the same time. It is inconceivable how
testimony of any value could be given as to the character of ink with which an
instrument was written, unless it had been subjected to a chemical test. The
writer of a valuable article in the eighteenth volume of the American Law
Register, page 281 (R. U. Piper, an eminent expert of Chicago, Ill.), in
commenting upon the rule as stated in the case of Fulton v. Hood (supra), very
properly says:
" ’Microscopical and chemical tests may be competent to settle the
question, but these should not be received as evidence, I think, unless the
expert is able to show to the court and the jury the actual results of his
examination, and also to explain his methods, so that they can be fully
understood.’
"The writer of this article is also authority for the statement
that in the French Courts every manipulation or experiment necessary to
elucidate the truth in the case, even to the destruction of the document in
question, is allowed, the Court, as a matter of precaution, being first supplied
with a certified copy of the same.
"The most obvious argument to be urged against allowing a chemical
test to be made on a will, and one that was suggested by the court on the
argument of this motion, is that, inasmuch as the paper may be the subject of future
controversy in this or some other tribunal, future litigants should not be
prejudiced by any alteration or manipulation of the instrument. I do not think,
however, that this objection is sound. Take an extreme case, of permitting a
sufficient amount of the ink (which the affidavit of the expert shows to be but
infinitesimal) for the purpose of chemical examination; the form of the letter
would remain upon the paper; if not, the form and appearance of the entire
signature might, as a preliminary precaution, be preserved by photography. The
portion of the signature remaining would afford ample material for future
experiments and investigations in subsequent proceedings wherein it might be
deemed advisable to take that course.
"Because the subject matter of the controversy may be litigated
hereafter should not deprive parties in the proceeding of any rights which they
would otherwise have. They certainly are entitled to all rights in this
proceeding that the parties to any future proceedings would have. Besides, all
the parties whose presence would be necessary to an adjudication in, for
example, an ejectment proceeding, are (or their privies are) parties here. It
certainly cannot be that the law, seeking the truth, will not avail itself of
this scientific method of ascertaining the genuineness of the instrument
because of some problematical effect upon the rights or opportunities of
parties to future litigations respecting the same instrument. The possibilities
of litigation over a will are almost infinite, and if such a rule should obtain
this important channel of investigation would be closed. Suppose the same
objection were raised to the first action of ejectment which might be brought,
it might then with the same force be urged that parties to some future
ejectment suit would be prejudiced by a chemical test of the ink used in the
will, and so on ad infinitum.
"By not availing itself of this method of ascertaining the truth as
to the character of the ink, the Court deprives itself of a species of evidence
which amounts to practical demonstration.
"I can see no reason why the application should not be
granted." The order in part reads:
"It is ordered and directed that Charles H. Beckett, the special
guardian aforesaid, be and he hereby is allowed permission to photograph the
aforesaid paper writings described in said order to show cause, viz., one of
the two parts of a triplicate Will of Thomas J. Monroe, deceased, dated
February 10th, 1873, which were filed in the office of the Surrogate of the
City and County of New York on or about the 9th day of May, 1889, and also the
contested Will herein dated March 27th and June 1st, 1888, and to have the said
paper writing, bearing date March 22d and June 1st, 1888, subjected to such
chemical test or tests as shall disclose the nature of the composition of the
ink and, if possible, the process or processes to which it has been subjected,
if any.
"And it is further ordered and directed that such chemical test be
applied to the ink or writing fluid on said alleged Will to the following
specified portion, or any part of such portions, viz." Specifications in minute detail follow,
calling attention to the words and spaces which are permitted to be chemically
tested, and then continues:
"And it is further ordered and directed that the said paper
writings shall be photographed before any chemical tests are applied thereto.
"And it is further ordered and directed that such photographing and
chemical tests be performed by David N. Carvalho, Esq., a proper and suitable
person, at the places above indicated respectively, between the 10th and the
20th days of June, 1889, inclusive, in the presence of the parties in interest
or their attorneys, upon at least two days’ notice to all parties herein or
their attorneys.
"And it is further ordered and directed that in the event of
destruction or breaking of the negatives after such paper writings have been
photographed, the said special guardian, upon similar notice, shall have leave
to re-photograph the said paper writings, at the same place and by the said
David N. Carvalho, between the 10th and 20th days of June, 1889, inclusive.
"(Signed) RASTUS S. RANSOM, "Surrogate." On the 19th of June, 1889, pursuant to
the order of the court, the alleged will referred to was first photographed,
and later in that day such places as had been designated in the order were
chemically treated, as part of a series of experiments. The results obtained
briefly summarized were as, follows: The instrument which purported to be a
holographic will of Thomas J. Monroe the experiments showed conclusively to be
not the case, as neither pen nor ink in the body writing portion or in the
decedent’s signature had ever touched the paper; the date and names of the
witnesses thereon were written, however, with pen and ink. Furthermore, the
experiments demonstrated beyond question that exclusive of its date and names
of witnesses, that it was what is commonly known as a transfer taken from a
gelatine pad (hektograph), a method of duplicating popularly in vogue at that
time. The deduced facts in the matter being that Thomas J. Monroe had written
his will in an aniline purple ink, to which he had appended his name, leaving
blank spaces to be filled in for the date, names of witnesses, etc., and had
transferred the same to a hektograph, from which he had taken a number of
duplicate facsimile copies, and at some other time had filled in the blank
spaces by ordinary methods and to which, at his request, the names of the
witnesses had been written with a pen and ink. In the trial which followed the
surrogate declined to sustain the allegation of the proponents that the alleged
signature was the original writing of Thomas J. Monroe, or indeed of any
person. The will was not admitted to probate.
Experiments, both in
open court or during its sessions in the testing of ink and paper,
microscopically and chemically, are of frequent occurrence, and many contests
involving enormous interests have been more or less decided as the result of
them.
The contest of the
alleged will of George P. Gordon, tried before the late Chancellor McGill of
New Jersey in 1891, illustrates in a remarkable degree just how certain are the
results of investigations of this character. The chancellor’s decision, after
listening to testimony for many weeks, was in effect to declare the will a
forgery, largely because of the fact that the premise on which it rested was a
so-called draft, from which it was sworn it had been copied. The ink on this
draft it was proved could not have had an existence. until many years after the
date of the forged will.
The decedent, who died
in 1878, was the inventor of a famous printing press, and left a large fortune.
A will offered for
probate soon after the death of Gordon was not probated, owing to the discovery
that the witnesses had not signed it in each other’s presence. The principal
beneficiaries, however, under that will, the widow and daughter of Gordon,
agreed to a division of the estate which was satisfactory to the other heirs at
law, and the matter apparently was settled.
But a retired lawyer
named Henry C. Adams began in 1879, a year after Gordon’s death, to endeavor to
obtain the assistance of some heirs at law in an enterprise which was finally
ended only when Chancellor McGill’s decision was rendered.
In 1868 Adams lived
with his father and brothers on a farm, near Rahway, N. J., adjoining the
Gordon place. The two men became well acquainted through their common interest
in music. Adams called upon A. Sidney Doane, a nephew of Gordon, and told him
that Gordon had made a will in 1868 which might be found or if lost,
established by means of a draft of it which he (Adams) had retained. Mr. Doane
refused to act upon this proposition. Then Adams presented the matter to
Guthbert O. Gordon, a brother to George P. Gordon. He declined to consider the
proposed search for a new will. Adams then wrote to Guthbert Gordon, Jr.,
cautioning him to say nothing to any one, but to come and see him. Guthbert
Gordon, Jr., declined to accept Adams’s invitation for a secret conference.
Adams did not write or communicate with the widow or daughter of George P.
Gordon, or with any of the officials or other persons who dealt with the
estate. Finding that the heirs at law were satisfied with the arrangement of
the estate under Gordon’s daughter’s management, he gave up his efforts at that
time.
In 1890 Mary Agnes
Gordon, the daughter, died in Paris, and remittances from her ceasing and her
will not being satisfactory to those who had been receiving them from her,
another contest was begun. This caused a renewal of Adams’s activity. In 1890
he wrote to Messrs. Black & King, a firm of lawyers who represented the
contestants of Mary Agnes Gordon’s will. Adams’s letter to the law firm
contained this expression:
"If one of you will come over here on Sunday morning, bringing no
brass band, fife or drums, I will tell you something worth knowing." Mr. King visited Adams, who was then
living at Orange, N. J., and was told by him that Mr. Gordon had executed a
will in 1868 which he (Adams) had drawn at Gordon’s instance, and that he had
retained a corrected draft from which the will itself had been copied. He also
told King that the original will after its execution had been left with his
father, and that it must be at his father’s homestead near Rahway, where he
would try to find it. A few days later he wrote to Black & King that the
will had been found, and the next day went with the lawyers to Rahway and
identified the package found by his brother Edward Adams, who occupied the Rahway
farm, as that which contained the will. The package, unopened, was taken to a
safe deposit company and the original draft was deposited with the secretary of
state. The alleged will, which Chancellor McGill pronounced a forgery when
finally opened in the preliminary probate proceedings, was found to be a very
long and complicated document, written on blue paper in black ink. The draft,
which was on white paper, was also written in the main in black ink, but a
copious quantity of red ink had been used in interlineations. The significant
paragraph of the new will was a direction to his heirs to purchase, if the
testator had not succeeded in doing so before his death, the Henry Adams farm
for $32,000. Minute directions were given to insure the purchase, but no lower
price than $32,000 was mentioned. Commenting upon this Chancellor McGill’s
remarks:
"It is also to be here noted that the Adams farm is now scarcely
worth one-third the price for which it is directed to be purchased." Continuing the court says:
"The only living person who professes to have had knowledge of this
disputed paper prior to November, 1890, is Henry C. Adams. He most clearly and
positively testified that he drew the disputed paper at the instance of Mr.
Gordon. He produced a draft from which he said it was copied. . . . I have
already stated that Mr. Adams testified most positively when the draft of the
disputed paper was offered in evidence that it was the identical document from
which the will of 1868 had been copied, and it is to be remembered that the
interlineations in that draft are almost all made with red ink, and that Mr.
Adams testified that those interlineations existed when the will was copied
from the draft. With a view to testing the truth of this testimony the contestants
submitted the draft to scientific experts, who pronounced the red ink to be a
product of eosine, a substance invented by a German chemist named Caro in the
year 1874, and after that time imported to this country. At first it was sold
for $125 a pound, and was so expensive it could not be used commercially in the
manufacture of ink. Afterwards the price was so greatly reduced that it became
generally used in making red ink. It is distinguished by a peculiar bronze cast
that is readily detected. It was recognized in the red ink interlineations in
the draft of the disputed paper produced by Mr. Adams by a number of scientific
gentlemen, among whom were some of the best known ink manufacturers in the
country, and Mr. Carl Pickhardt, who first imported eosine. Upon further
examination the witness, Adams, said he thought the draft produced to be the
original until he saw the will on blue paper, and that then he was perplexed,
but dismissed his doubt upon the suggestion of counsel, but afterward he
thought upon the subject ‘in the vigils of the night,’ but by an unfortunate
coincidence did not reach substantial doubt enough to correct his previous
testimony until after the testimony concerning the character of the red ink he
had used in interlining had been produced. . . . It is impossible to study this
remarkable case at this point without grave doubts as to the truthfulness of
Mr. Adams, and indeed as to the frankness with which the case was produced in
court in behalf of the proponents." As
to Adams as a witness, the court finally says:
"And as I read the confused answers of Mr. Adams and note his
apparent misapprehension of questions that would tend to involve him, and note
the apparent failure of his theretofore wonderfully clear and exact memory of
the most trivial and unimportant details, I am inclined to reject the whole
story as a fabrication that has been punctured and fallen to pieces. . . . I
find it to be impossible to rely upon the testimony of Henry C. Adams.
Excluding it the will is not proved. . . .
"I will deny probate, revoking that which I have heretofore granted
in common form." * * * * *
* *
In the attempt made to
prove the alleged last will and testament of Stephen C. Dimon, deceased,
chemistry was the all-determining factor in the most important branch of the
case. The peculiar features of this remarkable and unique case are best
described by presenting them with a brief history of the entire matter.
In 1884 Stephen C.
Dimon of the city of New York made and executed a will, choosing as legatee and
executrix a Mrs. Martha Keery. The will he intrusted to the custody of his
counsel. It appeared. that some time during the following year his attorney
transferred this will from its resting place in a desk drawer to a new safe and
recalled having seen its envelope a year later, but said he never saw the will
thereafter.
In 1893 Mr. Dimon died.
No will being produced, his brother took, out letters of administration.
Whereupon Mrs. Martha Keery commenced a suit against the brother and the next of
kin he represented, in an effort to obtain the dead man’s estate. She based her
claim solely on the lost will, the contents of which were recalled in the trial
by Mr. Dimon’s former counsel, who was also one of the witnesses to the lost
will. During the course of the trial in the Supreme Court, presided over by
Justice George L. Ingraham, Mrs. Keery’s attorney produced a mutilated document
which from its reading indicated that it had once been a will, though not the
"lost" one. But the names of the legatee, executrix, testator, names
of witnesses and their addresses were completely obliterated. The written
portions still undisturbed showed it to be in the handwriting of Stephen C.
Dimon. Mrs. Keery’s story was that after the death of Mr. Dimon in going over
an old coat formerly worn by him, she had found it in a side pocket and had
given it to her counsel just as it came into her hands.
Its condition showed it
to be considerably pocket-worn. The obliterations referred to represented huge
blots of black ink covering a lot of scratches and making it impossible to
decipher the under writing. Defendant’s Counsel immediately requested that the
document be turned over to an expert, to see what could be done with it. The
judge granted the motion and adjourned the case for several days to await
results.
Counsel on both sides
joined in the selection of myself. Three days were occupied in its
decipherment. The will occupied two sides of a full sheet of legal cap. The
original ink which was employed in the writing of the will was of pale gray
color. The first obliterations were a series of pen and ink scratches and marks
which destroyed the writing. Not satisfied with them the operator had with a
saturated piece of blotting paper, brushed over the scratches and as that ink
was of good quality every mark of writing had disappeared in the jumble and
blots. It so happened that three inks had been employed. The original ink, the
ink used for scratching and the one employed to do the blotting. The three inks
were happily mixtures containing different constituents, and so by utilizing
the reagent of one which did not affect the other, gradually the encrusted
upper inks were removed and later the original writing appeared sufficiently
plain not only to be read but to identify it. Photographs made before and after
the chemical experiments, permitted court and counsel to make their own
comparisons during the giving of the testimony about it.
It permitted also the
finding of the two witnesses who lived outside of the city and to learn many
details from them as to Mr. Dimon’s conduct in the matter.
The restored will
showed that Mrs. Keery at its date (1891) was still in his mind, and its
destruction by himself--that he had changed his mind.
Justice Ingraham
completes his opinion in deciding the case as follows:
"In this case, however, the long time that elapsed between the time
of the delivery of the will to Mr. Morgan and the death of the testator, the
absence of my satisfactory proof of the existence of the will from the time it
was delivered to Mr. Morgan to the time of the testator’s death, and the fact
that the testator made another will, making substantially the same disposition
of the property, which he subsequently destroyed, all tend to cast a doubt upon
the fact that the will was in existence at the time of the testator’s death,
and there is positively no evidence that it was ever fraudulently destroyed.
"I do not think the court is justified in diverting a large sum of
money from those legally entitled to it, by allowing, a lost will to be proved,
except upon the clearest and most satisfactory evidence of the existence of the
will at the time of the testator’s death. And the testimony in this case falls
short of what I consider necessary to establish such a will.
"There should be, therefore, judgment for the defendants with
costs." * * * * * * *
A case of considerable
interest was tried before Hon. Clifford D. Gregory in the month of March, 1899,
in the city of Albany, New York. It was entitled the "People of the State
of New York against Margaret E. Cody," as charged with the crime of
blackmail, in the sending of a letter to Mr. George J. Gould, in which she
threatened to divulge certain information which she claimed to possess about
his dead father, Jay Gould. The character of this information was such that if
true it meant that Jay Gould and his wife had lived in bigamous relations
during a great number of years preceding their death and hence also affected
the legitimacy of the entire Gould family. Mrs. Cody asserted that Jay Gould
was married to a Mrs. Angel some time in 1853, and that as a result of that
"lawful" marriage she gave birth to a daughter, a Mrs. Pierce, who
was still alive and living somewhere in the west. As Mrs. Cody offered to sell
or secrete the information which she said she possessed for a consideration,
Mr. George J. Gould and his sister, Miss Helen Gould, instantly determined that
it could be nothing else than a clear case of an attempt at blackmail, which
falsely impugned the reputations of their dead parents. They instituted
criminal proceedings against Mrs. Cody, charging that Mrs. Cody when she wrote
the letter well knew that her claim that his father had been married to Mrs.
Angel and that Mrs. Pierce was their daughter, was absolutely false. Two trials
followed, the first in 1898 in which the jury disagreed, and a second one in
1899 which lasted over a week. It was in the second trial that chemical tests
on a certain entry in a church record in the presence of the jury were made,
which showed conclusively that ancient writing of another character than that
which had been substituted was still existent beneath the writing which was
apparent to the naked eye.
The following are
excerpts of the judge’s charge to the jury:
"I wish to invite your attention, for a few moments, to the
baptismal certificate. You have had produced here before you the original
baptismal record of the church at Cooperville. It has been substantially
admitted, in the arguments of this case, that there has been a change made in
this certificate. I do not think that the District Attorney claims that there
is any evidence that Mrs. Cody herself changed this record; there is no claim,
as I understand it, made by the prosecuting officer that she went there and
obtained this book, and with her own hand changed this record; but he asks you
to infer and find from the evidence that has been given, that she was a party
to this change, that she was privy to this change, and that knowing that fact
she had guilty knowledge when she wrote the letter upon which the indictment is
based.
"You will remember that Mr. Carvalho, the expert in handwriting,
was placed upon the stand; and he has testified in your presence as to his
qualifications in determining disputed handwritings, and what his experience
has been during a long series of years. He tells you that he has examined this
record, and that there is no question but some of the words have been erased
and others substituted in their places. He tells you that the words ‘Jay Goulds’
were not the original words in the certificate, or if they were, the present ‘Jay
Goulds,’ as they appear in the certificate, have been forged; that the words ‘Mary
S. Brown,’ the ‘sex mois,’ the French words for six months, and other changes
which he has described to you are forgeries.
"I shall submit to you, as a question of fact, whether or not Mrs.
Cody had any knowledge or took any part, or authorized or connived at any of
the changes made in this certificate. I do not say that she did; I leave it to
you to say, from the evidence in this case, whether your minds are convinced
that she had any part or parcel, or undertook in any way to accomplish the
changes which have been made in this baptismal record. And if you find as
matter of fact that she had such knowledge at the time this letter was written;
if you find as matter of fact she had this information given to her by Mrs.
Angel, then I leave it to you to say whether she had such knowledge, such
guilty knowledge, as should prevent her, if acting honestly, from writing a
letter such as has been described here and contained in the indictment." The jury brought in a verdict of
guilty.
In the trial of the
People v. David L. Kellam (1895), who was charged with altering the dates of
three notes for $6,000 each, the contention of the prosecution was that the
dates of the notes had been changed by chemicals, and with the consent of the
defense a reagent was applied to the suspected places and the original dates
restored. The verdict of the jury was guilty.
In the Holt Will case,
tried in Washington, D. C., in the month of June, 1896, great stress was laid
on the fact of the difference in the admixture of inks found on letters
contemporaneous with the date of the will, and it was asserted also that the
ink with which the will was written was not in existence at the time it was
alleged to have been made, June 14, 1873, and probably not earlier than ten
years later. Furthermore, that it was a habit of Judge Holt up to the time of
his death, which habit was illustrated in his writings and correspondence to
"sand" his writing. The jury decided the will was a forgery.
Another famous case in
which the scientific testimony about ink and pencil writing must have assisted
the court in arriving at a conclusion was in the trial of the famous Tighe will
contest, tried before Hon. Frank T. Fitzgerald, one of the present surrogates
of the county of New York. The story of this case is incorporated in the
opinion which is cited in part:
"Hon. Frank T. Fitzgerald, Surrogate of the county of New York:
"That Richard Tighe died on the 6th day of May, 1896, at No. 32
Union Square, in the city and county of New York, where he had lived for fifty
years prior to his death, and was at the time of his death over ninety years.
"That the testator, on or about the 27th day of March, 1884, in the
presence of the attesting witnesses, duly signed the instrument in writing, and
duly published and declared the same to be his last will and testament, and
requested said witnesses to witness the same, and pursuant to such request said
attesting witnesses did subscribe said will as attesting witnesses. That at the
time said Richard Tighe so signed, published and declared the said instrument
to be his last will and testament, the said Richard Tighe was in all respects
competent to execute the same, and was not under any restraint or undue
influence. That the said instrument, so signed, published and declared by
testator was and consisted of the identical sheets of paper and the identical
writing now appearing upon the same as to all except pencil writing; the
testator did not publish or declare the marks, words or figures written in or
upon said instrument in pencil to be a part of his last will and testament, and
it is not found that such marks, words or figures were upon said instrument at
the time when said instrument was so published and declared to be the last will
and testament of the testator. That the said last will and testament is written
consecutively upon two sheets of legal cap paper.
"That the said last will and testament was originally prepared with
blank spaces left for the insertion of the numbers of shares intended to be
bequeathed and devised to the various beneficiaries named therein, and as so
prepared was in the hand-writing of Caroline S. Tighe, the wife of testator,
and that at some subsequent time and before the execution of the said
instrument by the said Richard Tighe, the blank spaces hereinafter referred to
as filled in in ink, were filled in by or under the direction of the testator.
Upon said instrument as offered for probate there appears in the blanks
originally left thereon, in some instances, pencil writings superimposed over
other pencil writings, which have been either wholly or partially erased, and
in other instances ink writing different from the body of the instrument in the
material employed, appearing over pencil writings wholly or partially
obliterated. . .
"That the said
words written in ink filling such blanks as aforesaid expressed the final
determination of the testator with regard to the beneficiaries to whom the same
applied; and that the words and figures written in pencil filling such blanks
as aforesaid were written only deliberately and tentatively and that as to
those words and figures the testator had not at the time when he executed,
published or declared said instrument to be his last will and testament
determined as to whom or in what proportions he would give the several shares
of his estate and property covered by said words and figures, but the testator
attempted and intended to reserve to himself the power of making disposition of
said shares thereafter, and intended the final disposition thereof to be in ink
writing. . . ."CHAPTER
XXIV. CHEMICO-LEGAL INK (CONTINUED).
FAMOUS CASE OF CRITTEN
V. CHEMICAL NATIONAL BANK--STORY OF THE CASE INCLUDED IN THE OPINION OF THE
COURT OF APPEALS AS WRITTEN BY JUSTICE EDGAR M. CULLEN--THE PINKERTON CASE OF
"BECKER"--STORY OF HOW HE SECURED $20,000 THROUGH THE ALTERATION OF A
$12 CHECK--BECKER’S COMMENTS ABOUT HIMSELF--A CRITICISM OF BECKER AND HIS
WORK--NAMES OF SOME CASES IN WHICH CHEMICAL EVIDENCE WAS PRESENTED TO COURTS
AND JURIES.
THE books contain no
clearer or more forcible exposition of "Chemico-legal" ink, in its
relationship to facts adduced from illustrated scientific testimony, than is to
be found in the final opinion written by that eminent jurist Hon. Edgar M.
Cullen on behalf of the majority of the Court of Appeals of the State of New
York, in the case of De Frees Critten v. The Chemical National Bank. It was the
author’s privilege to be the expert employed in the lower court about whose
testimony Judge Cullen remarks (N. Y. Rep., 171, p. 223) "The alteration
of the checks by Davis was established beyond contradiction," and again,
p. 227, "The skill of the criminal has kept pace with the advance in
honest arts and a forgery may be made so skillfully as to deceive not only the
bank but the drawer of the check as to the genuineness of his own
signature." The main facts are included in the portion of the opinion
cited:
"The plaintiffs kept a large and active account with the defendant,
and this action is to recover an alleged balance of a deposit due to them from
the bank. The plaintiffs had in their employ a clerk named Davis. It was the
duty of Davis to fill up the checks which it might be necessary for the
plaintiffs to give in the course of business, to make corresponding entries in
the stubs of the check book and present the checks so prepared to Mr. Critten,
one of the plaintiffs, for signature, together with the bills in payment of
which they were drawn. After signing a check Critten would place it and the
bill in an envelope addressed to the proper party, seal the envelope and put it
in the mailing drawer. During the period from September, 1897, to October,
1899, in twenty-four separate instances Davis abstracted one of the envelopes
from the mailing drawer, opened it, obliterated by acids the name of the payee
and the amount specified in the check, then made the check payable to cash and
raised its amount, in the majority of cases, by the sum of $100. He would draw
the money on the check so altered from the defendant bank, pay the bill for
which the check was drawn in cash and appropriate the excess. On one occasion
Davis did not collect the altered check from the defendant, but deposited it to
his own credit in another bank. When a check was presented to Critten for
signature the number of dollars for which it was drawn would be cut in the
check by a punching instrument. When Davis altered a check he would punch a new
figure in front of those already appearing in the check. The checks so altered
by Davis were charged to the account of the plaintiff s, which was balanced
every two months and the vouchers returned to them from the bank. To Davis
himself the plaintiffs, as a rule, intrusted the verification of the bank
balance. This work having in the absence of Davis been committed to another
person, the forgeries were discovered and Davis was arrested and punished. It
is the amount of these forged checks, over and above the sums for which they
were originally drawn, that this action is brought to recover. The defendant
pleaded payment and charged negligence on plaintiff’s part, both in the manner
in which the checks were drawn and in the failure to discover the forgeries
when the pass book was balanced and the vouchers surrendered. On the trial the
alteration of the checks by Davis was established beyond contradiction and the
substantial issue litigated was that of the plaintiff’s negligence. The referee
rendered a short decision in favor of the plaintiffs in which he states as the
ground of his decision that the plaintiffs were not negligent either in signing
the checks as drawn by Davis or in failing to discover the forgeries at an
earlier date than that at which they were made known to them.
"The relation existing between a bank and a depositor being that of
debtor and creditor, the bank can justify a payment on the depositor’s account
only upon the actual direction of the depositor. ‘The question arising on such
paper (checks) between drawee and drawer, however, always relate to what the
one has authorized the other to do. They are not questions of negligence or of
liability to parties upon commercial paper, but are those of authority solely.
The question of negligence cannot arise unless the depositor has in drawing his
cheek left blanks unfilled, or by some affirmative act of negligence has
facilitated the commission of a fraud by those into whose hands the check may
come.’ (Crawford v. West Side Bank, 100 N. Y. 50.) Therefore, when the
fraudulent alteration of the checks was proved, the liability of the bank for
their amount was made out and it was incumbent upon the defendant to establish
affirmatively negligence on the plaintiff’s part to relieve it from the
consequences of its fault or misfortune in paying forged orders. Now, while the
drawer of a check may be liable where he draws the instrument ill such ill
incomplete state as to facilitate or invite fraudulent alterations, it is not
the law that he is bound so to prepare the cheek that nobody else call
successfully tamper with it. (Societê Générale v. Metropolitan Bank, 27 L. T.
[N. S.] 849; Belknap v. National Bank of North America, 100 Mass. 380) In the
present case the fraudulent alteration of the checks was not merely in the
perforation of the additional figure, but in the obliteration of the written
name of the payee and the substitution therefor of the word ‘Cash.’ Against
this latter change of the instrument the plaintiffs could not have been
expected to guard, and without that alteration it would have no way profited
the criminal to raise the amount. . . ." A
Pinkerton case of international repute, best known as the "Becker"
case, included the successful "raising" of a check by chemical means
from $12 to $22,000. The criminal author of this stupendous fraud was Charles
Becker, "king of forgers," who as an all round imitator of any
writing and manipulator of monetary instruments then stood at the head of his
"profession." Arrested and taken to San Francisco he was brought to
trial. Two of his "pals" turned state’s evidence, and Becker was
sentenced to a life term. Through an error on the part of the trial judge he
secured a new trial on an appeal to the Supreme Court. The jury disagreed on a
second trial, but on the third trial he was convicted. Becker pleaded for mercy,
and as he was an old man and showed signs of physical break-down, the court was
lenient with him. Seven years was his sentence.
After his incarceration
in San Quetin prison, he described in one sentence how he had risen to the head
of the craft of forgers. "A world of patience, a heap of time, and good
inks,--that is the secret of my success in the profession."
On completing his
sentence, his reply to the question, "What was the underlying motive which
induced you to forge?" was one word, "Vanity!"
The detailed facts
which follow are from the "American Banker:"
"On December 2, 1895, a smooth-speaking man, under the name of A.
H. Dean, hired an office in the Chronicle building at San Francisco, under the
guise of a merchant broker, paid a month’s rent in advance, and on December 4
he went to the Bank of Nevada and opened an account with $2,500 cash, saying
that his account would run from $2,000 to $30,000, and that he would want no
accommodation. He manipulated the account so as to invite confidence, and on
December 17 he deposited a check or draft of the Bank of Woodland, Cal., upon
its correspondent, the Crocker-Woolworth Bank of San Francisco. The amount was
paid to the credit of Dean, the check was sent through the clearing-house, and
was paid by the Crocker-Woolworth Bank. The next day, the check having been
cleared, Dean called and drew out $20,000, taking the cash in four bags of
gold, the teller not having paper money convenient. He had a vehicle at the
door, with his office boy inside as driver, and away he went. At the end of the
month, when the Crocker-Woolworth Bank made returns to the Woodland Bank, it
included the draft for $22,000. Here the fraud was discovered, and here the
lesson to bankers of advising drafts received a new illustration. The Bank of
Woodland had drawn no such draft, and the only one it had drawn which was not
accounted for was one for twelve dollars, issued in favor of A. H. Holmes to an
innocent-looking man, who, on December 9, called to ask how he could send
twelve dollars to a distant friend, and whether it was better to send a money
order or an express order. When he was told he could send it by bank draft, he
seemed to have learned something new; supposed that he could not get a bank
draft, and he took it, paying the fee. Here came back that innocent
twelve-dollar draft, raised to $22,000, and on its way had cost somebody
$20,000 in gold.
"The almost absolute perfection with which the draft had been
forged had nearly defied the detection of even the microscope. In the body of
the original $12 draft had been the words, ‘Twelve........ Dollars.’ The
forger, by the use of some chemical preparation, had erased the final letters ‘lve’
from the word ‘twelve,’ and had substituted the letters ‘nty-two,’ so that in
place of the ‘twelve,’ is it appeared in the genuine draft, there was the word ‘twenty-two’
in the forged paper.
"In the space between the word ‘twenty-two’ and the word ‘dollars’
the forger inserted the word ‘thousand,’ so that in place of the draft reading ‘twelve
dollars,’ as at first, it read ‘twenty-two thousand dollars,’ as changed.
"In the original $12 draft, the figures ‘1’ and ‘2’ and the
character ‘$’ had been punched so that the combination read ‘$12.’ The forger
had filled in these perforations with paper in such away that the part filled
in looked exactly like the field of the paper. After having filled in the
perforations, he had perforated the paper with the combination, ‘$22,000.’
"The dates, too, had been erased by the chemical process, and in
their stead were dates which would make it appear that the paper bad been
presented for payment within a reasonable length of time after it had been
issued. The dates in the original draft, if left on the forged draft, would
have been liable to arouse suspicion at the bank, for they would have shown
that the holder had departed from custom in carrying, such a valuable paper
more than a few days.
"That was the extent of the forgeries which had been made in the
paper, the manner in which they had been made betrayed the hand of an expert
forger. The interjected hand-writing was so nearly like that in the original
paper that it took a great while to decide whether or not it was a forgery.
"In the places where letters had been erased by the use of
chemicals the coloring of the paper had been restored, so that it was well-nigh
impossible to detect a variance of the hue. It was the work of an artist, with
pen, ink, chemicals, camel’s hair brush, water colors, paper pulp and a
perforating machine. Moreover the crime was eighteen days old, and the forger
might be in Japan or on his way to Europe. The Protective Committee of the
American Bankers’ Association held a hurried consultation as soon as the news
of the forgery reached New York, and orders were given to get this forger,
regardless of expense--he was too dangerous a man to be at large. It was easier
said than done; but the skill of the Pinkertons was aroused and the wires were
made hot getting an accurate description of Dean from all who had seen him.
Suspected bank criminals were shadowed night and day to see if they connected
with any one answering the description, but patient, hard labor for nearly two
months did not seem to promise much." Not
satisfied with their success in San Francisco these same bank workers began a
series of operations in Minneapolis and St. Paul, Minnesota. This information
by chance reached the Pinkertons who laid a trap and captured two of the gang.
Shortly afterward Becker on information furnished by them was also arrested,
taken to California and after three separate trials as before stated, sent to
San Quetin.
This triumph of the
forger’s art, I examined in the city of San Francisco and although it was not,
the first time I had been brought into contact with the work of Becker, was
compelled to admit that this particular specimen was almost perfect and more
nearly so with a single exception than any other which had come under my
observation. Becker was a sort of genius in the juggling of bank checks. He
knew the values of ink and the correct chemical to affect them. His paper mill
was his mouth, in which to manufacture specially prepared pulp to fill in punch
holes, which when ironed over, made it most difficult to detect even with a
magnifying glass. He was able also to imitate water marks and could reproduce
the most intricate designs. He says he has reformed.
During the last twenty
years quite a number of cases have been tried in New York City and vicinity in
which the question of inks was an all important one. The titles of a few not
already referred to are given. herewith: Lawless-Flemming, Albinger Will,
Phelan-Press Publishing Co., Ryold, Kerr-Southwick, N. Y. Dredging Co.,
Thorless-Nernst, Gekouski, Perkins, Bedell forgeries, Storey, Lyddy, Clarke,
Woods, Baker, Trefethen, Dupont-Dubos, Schooley, Humphrey, Dietz-Allen, Carter,
and Rineard-Bowers.
CHAPTER XXV. INK UTENSILS
OF ANTIQUITY.
THE GRAVING TOOL
PRECEDES THE PEN--CLASSIFICATION UNDER TWO HEADS, ONE WHICH SCRATCHED AND THE
OTHER WHICH USED AN INK--THE STYLUS AND THE MATERIALS OF WHICH IT WAS
COMPOSED--POETICALLY DESCRIBED--COMMENTS BY NOEL HUMPHREYS--RECAPITULATION OF
VARIOUS DEVICES BY KNIGHT--BIBLICAL REFERENCES--ENGRAVED STONES AND OTHER
MATERIALS THE EARLIEST KINDS OF RECORDS--WHEN THIN BRICKS WERE UTILIZED FOR INSCRIPTION
PURPOSES--METHODS EMPLOYED BY THE CHINESE--HILPRECHT’S DISCOVERIES--THE DIAMOND
AS A SCRATCHING INSTRUMENT--HISTORICAL INCIDENT WRITTEN WITH ONE--BIBLICAL
MENTION ABOUT THE DIAMOND--WHEN IT BECAME POSSIBLE TO INTERPRET CHARACTER
VALUES OF ANCIENT HIEROGLYPHICS--DISCOVERY OF THE ROSETTA STONE AND A
DESCRIPTION OF IT--SOME OBSERVATIONS ABOUT CHAMPOLLION AND DR. YOUNG WHO
DECIPHERED IT--ITS CAPTURE BY THE ENGLISH AND PRESERVATION IN THE BRITISH
MUSEUM--EMPLOYMENT OF THE REED PEN AND PENCIL-BRUSH--THE BRUSH PRECEDED THE
REED PEN--THE PLACES WHERE THE REEDS GREW--COMMENTS BY VARIOUS WRITERS--METHOD
OF FORMING THE REED INTO A PEN--CONTINUED EMPLOYMENT OF THEM IN THE FAR
EAST--THE BRUSH STILL IN USE IN CHINA AND JAPAN--EARLIEST EXAMPLES OF REED PEN
WRITING--WHEN THE QUILL WAS SUBSTITUTED FOR THE REED--REED PENS FOUND IN THE
RUINS OF HERCULANEUM--ANECDOTE BY THE ABBÉ, HUC.
THE instruments of
antiquity employed in the art of writing belong to two of the most distant
epochs.
In the first period,
inscriptions were engraved, carved or impressed with sharp instruments, and of
patterns characteristic of a graving tool, chisel or other form which could be
adapted to particular substances like stone, leaves, metal or ivory plates, wax
or clay tablets, cylinders and prisms.
The ancient Assyrians
even used knives or stamps for impressing their cuneiform writing upon
cylinders or prisms of soft clay which were often glazed by subsequent bakings
in kilns.
The other period was
that in which written characters were made with liquids or paints of any kind
or color. The liquids (inks) were used in connection with a pen manufactured
from a reed (calamus), while the paints were "painted" on the various
substances with a brush. The writing executed with both of these instruments
was on materials like the bark of trees, cloth, skins, papyrus, vellum, etc.
The ancient as well as
modern pens, though of many sorts and kinds, are to be classified under two
general heads, those which scratch and those which use an ink.
There is no authority
to dispute the generally conceded fact that the "scratching"
instrument was the first one used. Its most popular form seems to have been the
stylus or bodkin, which was made of a variety of materials, such as iron,
ivory, bone, minerals or any other hard substance, which could be sufficiently
sharpened at one end to indent the various materials employed in connection
with its use. The other end was flattened for erasing marks made on wax and
smoothing it. From it the Italian stilletto took its origin.
The stylus is best
described in the following lines:
"My head is flat
and smooth, but sharp my foot,
And by man’s hand to
different uses put;
For what my foot
performs with art and care,
My head makes void,
such opposites they are."
Relative to the
employment of marking instruments which belong to the most venerable antiquity,
Noel Humphreys observes:
"Before the growth of wealth and luxury had taught nations to raise
magnificent temples and stately palaces, whose walls the hieroglyphic sculptor
covered with records of the pomp and pride of princes, more purely national
memorials had found their place upon the native rock, the most convenient
surfaces of which were smoothed for this purpose. Where no such rock existed in
the situation required, a massive stone was raised by artificial means and the
record, whether referring to a victory, a new boundary, or any other event of
national interest was engraved upon it. Such memorials have been described by
Hebrew writers as aumad or ammod, literally, the lips of the people, or, the
words of the people, but actually meaning a pillar. Records in this form and
the early name they bore account for the strange legends of mediæval times
referring to speaking stones--a name by which such monuments were probably
still called long after time had effaced the speaking record, and the original
purport of the defaced stone was forgotten. In semi-barbarous epochs, like the
era which followed the partial extinction of Roman civilization, popular
curiosity and superstition combined would seek to give a meaning to the name of
such ‘speaking stones,’ and as an example of the legends which thus arose, the
itinerarium cambriæ of Geraldus may be cited, in which a stone is mentioned at
St. David’s as the ‘speaking stone’ (lech lavar) which was said to call out
when a dead body was placed upon it. The most remarkable rock inscriptions
still remaining are those of Assyria and Persia, but many national tablets of
more recent date are still in existence. For the execution of such records and
those of the palaces of Egypt and Assyria, some kind of steel point must have
been used, as no softer substance would have served to engrave them in granitic
and basaltic slabs with the sharpness they still exhibit, which proves that the
art of hardening steel, long thought a comparatively modern invention, was
known to the ancient people of Asia and Africa."
A list of the various devices of different countries, by which
characters could be legibly portrayed with a scratching implement, is best
recapitulated by Mr. Knight, who presents them in the following order:
"The tabula or
wooden board smeared with wax, upon which a letter was written by a stylus.
"The Athenian
scratched his vote upon a shell as did the lout when he voted to ostracize
Aristides.
"The records of
Ninevah were inscribed upon tablets of clay, which were then baked.
"The laws of Rome
were engraved on brass and laid up in the Capitol.
"The decalogue was
graven upon the tables of stone.
"The Egyptians
used papyrus and granite.
"The Burmese,
tablets of ivory and leaves.
"Pliny mentions
sheets of lead, books of linen, and waxed tablets of wood.
"The Hebrews used
linen and skins.
"The Persians,
Mexicans, and North American Indians used skins.
"The Greeks,
prepared skins called membrana.
"The people of
Pergamus, parchment and vellum.
"The Hindoos,
palm-leaves."
The written deeds of
biblical time were kept in various styles of pottery (Jeremiah xxxii. 14).
Handwriting on tiles was common in Egypt, Assyria and Palestine (Ezekiel iv.
I). Such handwritings were on tablets of terra-cotta or common baked clay
bricks. One of the kind was fashioned by inscribing directly with a
"stylus" on the clay, before baking. Another, were "moulds"
made from older inscriptions or duplicates from the first kind.
The Hebrew term sepher,
translated into English means a "book," and some authorities claim it
is derived from the same root as the Greek _pliki/image002.jpg){kind=small}
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, a
stone, which would seem to point to engraved stones as the earliest kinds of
records. Indeed nearly all the passages in the Five Books of Moses, in which
writing is mentioned, refer to records of this kind, or to tablets of lead or
wood, occasionally described as coated with wax.
Long before the use of
papyrus, or any like substance was known as a material for writing on, thin
bricks were frequently utilized for such purposes. The Chinese wrote on slips
of bamboo which had been previously scraped to be afterwards submitted to
intense heat which so hardened them, that a graver would cut lines with the
same facility, as could be accomplished on soft metal like lead. These bamboo
tablets were joined together by means of cords made of bark and when folded
formed a "book." Different nations adopted other modes in their
preparation of surfaces to engrave on. Many original specimens have come down
to us which present definite evidence of the variety of materials and methods
employed in their manufacture.
Hilprecht,
"Explorations in Bible Lands," 1903, mentions many discoveries of
such specimens. He says that more than four thousand clay tablets were
discovered during the excavations of 1889 and 1900.
These relics call
attention only to a very few discoveries of this character. There were other
explorers who preceded Hilprecht in this direction, and who with him have thus
secured tangible evidence which fully confirms all that has been said about the
employment of the most ancient of writing instruments, the "stylus."
The diamond is also to
be classified under the head of "scratching implements" and many
historical incidents are recorded of its use. One of the most interesting
relates to Sir Walter Raleigh and Queen Elizabeth and to be found in Scott’s
"Kenilworth." Sir Walter, using his diamond ring, wrote on a pane of
glass in her summer-house at Greenwich:
"Fain would I
climb, but that I fear to fall."
The maiden Queen adding
the words:
"If thy mind fail
thee, do not climb at all."
Biblical mention of the
diamond, employed as a pen, is found in Jeremiah xvii. 1.
"The sin of Judah
is written with a pen of iron,
and with the point of a
diamond."
It has not always been
possible to decipher and interpret the character values of the most ancient
hieroglyphics or picture writings inscribed on bricks, stone and metal slabs,
and the Egyptian monuments. The means to do so were furnished as the result of
a very fortunate accident or "find."
A French artillery
officer in 1799 while excavating the foundations for a fortification near the
Rosetta mouth of the Nile, found a curious black tablet of stone. On it were
engraved three inscriptions, each of different characters and dialects.
The first of the three
inscriptions was in hieroglyphic, then unreadable; the second in demotic or
shorter script, also unknown, and the third in a living language pertaining to
the time of Ptolemy Epiphanes, who reigned about 200 B. C.
This relic of antiquity
is called the Rosetta stone.
Jean Francois
Champollion, who with Dr. Thomas Young studied the intricacies of these
writings, first established the fact that the three inscriptions on this stone
were translations of each other. Dr. Young’s investigations caused him to study
the language included in the second inscription, and made his deductions, it is
said, "by dint of thousands of scientific guesses, all but a few of which
were eliminated by tests which he invented and applied; he at last discovered
and put together the set of fundamental principles that govern the ancient
writings."
Champollion, however,
began at the bottom and having successfully translated the living language,
established a "key" or alphabet. Hence it became possible, although
requiring some years, to solve the mystery of writings of 4000 or more years
old.
Champollion pursued his
discoveries so thoroughly in this direction as to be able to complete in 1829
an Egyptian vocabulary and grammar.
The Rosetta stone after
remaining in the possession of the French for many years was captured by the
English on the defeat of the French forces in Egypt and is now in the British
museum.
As writing with liquid
colors on papyrus or analogous materials which could be used in the form of
rolls, gradually came into vogue, the calamus or reed pen, pencil brush (hair
pencil), or the juncas, a pen formed from a kind of cane, were more or less
employed.
The "calamus"
followed the "brush," just as phonographic writing which denotes
arbitrary sounds or the language of symbols, came after the picture or
ideographic writing.
The places where the
calamus grew and the modes of preparing them are variously discussed by
different ancient and modern writers. Some claim that the best reeds for pen
purposes formerly grew near Memphis on the Nile, near Cnidus of Caria, in Asia
Minor, and in Armenia. Those grown in Italy were estimated to have been of but
poor quality. Chardin calls attention to a kind to be found, "in a large
fen or tract of soggy land supplied with water by the river Helle, a place in
Arabia formed by the united arms of the Euphrates and Tigris. They are cut in
March, tied in bundles, laid six months in a manure heap, where they assume a
beautiful color, mottled yellow and black." Tournefort saw them growing in
the neighborhood of Teflis in Georgia. Miller describes the cane as
"growing no higher than a man, the stem three or four lines in thickness
and solid from one knot to another, excepting the central white pith." The
incipient fermentation in the manure heap dries up the pith and hardens the
cane. The pens were about the size of the largest swan’s quills. They were cut
and slit like a quill pen but with much larger nibs.
In the far East the
calamus is still used, the best being gathered in the month of March, near
Aurac, on the Persian Gulf, and still prepared after the old method of
immersing them for about six months in fermenting manure which coats them with
a sort of dark varnish and the darker their color the more they are prized.
The "brush"
also holds its career of usefulness, more especially in China and Japan.
The earliest examples
of reed pen writing are the ancient rolls of papyrus which have been found
buried with the Egyptian dead. Some of these old relics of antiquity are
claimed to have been prepared fully twenty centuries or more before the
Christian era.
The "reed"
pen for ink writing held almost undisputed sway until the sixth century after
the Christian era, when the quill (penna) came into vogue.
Reed pens preserved in
excellent condition were found in the ruins of Herculaneum.
"When he had
finished, he dried the bamboo-pen on his hair, and replaced it behind his ear,
saying, ‘Yak posé’ (That is well). ‘Temou chu’ (Rest in peace), we replied;
and, after politely putting out our tongues, withdrew." Abbé Hue at
Lha-Ssa.CHAPTER
XXVI. INK UTENSILS (QUILL PEN STEEL PEN).
THE QUILL PEN THE MOST
SUCCESSFUL AND FITTING OF ALL WRITING INSTRUMENTS--TENDENCY TO "WEAR"
OUT--THE SOMETIMES AFFECTION FOR OLD PENS--DR. HOLLAND’S LINES ON THE
PEN--SELECTION OF QUILLS TO BE MADE INTO PENS--METHOD OF PREPARING THEM--BYRON’S
ESTIMATION OF HIS QUILL PEN--ITS INVENTION BEFORE THE SIXTH CENTURY
UNCERTAIN--EMPLOYMENT OF THE REED AND QUILL PEN TOGETHER UNTIL THE TWELFTH
CENTURY--WHEN THE STEEL PEN CAME INTO VOGUE--WHO WAS ITS INVENTOR--SOME
OBSERVATIONS ABOUT IT--QUANTITY OF MATERIAL SIXTY YEARS AGO CONSUMED IN PEN
MANUFACTURE--A FEW REMARKS ABOUT GOLD, FOUNTAIN AND STYLOGRAPHIC PENS--MORE
STEEL USED IN THE MANUFACTURE OF PENS THAN IN THAT OF SWORDS AND GUNS--POETICAL
LINES ABOUT THE PEN.
THE quills belonging to
the feathers of birds seem to have been the most successful and fitting of all
materials for pens, for, though steel and other metals are now used for this
purpose to an immense extent, there is a power of adaptation in a quill pen
which has never yet been equalled in metal. Quills, however, like other things,
have a tendency to "wear out," and the trouble resulting from the
necessity of frequently mending quill pens and a desire to write with more
rapidity have been the main causes of the introduction of steel substitutes. A
kind of affection has often been felt by an author or official, or their
admirers, for the pen with which he has written any large or celebrated work or
signed some important document; old worn-out pens, as well as new ones, have
been preserved as memorials in connection with such matters, and Dr. Holland,
who translated Pliny’s "Natural History" in the sixteenth century, recorded
an exploit connected with it in the following lines:
"With one sole pen
I wrote this book,
Made of a gray
goose-quill:
A pen it was when it I
took
A pen I leave it
still."
The quills employed for
pens were generally those of the goose, although the crow, the swan, and other
birds yielded feathers which were occasionally available for this purpose. Each
wing produced about five good quills, but the number thus yielded was so small
that the geese reared in England could not furnish nearly enough for the
demand, hence the importation of goose quills from the Continent was very
large. The process surrounding the manufacture of a quill pen proves of
considerable interest.
"The geese are plucked of their feathers three or four times a
year, the first time for the sake both of the quills and the feathers, but the
other times for the feathers only. The pen quills are generally taken from the
ends of the wings. When plucked the quills are found to be covered with a
membranous skin, resulting from a decay of a kind of sheath which had enveloped
them; the interior vascular membrane, too, resulting from the decay of the
vascular pith, adheres so strongly to the barrel of the quill as to be with
difficulty separated, while, at the same time, the barrel itself is opaque,
soft, and tough. To remove these various defects the quills undergo several
processes. In the first instance, as a means of removing the membraneous skin,
the quills are plunged into heated sand, the high temperature of which causes
the external skin of the barrel to crack and peel off, and the internal
membrane to shrivel up. The outer membrane is then scraped off with a sharp
instrument, while the inner membrane remains in a state to be easily detached.
For the finest quills the heating is repeated two or three times. The heat of
the sand, by consuming or drying up the natural moisture of the barrel, renders
it harder and more transparent. In order to give the barrel a yellow color, and
a tendency to split more readily and clearly, it is dipped in weak nitric acid,
but this was considered to render the quill more brittle and less durable, and
was therefore a sacrifice of utility for the sake of appearance." "Oh! nature’s noblest gift--my gray
goose quill!
Slave of my thoughts,
obedient to my will,
Torn from thy parent
bird to form a pen,
That mighty instrument
of little men!"
BYRON. To locate an exact
period for the invention of the quill pen is impossible. It could hardly have
been in use before the fourth century, probably not earlier than two centuries
later. Some writers have assumed that it was employed by the Romans, but as no
distinct mention is made of them by early classical authors we must accept the
only information at hand.
Isidore (died A. D.
636) and contemporaries state that the quills of birds came into use as pens
only in the sixth century. It is also known, St. Brovverus being the authority,
that in his time (seventh century) the calamus or reed pen and the quill pen
were employed together, the calamus being used in the writing of the uncial
(inch) letters and capitals, and the quill for smaller letters. Mention is also
made by many writers of the five centuries which followed Isidore’s time of the
calamus, indicating that notwithstanding it had been superseded by the quill it
was still a favorite writing implement in some places.
The use of the
"steel pen" did not spring immediately from that of the "quill
pen." There were several intermediate stages adopted before the fitness of
steel for this purpose was sufficiently known, From about 1800 to 1835 the
number of proposed substitutes for the quill pen was very considerable. Horn
pens, tortoise-shell pens, nibs of diamond or ruby imbedded in tortoise shell,
nibs of ruby set in fine gold, nibs of rhodium and of iridium imbedded in
gold,--all have been adopted at different times, but most of them have been
found too costly for general adoption. Steel is proved to be sufficiently
elastic and durable to form very good pens, and the ingenuity of manufacturers
has been exerted to give to such pens as many as possible of the good qualities
possessed by the quill pen.
The original flexible
iron pen of modern times was an experimental affair probably, being mentioned
by Chamberlayne as far back as 1685.
The first steel pens in
regular use were made by Wise, in London, in 1803, and for many years
thereafter.
His pen was made with a
barrel, by which it was slipped upon a straight handle. In its portable form it
was mounted in a bone case for the pocket. Prejudice, however, was strong
against them, and up to 1835 or thereabouts quills maintained their full sway,
and much later among the old-fashioned folks. To him, however, is due the
credit of being the inventor of the modern steel pen.
It has been the thought
of some people that Gillott was the progenitor of the steel pen, but he was
not. Arnoux, a French mechanic, made metallic pens with side slits in 1750.
Samuel Harrison, an Englishman, made a steel pen for Dr. Priestly in 1780.
Peregrine Williamson, a native of New York, while engaged as a jeweler in the
city of Baltimore, made steel pens in 1800.
Perry’s first pens were
of steel, rolled from wire, the material costing seven shillings a pound. Five
shillings each was paid the workman for making them; this was afterward reduced
to thirty-six shillings per gross, which price was continued for several years.
It was Joseph Gillott,
however, originally a Sheffield cutler, and afterwards a workman in light steel
articles, as buckles, chains, and other articles of that class, who in 1822
gave impulse to the steel-pen manufacture. Previous to his entering the
business the pens were cut out with shears and finished with the file. Gillott
adapted the stamping press to the requirements of the manufacture, as cutting
out the blanks, forming the slits, bending the metal, and impressing the maker’s
name on the pens. He also devised improved modes of preparing the metal for the
action of the press, tempering, cleansing, and polishing, and, in short, many
little details of manufacture necessary to give them the required flexibility
to enable them to compete with the quill pen. One great difficulty to be
overcome was their extreme hardness and stiffness; this was effected by making
slits at the side in addition to the central one, which had previously been
solely used. A further improvement, that of cross grinding the points, was
subsequently adopted. The first gross of pens with three slits was sold for
seven pounds. In 1830 the price was $2.00; in 1832, $1.50; in 1861, 12 cents,
and a common variety for 4 cents a gross. About 9,300 tons of steel are
annually consumed, the number of pens produced in England alone being about
8,000,000,000.
Bramah patented quill
nibs made by splitting quills and cutting the semicylinders into sections which
were shaped into pens and adapted to be placed in a holder. These were,
perhaps, the first nibs, the progenitors of a host of steel, gold, and other
pens.
Hawkins and Mordan, in
1823, made nibs of horn and tortoise shell, instead of quill. The tortoise
shell being softened, points of ruby and diamondwere imbedded. Metallic points
were also cemented to the shell nibs.
Doughty, about 1825,
made gold pens with ruby points.
Gold pens with rhodium
or iridiumpoints were introduced soon afterwards.
Mordan’s oblique pen,
English patent, 1831, was designed to present the nibs in the right direction
while preserving the customary positions of the pen and hand.
The fountain pen
carries a supply of ink, fed gradually to the point of the instrument. The
first made by Scheffer was introduced about 1835 by Mordan. The pressure of the
thumb on a stud in a holder caused a continuous supply of ink to flow from the
reservoir to the pen.
The
"stylographic" is a reservoir pen shaped like a pencil, in which the
flow of ink is regulated by pressure of a style or fine needle with blunt point
upon the paper. It must be held in a vertical position. All marks made with
one, both up and down strokes, are equal in width.
Gold pens are now
usually tipped with iridium, making what are commonly known as diamond points.
"The iridium for this purpose is found in small grains of platinum,
slightly alloyed with this latter metal. The gold for pens is alloyed with
silver to about sixteen carats fineness, rolled into thin strips, from which
the blanks are struck. The under side of the point is notched by a small
circular saw to receive the iridium point, which is selected with the aid of a
microscope. A flux of borax and a blowpipe secure it to its place. The point is
then ground on a copper wheel of emery. The pen-blank is next rolled to the
requisite thinness by the means of rollers especially adapted for the purpose,
and tempered by blows from a hammer. It is then trimmed around the edges,
stamped, and formed in a press. The slit is next cut through the solid iridium
point by means of a thin copper wheel fed with fine emery, and a saw extends
the aperture along the pen itself. The inside edges of the slit are smoothed
and polished by the emery wheel; burnishing and hammering produce the proper
degree of elasticity." It is
asserted that more steel is used in the manufacture of pens than in all the
swords and guns in the world. This fact partly verifies the old saying,
"The pen is mightier than the sword."
"Three things bear
mighty sway with men,
The Sword, the Sceptre,
and the Pen;
Who can the least of
these command,
In the first rank of
Fame will stand."
CHAPTER XXVII. SUBSTITUTES
FOR INK UTENSILS ("LEAD" AND OTHER PENCILS).
"BLACK-LEAD"
PENCILS AN EXCELLENT PEN SUBSTITUTE UNDER CERTAIN CONDITIONS--ITS
COMPOSITION--"BLACK-LEAD" CONTAINS NO LEAD, HENCE THE NAME IS
MISAPPLIED--THE DISCOVERY OF ITS PRINCIPAL SOURCE OF SUPPLY AN ACCIDENT--A
DESCRIPTION OF HOW IT IS MINED--TREATMENT BEFORE BEING INTRODUCED INTO THE
GROOVED WOOD--USE OF RED AND BLACK CHALK PENCILS IN GERMANY, 1450--THEIR USE IN
MEXICO IN EARLY TIMES--WHO MANUFACTURES LEAD PENCILS--EMPLOYMENT OF THE
COMPOSITION OF LEAD AND TIN IN MEIDÆEVAL{sic} TIMES--BAVARIAN GOVERNMENT IN
1816 A MANUFACTURER OF LEAD PENCILS.
THE black-lead pencil,
under many circumstances, is a very useful substitute for the pen, in that it
requires no liquid ink for marking the characters on paper or other materials.
The peculiar substance which fills the central channel of the stick of cedar
has the property of marking when it touches paper; and, as the marks thus made
are susceptible to easy removal, a pencil of this kind is available for
purposes which would not be answered by the use of pen and ink.
The substance misnamed
"black-lead" contains no lead and is a carburet of iron, being
composed of carbon and iron. It generally occurs in Mountain districts, in
small kidney-shaped pieces, varying in size from that of a pea upwards, which
are interspersed among various strata, and is met with in different parts of
the world.
Its principal source of
supply until about 1845, when it became exhausted, was the Borrowdale mine in
Cumberland, England, which was discovered in 1564. About 1852 a number of mines
were opened containing this substance in Siberia and from which place the best
products are now obtained.
The accidental
discovery of this mineral at Borrowdale was during the reign of Queen Elizabeth
who made many inquiries about it. The name of this mineral was locally known as
wad (graphite). So valuable was it regarded that it commanded a very high
price, and this price acted as in inducement to the workmen and others to
pilfer pieces from the mine. For a number of years scenes of great commotion
took place, arising out of these depredations; and the result was that the
proprietors adopted such stringent rules that hardly anything was known of the
internal economy of the mine till about sixty years ago, when Mr. Parkes gave a
description of it, from which I may condense a few particulars.
The mine is in the
midst of a mountain about two thousand feet high, which rises at in angle of
about 45°; and, as that part of the mine which has been worked during the last
century is near the middle of the mountain, the present entrance is about a
thousand feet from the summit. The opening by which the workmen enter descends
by a flight of steps; and in order to guard the treasure within, the
proprietors have erected a strong brick building of four rooms, one of which is
immediately over the entrance into the mine. This entrance is secured by a
trap-door, and the room connected with it serves as a dressing-room for the men
when they enter and leave the mine. The men work in gangs, which relieve each
other every six hours, and when the hour of relief comes, a steward or foreman
attends the dressing-room to see the men change their dresses as they come up
one by one out of the mine. The clothes are examined by the steward to see that
no black-lead is concealed in them; and when the men have dressed they leave
the mine, making room for another gang, who change their clothes, enter the
mine, and are fastened in for six hours. In one of the four rooms of which the
house consists there is a table, at which men are employed in sorting and
dressing the mineral. This is necessary, because it is usually divided into two
qualities, the finest of which have generally pieces of iron-ore or other
impurity attached to them, which must be dressed off. These men, who are
strictly watched while at work, put the dressed black-lead into casks holding
about one hundred-weight each, in which state it leaves the mine. The casks are
conveyed down the side of the mountain in a curious manner. Each cask is fixed
upon a light sledge with two wheels, and a man, who is well used to the
precipitous path, walks down in front of the sledge, taking care that it does
not acquire momentum enough to overpower him. When the cask has been thus
guided safely to the bottom, the man carries the sledge up hill upon his
shoulders, and prepares for another descent.
Up to about the middle
of the eighteenth century the mine was opened only once in seven years, the
quantity taken out at each time of opening being such as was deemed sufficient
to serve the market for seven years; but when, at a later period, it was found
that the demand was increasing and the supply decreasing, it was deemed
necessary to work the mine six or seven weeks every year. During the time of
working, the mine is guarded night and day; and when a quantity sufficient for
one year’s consumption has been taken out, the mine is secured until the
following year. Several hundred cartloads of rubbish are wheeled into the mine,
so as to block up the entrance completely; and this rubbish acts as a dam to
prevent the springs and land waters from flowing out, so that the mine
gradually becomes flooded.
When the Year’s mining
is concluded, the barrels of black-lead are brought to market, and the mode of
effecting the sales was described by Dr. Faraday some years ago to be as
follows: A market is held on the first Monday of every month at a house in
London, where the buyers, who are generally only seven or eight in number,
examine each piece with a sharp instrument to ascertain its hardness, those
which are too soft being rejected. The person who has the first choice pays
45s. per pound, the others 30s. But, as there is no addition made to the first
quantity in the market, the residual portions are examined over and over again
until they are exhausted. At one time the annual sale was said to amount to the
value of [Pd]40,000 per annum, but it has been greatly reduced since.
A mode of applying
manufacturing processes to the preparation of black-lead is described by Dr.
Ure as being adopted in Paris. The mineral, being reduced to a fine powder, is
mixed with very pure powdered clay, and the two are calcined in a crucible at a
white heat; the proportion of clay employed is greater as the pencil is
required to be harder, the average being equal parts of both. The ingredients
are ground with a muller on a porphyry slab and then made into balls, which are
preserved in a moist atmosphere in the form of paste. The paste is pressed into
grooves cut in a smooth board, and another board, previously greased, is
pressed down upon it. When the paste has had time to dry, the mould or grooved
board is put into a moderately heated oven, by which the paste, now in the form
of square pencils, shrinks sufficiently to fall out of the grooves. In order to
give solidity to the pencils they are set upright in a crucible and surrounded
with pounded charcoal, fine sand, or sifted ashes; the crucible, being covered,
is exposed to a degree of heat proportionate to the hardness required in the
pencils, the harder pencils requiring the higher degree of heat. Some of the
pencils are shaped in a curious manner: models of the pencils, made of iron,
are stuck upright upon an iron tray, having edges raised as high as the
intended length of the pencils; and a metallic alloy, made of tin, lead,
antimony and bismuth is poured into the sheet-iron tray. When the alloy has
cooled, it is inverted and shaken off from the model-rods, so as to form a mass
of metal perforated throughout with tubular cavities corresponding in size with
the intended pencil pieces; the pencil paste is introduced by pressure into
these cavities, and when nearly dry the pieces shrink sufficiently to be easily
removed from the cavities.
The pencils just
described are alike throughout all their thickness, but in the majority of
English pencils there is a wooden holder to contain a narrow filament of black
lead running down the middle. So long ago as the year 1618 this mode was
adopted; for Sir John Pettus, who was deputy governor of the Borrowdale mine
under Charles II, in his "Fleta Minor," while, speaking of black-lead
says, that "Of late it is curiously formed into cases of deal or cedar and
so sold as dry pencils, something more useful than pen and ink." In a
general way modern black-lead pencils, are made by sawing cedar first into long
planks, and then into smaller rods; grooves are cut out by means of a cutting
machine moved by a fly-wheel to such a depth as will receive a small layer of
black-lead; the pieces of the mineral are cut into thin slabs and then into
rods the same size as the grooves, into which they are inserted; the two halves
of the case are then glued together, and the whole is turned into a cylindrical
form by means of a guage.
The kind of pencil
called "crayon" is a mixture of some kind of earth with a coloring
substance. The earth employed is sometimes chalk, and at other times pipe-clay,
gypsum, starch-flour, or ochre. The coloring substance is yellow ochre, mineral
yellow, chrome, red chalk, vermilion, indigo--indeed, any of the usual dry
colors, according to the tint required. Besides the earth and the color, there
is a gummy liquid required to combine them together; gum arabic, gum
tragacanth, and in some cases oil, wax, or suet, are used as the third
ingredient. The crayons here alluded to are employed rather for drawing than
for writing, but they obviously belong to the class of pencils in their mode of
action.
The ancients drew lines
and letters with wooden styles, and afterward an alloy of lead and tin was
used. Pliny refers to the use of lead for ruling lines on papyrus. La Moine
cites a document of 1387 ruled with graphite. Slips of graphite in wooden
sticks (pencils) are mentioned by Gesner, of Zurich, in 1565; he credits
England with the production. They are doubtless the product of the Borrowdale
mine, then lately discovered. In the early part of the seventeenth century
black-lead pencils are distinctly described by several writers. They are
noticed by Ambrosinus, 1648; spoken of by Pettus, in 1683, as inclosed in fir
or cedar.
Red and black chalk
pencils were used in Germany in 1450; in fact, fragments of chalk, charcoal,
and shaped sticks of colored minerals had been in use since times previous to
all historic mention.
When Cortez landed in
Mexico, in 1520, he found the Aztecs using graphite crayons, which were
probably made from a mineral found in Sonora.
The firm of A. W. Faber
are the largest manufacturers of lead pencils in the world. They have compiled
a history of this implement of handwriting which they have permitted me to use
in the story which follows.
The lead pencil is an
invention of modern times, and its introduction may deservedly be ranked with
the large number of technical innovations in which more especially the last
three centuries have been so rich; nor can it be denied that pencils have
played an important part in the diffusion of arts and sciences and in
facilitating study and intellectual intercourse.
To the classic ages and
their art the pencil, and in general every application of lead as a writing
material, was entirely unknown, and it was not till the advent of the middle
ages that it began to be used for this purpose. This lead, i. e. metallic lead,
however, was in no way equivalent to the graphite or black-lead of our pencils,
which are only honored with the prefix of "lead," owing to the leaden
color of the writing done with them.
Moreover, in those
days, lead was used exclusively for ruling and in no way for writing or
drawing; it was employed in the form of round, sharp-edged discs, similar to
those which, it is said, were already used for the same purpose in ancient
classic times. It is only with the development and growth of modern painting
that traces of pencil-like drawings first begin to be met. At so early a period
even as the fourteenth century, mention is made by the masters of that time,
more especially by the brothers Van Eyck, and again in the fifteenth century by
Menlink and others, of studies or compositions which were made with an
instrument similar to a lead pencil, upon a paper with chalk prepared surface.
This type of drawing
was commonly classed as "silver-style," a term, however, which was no
doubt erroneous, as there could be no question of the use of pure silver in
this connection.
In the same way it is
also reported of the later mediæval Italian artists that they drew their
subjects in "silver-style," upon planished fig-tree wood, the surface
of which had been prepared with the powder obtained from calcined bones,--a
method, however, which seems only to have been employed in exceptional
instances.
But in the fourteenth
century, drawings were frequently done in Italy with pencils consisting of a
mixture cast from lead and tin; these drawings could easily be erased with
bread crumbs.
Petrarch’s
"Laura" was portrayed in this manner by one of his contemporaries,
and the method was still in vogue in the days of Michael Angelo. From Italy
these pencils subsequently found their way to Germany, but it is not apparent
under what particular name. In Italy itself they were called "stili,"
the equivalent of the word stylus. At no time, however, do these varieties seem
to have been the predominating material used for drawing purposes.
In conjunction with
these, pens were used for writing and drawing, and at the zenith of the art
period of those days black and red crayons were also used on a large scale. The
Italians imported the best qualities of red crayons from Germany, the best
black chalk being obtained from Spain.
Vasari writes of a
certain sixteenth century artist, that he was equally skillful in handling the
stylus or the pen, black chalk or red crayon.
It was this period
which witnessed the discovery of plumbago, a mineral which was soon worked up
into an entirely new material for writing and drawing,--the lead pencil.
This discovery, which
was destined to confer such great benefits not only upon practical life, but
also upon art, was made in England during the reign of Queen Elizabeth, for in
the year 1564 the celebrated black-lead mines of Borrowdale, in Cumberland,
were discovered. With the opening of this mine, the first material steps were
taken to implant on English soil a lead pencil industry which in the course of
time was to assume important dimensions.
The first lead pencils
are supposed to have been manufactured in England in the second half of the
sixteenth century. The raw plumbago, or "wad," as it was locally
termed, was subjected to the following treatment: "On reaching the surface
it was sawn into strips of the required size, and these, without any further
manipulation, were inserted into the wood. Strange though it may appear, the
lead pencils first manufactured in this manner are acknowledged to have been
the best--and even at the beginning of the present century they remained
unsurpassed upon the score of the softness and fine tone of the lead. Although
the Cumberland lead pencils were in great demand owing to the fact that they were
the first to successfully meet a long-felt want, they nevertheless owed their
permanent and wide-spread reputation--more especially in artistic circles--to
their excellent quality.
Towards the end of the
last century the black-lead pencil industry was introduced into France, where
with some restrictions it soon developed.
With the removal of all
restrictions on industrial freedom in 1795, the idea was entertained of using
clay as a binding medium for black-lead. This method offered several
advantages, for not only did the addition of clay cause a saving of a large
percentage of the valuable mineral, but it greatly facilitated the method of
manufacture, so that lead pencils could now be offered at greatly reduced
prices.
By these improvements a
new era in the manufacture of lead pencils was begun in France. Still, there
remained much to be done in the field of black-lead pencil making in order to
do justice to the increasing demands of art and the requirements of more
civilized life.
It is true, different
kinds of lead pencils of various degrees were produced, but they did not comply
by a long way with the different uses for which they were needed. The
manipulation of the brittle material required not only deep study, but also
conscientious and skillful workmen, in order to impart the necessary standard
of perfection to the lead pencil.
Among the various
German industries the manufacture of black-lead pencils occupied but a very
modest place.
The first traces of its
existence are to be found at Stein, a village not far from Nuremberg. As far
back as the year 1726 the church registers mention marriages between
"black-lead pencil makers," and, at a later date references are found
in the same registers to "black-lead cutters" of both sexes.
The manufacture of
black-lead pencils, however, occupied a position on the very lowest rung of the
industrial ladder.
But is time proceeded
the Bavarian government directed their attention to this branch of industry,
and did all in their power to encourage it; and, as early as the year 1766, a
Count von Kronsfeld obtained a concession to establish a lead pencil factory at
Jettenbach. Later on, in the year 1816, the Bavarian government established a
royal lead pencil manufactory at Obernzell (Hafnerzell), and introduced into it
the French process, described above, of using clay as a binding medium for
graphite.
CHAPTER XXVIII. ANCIENT
INK BACKGROUNDS (THE ORIGIN OF PAPYRUS).
FROM WHENCE COMES THE
NAME PAPER--FIRST CENTURY COMMENT ABOUT IT--KNIGHT’S COMMENTS MORE THAN 1,800
YEARS LATER--PAPYRUS AN EGYPTIAN REED--NAMES BESTOWED BY ANCIENT WRITERS--THE
SAME NAMES AS EMPLOYED IN MODERN TIMES--LEAVES OF PLANTS PRECEDED THE INVENTION
OF PAPYRUS--WHEN IT WAS THAT ROLLED RECORDS CAME INTO VOGUE--VARRO’S ESTIMATION
AS TO THE ORIGINAL USE OF PAPYRUS NOT CORRECT--REAL FACTS RESPECTING THE
INTRODUCTION OF PAPYRUS BEYOND THE LIMITS OF EGYPT--CHARACTER OF MATERIALS
EMPLOYED BY THE GREEKS BEFORE THAT EPOCH--EMPLOYMENT OF IT FOR LITERARY
PURPOSES--ADOPTION OF PARCHMENT AND VELLUM--PAPYRUS MSS. EMPLOYED IN THE FORM
OF ROLLS AND THE REASON FOR SAME--ANCIENT MANUFACTURE OF PAPYRUS IN EGYPT--SOME
OF THE NAMES USED TO DESIGNATE DIFFERENT KINDS--PLINY’S DESCRIPTION OF THE
MANUFACTURE OF PAPYRUS AND HIS MISINFORMATION ABOUT IT--WHERE IT FLOURISHED
BEST--PAPYRUS AS KNOWN TO THE HEBREWS AND ITS BIBLICAL MENTION--MANUFACTURE OF
PAPYRUS IN THE ANCIENT CITY OF MEMPHIS--CHARACTERISTICS OF THE PAPER EMPLOYED
BY THE MEXICANS--MR. HARRIS’S DISCOVERY OF ANCIENT FRAGMENTS OF PAPYRUS--THE
STORY ABOUT IT AS TOLD BY THE LONDON ATHENÆUM--DATES OF THE OLDEST KNOWN
SPECIMENS OF GREEK PAPYRI--DATE OF THE FIRST DISCOVERY OF GREEK PAPYRI--USE OF
OTHER PLIABLE MATERIALS WITH PAPYRUS--HOW THEY WERE PREPARED FOR WRITING
PURPOSES--DOUBTS AS TO TIME THAT ROLLED RECORDS SUPERSEDED TABLET
FORMS--SUGGESTIONS BY NOEL HUMPHREYS--VIEWS ENTERTAINED BY EARLIER WRITERS.
THE name paper is
derived from papyrus, a reed grown in Egypt, whose stalk furnished for so many
centuries the principal material for writing upon to the people of that country
and those bordering on the Mediterranean Sea. In the first century of the
Christian era the younger Pliny remarks:
"All the usages of civilized life depend in a remarkable degree
upon the employment of paper. At all events, the remembrance of past
events." A statement which has
caused Mr. Knight to make the following comment:
"This observation, undoubtedly true 1,800 years ago, is much more
remarkably so now; indeed, in considering that paper as we now understand it
was entirely unknown to Europe in the time of Pliny, the expression of the
great dependence upon what seems to us so fragile and inefficient a substitute
for real paper appears strange." Mr.
Knight also says that the Greek name papuros, mentioned by Theophrastus, a
contemporary of Aristotle and Alexander, was probably the Egyptian name of the
reed with a Greek termination. It was also called biblos by Homer and
Herodotus, whence our term bible. The term volumen, a scroll, indicates the
early form of a book of bark, papyrus, skin, or parchment, as the term liber
(Latin, a book, or the inner bark of a tree) does the use of the bark itself.
Hence also our terms library and librarian. "Book" is also derived
from the Danish word bog, the bark of the beech. Pliny quoting Varro, who
preceded him some two centuries, asserts that before the invention of papyrus,
the large leaves of certain plants were prepared so that they could be written
upon. Hence originates our term "leaves" of a book which in the Latin
form folium has also given us the modern term folio.
When, however, the reed
pen and the pencil brush and their kindred substances denominated colored
liquids or inks, came into vogue, some material on which characters could be
inscribed and preserved in the shape of continuous rolls for record and other
uses became necessary. The papyrus plant seems to have met every requirement.
It is a noteworthy fact that all information which can be derived from any
source, specifically calls attention to papyrus and sometimes the inner barks
of trees as being coexistent with pen and ink.
Varro has been credited
with many statements which in the light of investigation and discovery are
proved to be incorrect. One of these is in effect that the use of papyrus was
an incident pertaining to the expeditions of Alexander the Great. This
assertion is not only contradicted by Pliny, the historian, who calls attention
to "books of papyrus found in the tomb of Numa " (Numa Pompilius, the
second king of Rome, B. C. 716-672,) but even at this late day many monuments
of ancient papyri are still extant and belonging to periods more than a
thousand years before Alexander’s time.
The real facts in
respect to this matter are, that the introduction of the use of papyrus to
nations beyond the limits of Egypt was an event that did not take place until
after the reign of the first Macedonian sovereign of Egypt, Ptolemy Lagus (B.
C. 323) when, in return for Greek literature, Egypt gave back her papyrus.
Before this epoch the Greeks had been in the habit of employing such materials
as linen, wax, bark and leaves for ordinary writing purposes, while their
public records were inscribed on stone, brass, lead or other metals.
Papyrus as then
introduced into those western countries was the only substance for a long
period employed for literary purposes.
Parchment and vellum,
which were adopted there as writing materials about two centuries later, were
too costly to be used so long as papyrus was within reach.
When the use of this
ancient paper had become established in the countries bordering on the
Mediterranean, all the MSS. assumed the form of rolls, being rolled on
cylinders of wood, ivory, bronze, glass and other substances. Sometimes, the
ends were decorated by various ornaments. As a rule only one side of the
material was written upon. This was due largely to the fact of its brittle
character which would cause it to break if rolled or bent the wrong way.
The ancient manufacture
of papyrus for export was carried on in Egypt on an extensive scale and in the
most systematic manner. A gradual improvement in quality was the result, some
of the kinds being given well-known Roman names which are mentioned by
contemporary writers. The kind employed by the Romans for ordinary use was
designated Charta. More expensive qualities were known as "Augusta,"
"Livinia," "Hieratica," etc., the latter being reserved for
religious books. Some kinds were sold by weight and employed by the tradesmen
for wrapping purposes, while the bark of the plant was manufactured into cord
and rope.
The methods of the
manufacture of papyrus as a writing material Pliny undertakes to describe at
great length, and while he asserts many things from probable knowledge and the
information at hand in his time, yet he is not always correct. He says that the
reed stalks were cut into lengths and separated "by splitting the
successive folds of the stalk with a fine metal point."
Mr. Knight, who
investigated this matter with care, is authority for the statement, that the
papyrus stalk as seen under the microscope shows that it does not possess
successive folds, but is a triangular stalk with a single envelope with a pith
on the inside, which could only be divided into slices with a knife, either in
stripes of a width permitted by the sides of the prism, or else shaved round
and round, like the operation of cork making, and producing a long spiral
shaving.
In the description
which Pliny gives of the various homes of this plant in Egypt, he calls
particular attention to its abundance in marshy places where the Nile overflows
and stagnates: "It grows like a great bulrush from fibrous, reedy roots,
and runs up in several triangular stalks to a considerable height." They
possessed large tufted heads, but only the stem was fit for making into paper.
After the pellicles or thin coats were removed from the stalk, they were laid
upon tables two or more over each other and glued together with the muddy and
glutinous water of the Nile or with fine paste made of wheat flour; after being
pressed and dried they were made smooth with a ruler and then rubbed over with
a glass hemisphere. The size of the paper seldom exceeded two feet.
Papyrus was also known
to the Hebrews.
The Prophet Isaiah (B.
C. 752) refers to this plant when he says:
"The paper reeds by the brooks, and everything sown by the brooks,
shall wither, be driven away and be no more." Which prediction seems to have been long ago fulfilled as the
plant is now exceedingly rare.
The manufacture of
Egyptian paper from papyrus it is said was quite an industry in the ancient
city of Memphis more than six hundred years before the Christian era.
The Mexicans employed
for writing a paper which somewhat resembled the Egyptian papyrus. It was
prepared from the aloe, called by the natives Maguey which grows wild over the
tablelands of Mexico. It could be easily colored and seemed to bind to ink very
closely. It could be rolled up in scrolls just like the more ancient rolls of
papyrus.
The following account
of an interesting discovery of a fragment of one of the "Orations of
Hyperides," by Mr. Harris, the well-known Oriental scholar, is derived
from the London Athenæum:
"In the winter of 1847 Mr. Harris was sitting in his boat, under
the shade of the well-known sycamore, on the western bank of the Nile, at
Thebes, ready to start for Nubia, when an Arab brought him a fragment of a
papyrus roll, which he ventured to open sufficiently to ascertain that it was
written in the Greek language, and which he bought before proceeding further on
his journey. Upon his return to Alexandria, where circumstances were more
favorable to the difficult operation of unrolling a fragile papyrus, he
discovered that be possessed a fragment of the oration of Hyperides against
Demosthenes, in the matter of Harpalus, and also a very small fragment of
another oration, the whole written in extremely legible characters, and of a
form or fashion which those learned in Greek MSS. consider to be of the time of
the Ptolemies. With these interesting fragments of orations of an orator so
celebrated is Hyperides, of whose works nothing, is extant but a few quotations
in other Greek writers, he embarked for England. Upon his arrival there he
submitted the precious relics to the inspection of the Council and members of
the Royal Society of Literature, who were unanimous in their judgment as to the
importance and genuineness of the MSS.; and Mr. Harris immediately set to work,
and with his own hand made a lithographic facsimile of each piece. Of this
performance a few copies were printed and distributed among the savants of
Europe,--and Mr. Harris returned to Alexandria, whence he has made more than
one journey to Thebes in the hope of discovering some other portion of the
volume, of which he already had a part. In the same year (1847) another English
gentleman, Mr. Joseph Arden, of London, bought at Thebes a papyrus, which he
likewise brought to England. Induced by the success of Mr. Harris, Mr. Arden
submitted his roll to the skilful and experienced hands of Mr. Hogarth; and
upon the completion of the operation of unrolling, the MSS. was discovered to
be the terminating portion of the very same volume of which Mr. Harris had
bought a fragment of the former part in the very same year, and probably of the
very same Arabs. No doubt now existed that the volume, when entire, consisted
of a collection of, or a selection from, the orations of the celebrated
Athenian orator, Hyperides.
"The portion of the volume which has fallen into the possession of
Mr. Arden contains ‘fifteen continuous columns of the "Oration for
Lycophron," to which work three of Mr. Harris’s fragments appertained; and
likewise the "Oration for Euxenippus," which is quite complete and in
beautiful preservation. Whether, as Mr. Babington observes in his preface to
the work, any more scraps of the "Oration for Lycophron" or of the
"Oration against Demosthenes" remain to be discovered, either in
Thebes or elsewhere, may be doubtful, but is certainly worth the inquiry of
learned travellers.’ The condition, however, of the fragments obtained by Mr.
Harris but too significantly indicate the hopelessness of success. The scroll
had evidently been more frequently rolled and unrolled in that particular part,
namely, the speech of Hyperides in a matter of such peculiar interest as that
involving the honor of the most celebrated orator of antiquity; it had been
more read and had been more thumbed by ancient fingers than any other speech in
the whole volume; and hence the terrible gap between Mr. Harris’s and Mr. Arden’s
portions Those who are acquainted with the brittle, friable nature of a roll of
papyrus in the dry climate of Thebes, after being buried two thousand years or
more and then coming first into the hands of a ruthless Arab, who, perhaps, had
rudely snatched it out of the sarcophagus of the mummied scribe, will well
understand how dilapidations occur. It frequently happens that a single roll,
or possibly an entire box, of such fragile treasures is found in the tomb of
some ancient philologist or man of learning, and that the possession is
immediately disputed by the company of Arabs who may have embarked on the
venture. To settle the dispute, when there is not a scroll for each member of
the company, an equitable division is made by dividing the papyrus and
distributing the portions. Thus, in this volume of Hyperides, it seems that it
has fallen into two pieces at the place where it had most usually been opened,
and where, alas! it would have been most desirable to have kept it whole; and
that the smaller fragments have been lost amid the dust and rubbish of the
excavation, while the two extremities have been made distinct properties, which
have been sold, as we have seen, to separate collectors. So, at all events,
such matters are managed at Thebes.
"Mr. Harris mentions fragments of the ‘Iliad,’ which he had
purchased of some of the Arab disturbers of the dead in the sacred cemeteries
of Middle Egypt, most probably Saccara." The
oldest known specimens of the Greek papyri and which were found in Egypt, have
a range of one thousand years; that is, from the third century B. C. to the
seventh century A. D.
The first discovery of
Greek papyri was made at Herculaneum in 1752. Papyrus, however, in the most
ancient, periods was not the only pliable material used to write on which could
be rolled on cylinders. Linen or cloth, which had been first treated with substances
which filled the interstices and characteristic of our oil-cloth, the inner
bark of certain trees, or in fact any material which would receive ink and roll
around a cylinder was in vogue. This form of manuscript was later termed by the
Romans rolles, to roll round, or more commonly volvere, to roll over.
It is not certain,
however, that this character of manuscript immediately superseded the tablet
form of records inscribed on wood or metal. Noel Humphreys is one of several to
suggest:
"The reference to the ‘pen of a ready writer,’ mentioned in the
Psalms of David (B. C. 1086-1016) could scarcely be the sharp point, or stilus,
by means of which characters were engraved upon wood or metal, but rather the
calamus or juncas, used for writing with a dark fluid upon bark or linen. The
word volume indeed occurs in Psalms xxxix., and these volumina or volumes must
have been either rolls of leaves, or bark, or Egyptian papyrus." Some writers like Casley, Purcelli,
Haygen, Calmet, and others, who also more or less discuss this subject, do not
view it entirely the same.
CHAPTER XXIX. ANCIENT INK
BACKGROUNDS (PARCHMENT AND VELLUM).
THE PERGAMUS LIBRARY
COMPOSED PRINCIPALLY OF PARCHMENT VOLUMES--CAUSES WHICH CONTRIBUTED TO THE
SUBSTITUTION OF PARCHMENT FOR PAPYRUS --ANECDOTE ABOUT EUMENES AND PTOLEMY
PHILADELPHUS--INVENTION OF METHOD WHICH MADE SKINS AVAILABLE FOR FLUID INK
WRITING--INTRODUCTION OF DRESSED SKINS THE FIRST STEP TOWARDS THE MODERN FORM
OF BOOKS--WHEN PARCHMENT AND VELLUM SUPERSEDED OTHER SUBSTANCES AS A GENERAL
MATERIAL FOR WRITING UPON--MANUFACTURE OF BARK PAPER PREVIOUS TO THE
INTRODUCTION OF THE LINEN PAPER OF THE EAST--SOME OBSERVATIONS ABOUT CHINESE
PAPER--ALLUSIONS OF CLASSICAL WRITERS TO INSCRIPTIONS ON SKINS AND DISCOVERY OF
SPECIMENS--EMPLOYMENT OF PARCHMENT BY THE HEBREWS--OLD SCRIPTURAL MSS.
DISCOVERED ON PARCHMENT--NAMES OF THE MOST VALUABLE NEW TESTAMENT
CODICES--STORY OF THE DISCOVERY OF THE SINAITIC CODEX AS TOLD BY
MADAN--ASSERTION OF SIMONIDES THAT HE FORGED IT--PAMLIMPSESTS THE LINK BETWEEN
CLASSICAL TIMES AND THE MIDDLE AGES--OBSERVATIONS ABOUT THEM AND SOME
DISCOVERIES OF THE MORE FAMOUS ONES--USE OF PAPYRUS, PARCHMENT AND VELLUM
TOGETHER IN MSS. BOOKS--OBSERVATIONS BY THOMPSON--CHARACTER OF THE ROLLS AND
RECORDS BELONGING TO EARLY PARLIAMENTARY TIMES IN ENGLAND--COMPARATIVE METHODS
OF THEIR PREPARATION--MODES OF DEPOSITING AND CARRYING ANCIENT ENGLISH RECORDS
--METHOD OF FINDING PARTICULAR DOCUMENTS--THE INDIVIDUALS WHO HANDLED THE BOOKS
OF THOSE EPOCHS--CITATIONS FROM KNIGHT’S "LIFE OF CAXTON" --REMARKS
BY WARTON--EXPENSE ACCOUNT OF SIR JOHN HOWARD--METHODS OF THE TRANSCRIBERS AND
LIMNERS OF THOSE TIMES--MODERN METHODS OF PREPARING PARCHMENT AND
VELLUM--CITATION FROM THE PENNY CYCLOPÆDIA--PASSAGE FROM A SERMON OF THE
ARCHBISHOP OF TOURS--ANECDOTE ABOUT THE COUNT OF NEVERS.
THE great abundance of
papyrus in Egypt, the chief source of its supply, the genius and magnificence
of the rulers of that country, and the army of learned men who resorted
thither, caused it to become the principal home of those immense libraries of
antiquity already mentioned as having perished by fire and tumults included in
periods between B. C. 48 and A. D. 640.
The Pergamus library
which was deposited by Cleopatra, B. C. 32, in the city of Alexandria, is said
to have been composed almost wholly of parchment written volumes. The reason or
cause of such employment, of parchment in preference to papyrus is attributed
to jealousies existing between Eumenes, King of Pergamus, and Ptolemy
Philadelphus, the ruler of Egypt, contemporaries of each other.
This Ptolemy, B. C.
202, issued an edict prohibiting the exportation of papyrus from Egypt, and
hoped thereby to rid himself of foreign rivals in the formation of libraries;
also that he might never be subject to the inconvenience of wanting paper for
the multitude of scribes whom he kept constantly employed, both to write
original manuscripts as well as to multiply them by duplication.
Before this period the
exportation of papyrus had been a very considerable article of Egyptian
commerce, but thereafter it became much curtailed, and about A. D. 950 had
ceased altogether.
Eumenes, it appears,
was not to be deterred from his favorite study and pastime, so lie contrived a
peculiar mode of dressing skins, which seems to have answered very fully the
requirements of fluid-ink writing methods and thus avoiding the necessity of
employing paints, the only material which would "bind" to undressed
parchment (skins).
That the refined and
luxurious Romans, after the introduction of parchment, vellum, and paper,
insisted on an improvement in quality and appearance is certain. This appears
from various passages in their best authors. Ovid, writing to Rome from his
place of exile, complains bitterly that his letter must be sent plain, simple,
and without the customary embellishments.
We can safely date the
first step towards the modern form of books to the introduction of dressed
skins (parchment and vellum), as surfaces to receive ink writing. These
materials could be formed into leaves, instead of metal, wood, ivory, or wax
tablets, a use to which papyrus could not be put on account of its brittleness.
Thus originated the libri quadrali, or square books, which eventually
superseded the ancient volumina (rolls).
Parchment and vellum
gradually superseded all other substances in Europe as a general material for
writing upon, after the third or fourth century. The employment of papyrus,
however, in ecclesiastical centers continued even as late as the eleventh
century.
A kind of bark paper
was manufactured in Europe previous to the introduction of linen
("cotton," "Bombycina") paper from the East. The ancient
Chinese made various kinds of paper and had a method of producing pieces
sometimes forty feet in length. The Chinese record, called "Sou kien tchi
pou," states that a kind of paper was made from hemp, and another
authority (Du Halde) observes, "that old pieces of woven hemp were first
made into paper in that country about A. D. 95, by a great mandarin of the
palace." Linen rags were afterwards employed by the Chinese.
The introduction of
"linen" paper into Europe did not materially affect or interfere with
the use of parchment or vellum until after the invention of printing in the
fifteenth century.
The class of substances
to which parchment and vellum belong has already received some consideration
but is a subject well worth some further discussion.
Allusions are found in
some of the classical writers to inscriptions written on the skins of goats and
sheep; it has, indeed, been asserted by some scholars that the Books of Moses
were written on such skins. Dr. Buchanan many years ago discovered, in the
record chest of some Hebrews at Malabar, a manuscript copy of the greater part
of the Pentateuch, written in Hebrew on goat’s skins. The goat skins were
thirty-seven in number, dyed red, and were sewn together, so as to form a roll
forty-eight feet in length by twenty-two inches in width. At what date this was
written cannot be now determined, but it is supposed to be extremely ancient.
The Hebrews began,
early after the invention of parchment, to write their scriptures on this
material, of which the rolls of the law used in their synagogues are still
composed.
Scriptural, like many
other classes of MSS. originating previous to the eighth century and ink
written either on parchment or vellum, or both, are in capital letters without
spaces between words and exceedingly rare. The more important and valuable of
them which apply to the New Testament are respectively known as the Sinaitic,
the Vatican and the Alexandrian, many of whose various translations and
readings are incorporated by Tischendorf in his Leipzig edition of the English
New Testament. The stories relating to the discovery and obtaining of these
relics of the first centuries of our era are startling ones. The reputation and
standing, however, of the discoverers, and the investigations subsequently made
by known scholars of their time, serves to invest them with a certain degree of
truthfulness. The most interesting is the story about the Sinaitic codex, the
oldest of any extant and which is best told by Madan:
"The story of the discovery of this famous manuscript of the Bible
in Greek, the oldest existing of all the New Testament codexes, and in several
points the most interesting, reads like a romance. Constantine Tischendorf, the
well-known editor of the Greek Testament, started on his first mission littéraire
in April, 1844, and in the next month found himself at the Convent of St.
Catherine, at the foot of Mount Sinai. There, in the middle of the hall, as he
crossed it, he saw a basket full of old parchment leaves on their way to the
burning, and was told that two baskets had already gone! Looking at the leaves
more closely, he perceived that they were parts of the Old Testament in Greek,
written in an extremely old handwriting. He was allowed to take away
forty-three leaves; but the interest of the monks was aroused, and they both
stopped the burning, and also refused to part with any more of the precious
fragments. Tischendorf departed, deposited the forty-three leaves in the
Leipsig Library, and edited them under the title of the Codex
Friderico-Augustanus, in compliment to the King of Saxony, in 1846. But he
wisely kept the secret of their provenance, and no one followed in his track
until he himself went on a second quest to the monastery in 1853. In that year
he could find no traces whatever of the remains of the MSS. except a few
fragments of Genesis, and returned unsuccessful and disheartened. At last, he
once more took a journey to the monastery, under the patronage of the Russian
Emperor, who was popular throughout the East as the protector of the Oriental
Churches. Nothing could he find, however; and he had ordered his Bedouins to
get ready for departure, when, happening to have taken a walk with the steward
of the house, and to be invited into his room, in the course of conversation
the steward said: ‘I, too, have read a Septuagint,’ and produced out of a
wrapper of red cloth, ‘a bulky kind of volume,’ which turned out to be the
whole of the New Testament, with the Greek text of the Epistle of Barnabas,
much of which was hitherto unknown, and the greater part of the Old Testament,
all parts of the very MSS. which had so long been sought! In a careless tone
Tischendorf asked if he might have it in his room for further inspection, and
that night (February 4-5, 1859) it ‘seemed impiety to sleep.’ By the next
morning the Epistle of Barnabas was copied out, and a course of action was
settled. Might he carry the volume to Cairo to transcribe? Yes, if the Prior’s
leave was obtained; but, unluckily the Prior had already started to Cairo on
his way to Constantinople. By the activity of Tischendorf he was caught up at
Cairo, gave the requisite permission, and a Bedonin was sent to the convent,
and returned with the book in nine days. On the 24th of February, Tischendorf
began to transcribe it; and when it was done, conceived the happy idea of
asking for the volume as a gift to the Emperor of Russia. Probably this was the
only possible plea which would have gained the main object in view, and even as
it was there was great delay; but at last, on the 28th of September, the gift
was formally made, and the MSS. soon after deposited in St. Petersburg, where
it now lies. The date of this MSS. is supposed to be not later than A. D. 400,
and has been the subject of minute inquiry in consequence of the curious
statement of Simonides in 1862, that he had himself written it on Mount Athos
in 1839-40." Constantine
Simonides was a Greek who was born in 1824 and is believed to have been the
most versatile forger of the nineteenth century. From 1843 until 1856 he was in
evidence all over Europe offering for sale fraudulent MSS. purporting to be of
ancient origin.
In 1861 Madan says:
"He boldly asserted that he himself had written the whole of the
Codex Sinaiticus which Tischendorf had bought in 1856 from the monastery of St.
Catherine on Mount Sinai. The statement was, of course, received with the
utmost incredulity; but Simionides asserted, not only that he had written it,
but that, in view of the probable skepticism of the scholars, he had placed
certain private signs on particular leaves of the codex. When pressed to
specify these marks he gave a list of the leaves on which were to be found his
initials or other monogram. The test was a fair one, and the MSS., which was at
St. Petersburg, was carefully inspected. Every leaf designated by Simonides was
found to be imperfect at the part where the mark was to have been found. Deliberate
mutilation by an enemy, said his friends. But many thought that the wily Greek
had acquired through private friends a note of some imperfect leaves in the
MSS., and had made unscrupulous use of the information." A curious kind of document, which links the
classical times with the middle ages, in respect to the we of parchment, is
afforded by the "palimpsests," or manuscripts from which old writing
had been erased in order to make way for new. A well-prepared leaf of parchment
was so costly an article in the middle ages, that the transcribers who were
employed by the monastic establishments in writing often availed themselves of
some old manuscript, from which they scraped off the writing; such a
doubly-used piece of parchment was called a "palimpsest." This
practice seems to have been followed long before, but not to so great an extent
as about the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries, at which time there were
persons regularly employed as "parchment-restorers." The transcribers
had a regular kind of knife, with which they scratched out the old writing, and
they rubbed the surface with powdered pumice stone, to prepare it for receiving
the new ink. So common was this practice that when one of the emperors of
Germany established the office of imperial notary, it was one of the articles
or conditions attached to the holding of the office that the notary should not
use "scraped vellum" in drawing deeds. Sometimes the original
writing, by a careful treatment of the parchment, has been so far restored as
to be visible, and it is found to be parallel, diagonal, and sometimes at right
angles to the writing afterwards introduced. In many cases the ancient writing
restored beneath is found to be infinitely more valuable than the monkish
legends written afterwards.
Cicero’s De Republica
was discovered by Angelo Mai in the Vatican library written under a commentary
of St. Augustine on the Psalms; and the Institutions of Gains, in the library
of the chapter of Verona, were deciphered in like manner under the works of St.
Jerome.
Papyrus, parchment, and
vellum were sometimes used together in the MSS. books. Thompson, author of
"Greek and Latin Palæography," observes:
"Examples, made up in book form, sometimes with a few vellum leaves
incorporated to give stability, are found in different libraries of Europe.
They are: The Homilies of St. Avitus, of the 6th century, at Paris; Sermons and
Epistles of St. Augustine, of the 6th or 7th century, at Paris and Genoa; works
of Hilary, of the 6th century, at Vienna; fragments of the Digests, of the 6th
century, at Pommersfeld; the Antiquities of Josephus, of the 7th century, at
Milan; an Isidore, of the 7th century, at St. Gall. At Munich, also, is the
register of the Church of Ravenna, written on this material in the 10th
century." The rolls and
records connected with the early parliamentary and legal proceedings in England
furnish interesting examples of the use of parchment in writing. The
"Records," so often alluded to in such matters, are statements or
details, written upon rolls of parchment, of the proceedings in those higher
courts of law which are distinguished as "Courts of Record." It has
been stated that "our stores of public records are justly reckoned to
excel in age, beauty, correctness, and authority whatever the choicest archives
abroad can boast of the like sort."
The records are
generally made of several skins or sheets of parchment or vellum, each sheet
being about three feet long and often nine to fourteen inches in width. They
are either all fastened together at one end, so as to form a kind of book, or
are stitched end to end, so as to constitute an extended roll. These two
methods appear each to have had its particular advantages, according to the way
in which, and the time at which, the manuscript was filled up. Some of the
records of the former of these two kinds contain so many skins of parchment
that they form a huge roll equal in size to a large bass drum, and requiring
the strength of two men to lift them. Some of these on the continuous plan are
also said to be of immense size; one, of modern date, is nine hundred feet in
length and employs a man three hours to unroll it. The invaluable old record,
known by the name of "Doomsday Book," is shaped like a book, and is
much more convenient to open than most of the others. Various other legal
documents, to an immense amount, are "filed," or fastened together by
a string passing through them.
It seems a very strange
contradiction, but it is positively asserted as a fact, that the parchment
employed for these records was of very fine quality down to the time of
Elizabeth, but that it gradually deteriorated afterwards, insomuch that the
latest are the worst. Some of these records and rolls are written in Latin,
some in Norman French, and some in English.
The modes of depositing
and carrying the ancient records were curious, and there seems to have been no
very definite arrangement in this respect. Great numbers were kept in pouches
or bags made of leather, canvas, cordovan, or buckram; they were tied like
modern reticules. When such pouches have escaped damp they have preserved the
parchment records for centuries perfectly clean and uninjured. Another kind of
receptacle for records was a small turned box, called a "skippet,"
and another was the "hanaper," or hamper, a basket made of twigs or
wicker-work. Chests, coffers, and cases of various shapes and sizes formed
other receptacles for the records. The mode of finding the particular document
required was not by a system of paging and an index, as in a modern book,
because the arrangement of the written sheets did not admit of this, but there
were letters, signs, and inscriptions, or labels for this purpose; they
constitute an odd assemblage, comprising ships, scales, balances, castles,
plants, animals, etc.; in most instances the signs or symbols bear some
analogy, or supposed analogy, with the subject of the record, such as an oak on
a record relating to the forest laws, a head in a cowl on one relating to a
monastery, scales on one relating to coining, etc.
At a time when books
were prepared by hand instead of by printing, and when each copy became very
valuable, books were treated with a degree of respect which can be hardly
understood at the present day. The clergy and the monks were almost exclusively
the readers of those days, and they held the other classes of society in such
contempt, in all that regarded literature and learning, that Bishop de Burg, who
wrote about five centuries ago, expresses an opinion that "Laymen, to whom
it matters not whether they look at a book turned wrong side upwards or spread
before them in natural order, are altogether unworthy of any communion with
books."
It is stated by Mr.
Knight, in his "Life of Caxton:"
"We have abundant evidence, whatever be the scarcity of books as
compared with the growth of scholarship, that the ecclesiastics laboured most
diligently to multiply books for their own establishments. In every great abbey
there was a room called the Scriptorium, where boys and novices were constantly
employed in multiplying the service-books of the choir, and the less valuable
books for the library; whilst the monks themselves laboured in their cells upon
bibles and missals. Equal pains were taken in providing books for those who
received a liberal education in collegiate establishments." Warton says:
"At the foundation of Winchester College, one or more transcribers
were hired and employed by the founder to make books for the library. They
transcribed and took their food within the college, as appears by computation
of expenses on their account now remaining. But there are many indications that
even kings and nobles had not the advantage of scholars by profession, and,
possessing few books of their own, had sometimes to borrow of their more
favoured subjects." We learn
from another source that the great not only procured books by purchase, but
employed transcribers to make them for their libraries. The manuscript expense
account of Sir John Howard, afterwards Duke of Norfolk, shows in 1467, Thomas
Lympnor, that is Thomas the Limner of Bury, was paid the sum of fifty shillings
and two pence for a book which he had transcribed and ornamented, including the
vellum and binding. The limner’s bill is made up of a number of items,
"for whole vignettes, and half-vignettes, and capital letters, and
flourishing and plain writing."
These transcribers and
limners worked principally upon parchment and vellum, for the use of paper was
by no means extensive until the invention of the art of printing. Some of the
old manuscripts contain drawings representing a copier or transcriber at work,
where the monk is represented as provided with a singular and tolerably
complete set of apparatus to aid him in his work. The desk for containing the
sheet or skin on which he is writing, the clasp to keep this sheet flat, the
inkstand, the pen, and the knife, the manuscript from which the copy is being
made, the desk for containing that manuscript, and the weight for keeping it in
its place,--all are shown, with a clearness which, despite of bad perspective,
renders them quite intelligible.
Of the two substances,
parchment and vellum, before the invention of paper, another word or two may be
said. Parchment is made from the skin of sheep or lambs; vellum, from that of
very young calves (sometimes unborn ones), but the process of preparing is
pretty much the same in both cases. When the hair or wool has been removed, the
skin is steeped in lime water, and then stretched on a square frame in a light
manner. While so stretched, it is scraped on the flesh side with a blunt iron,
wetted with a moist rag, covered with pounded chalk, and rubbed well with
pumice stone. After a time, these operations are repeated, but without the use
of chalk; the skin is then turned, and scraped on the hair side once only; the
flesh side is then scraped once more, and again rubbed over with chalk, which
is brushed off with a piece of lambskin retaining the wool. All this is done by
the skinner, who allows the skin to dry on a frame, and then cuts it out and
sends it to the parchment maker, who repeats the operation with a sharper tool,
using a sack stuffed with flocks (wool or hair) to lay the skin upon, instead
of stretching it on a frame.
Respecting the quality,
value, and preparation of parchment in past ages, it is stated in the
"Penny Cyclopædia" that parchment from the seventh to the tenth
century was "white and good, and at the earliest of these periods it
appears to have nearly superseded papyrus, which was brittle and more
perishable. A very few books of the seventh century have leaves of parchment
and papyrus mixed, that the former costly material might strengthen and support
the friable paper. About the eleventh century it grew worse, and a dirty
colored parchment is evidence of a want of antiquity. This may possibly arise
from the circumstances that writers of this time prepared their own parchment,
and they were probably not so skilled as manufacturers. A curious passage from
a sermon of Hildebert, Archbishop of Tours, who was born in 1054, is a voucher
for this fact. The sermon is on the "Book of Life," which he
recommends his hearers to obtain:
‘Do you know what a writer does? He first cleanses his parchment from
the grease, and takes off the principal part of the dirt; then he entirely rubs
off the hair and fibres with pumice stone; if he did not do so, the letters
written upon it would not be good, nor would they last long. He then rules
lines that the writing may be straight. All these things you ought to do, if
you wish to possess the book which I have been displaying to you.’ At this time parchment was a very costly
material. We find it mentioned that Gui, Count of Nevers, having sent a
valuable present of plate to the Chartreux of Paris, the unostentatious monks
returned it with a request that he would send them parchment instead."
CHAPTER XXX. MODERN INK
BACKGROUNDS (TRUE PAPER).
WHEN IT WAS THAT TRUE
PAPER WAS INVENTED--CITATIONS FROM MUNSELL ABOUT CHINESE AND OTHER ANCIENT
PAPER--A SHORT CHRONOLOGY FROM THE SAME AUTHOR--LINEN PAPER IN USE IN THE
TWELFTH CENTURY--BOMBYCINE PAPER--DEVELOPMENTS OF THE MICROSCOPE--METHODS
EMPLOYED IN ASCERTAINING ORIGIN OF LINEN PAPER BY MEERMAN--SOME OBSERVATIONS
RELATIVE TO THE EVOLUTION OF PAPER --RAPID IMPROVEMENT IN QUALITY AFTER
INVENTION OF PRINTING--CURIOUS CUSTOMS IN THE USE OF THE WATER MARK--NO
DISTINCTIONS IN QUALITY OF PAPER USED FOR MSS. OR OTHER BOOKS--ANECDOTES AND
OBSERVATIONS ABOUT THE WATER MARK--ITS VALUE IN DETECTING FRAUDS--INTERESTING
ANECDOTE OF ITS USE IN FABRICATING A FRAUD--FULLER’S CHARACTERIZATION OF THE
PAPERS OF DIFFERENT COUNTRIES--WHEN THE FIRST PAPER MILL WAS ESTABLISHED IN
EUROPE FOR THE MANUFACTURE OF LINEN PAPER--DATE OF THE ESTABLISHMENT OF THE
FIRST PAPER MILL IN AMERICA--WHO FIRST SUGGESTED WOOD AS A MATERIAL FOR MAKING
PAPER--SOME NAMES OF AUTHORS ON THE SUBJECT OF PAPER--STORY OF RAG PAPER
INSTRUCTIVE AS WELL AS INTERESTING.
WHEN it was that the
great change occurred and true paper made of fibrous matter or rags reduced to
a pulp in water was invented has been a subject of considerable thought and
investigation. Munsell, in his "Chronology of Paper and
Paper-Making," credits it to the Chinese, and estimates its date to be
included in the first century of the Christian era. He observes:
"The Chinese paper is commonly supposed to be made of silk; but
this is a mistake. Silk by itself cannot be reduced to a pulp suitable for
making paper. Refuse silk is said to be occasionally used with other
ingredients, but the greater part of the Chinese paper is made from the inner
bark of the bamboo and mulberry tree, called by them the paper tree, hempen
rags, etc. The latter are prepared for paper by being cut and well washed in
tanks. They are then bleached and dried; in twelve days they are converted into
a pulp, which is then made into balls of about four pounds weight. These are
afterwards saturated with water, and made into paper on a frame of fine reeds;
and are dried by being pressed under large stones. A second drying operation is
performed by plastering the sheets on the walls of a room. The sheets are then
coated with gum size, and polished with stones. They also make paper from
cotton and linen rags, and a coarse yellow sort from rice straw, which is used
for wrapping. They are enabled to make sheets of a large size, the mould on
which the pulp is made into paper being sometimes ten or twelve feet long and
very wide, and managed by means of Pulleys.
"The Japanese prepare paper from the mulberry as follows: in the
month of December the twigs are cut into lengths not exceeding thirty inches
and put together in bundles. These fagots are then placed upright in a large
vessel containing alkaline ley, and boiled till the bark shrinks so as to allow
about a half an inch of the wood to appear free at the top. After they are thus
boiled they are exposed to a cool atmosphere, and laid away for future use.
When a sufficient quantity has been thus collected, it is soaked in water three
or four days, when a blackish skin which covered it is scraped off. At the same
time also the stronger bark which is of a full year’s growth is separated from
the thinner, which covered the younger branches, and which yields the best and
whitest paper. After it has been sufficiently cleansed out and separated, it
must be boiled in clear ley, and if stirred frequently it soon becomes of a
suitable nature.
"It is then washed, a process requiring much attention and great
skill and judgment; for if it be not washed long enough, although strong and of
good body, will be coarse and of little value; if washed too long it will
afford a white paper, but will be spongy and unfit for writing upon. Having
been washed until it becomes a soft and woolly pulp, it is spread upon a table
and beat fine with a mallet. It is then put into a tub with an infusion of rice
and breni root, when the whole is stirred until the ingredients are thoroughly
mixed in a mass of proper consistence. The moulds on which sheets are formed
are made of reeds cut into narrow strips instead of wire, and the process of
dipping is like that of other countries. After being allowed to remain a short
time in heaps under a slight pressure, the sheets are exposed to the sun, by
which they are properly dried.
"The Arabians in the seventh century appear to have either
discovered or to have learned from the Chinese or Hindoos, quite likely from
the latter, the art of making paper from cotton; for it is known that a
manufactory of such paper was established at Samarcand about the year 706 A. D,
The Arabians seem to have carried the art to Spain, and to have there made
paper from linen and hemp as well as from cotton.
"The art of manufacturing paper from cotton is supposed to have
found its way into Europe in the eleventh century. The first paper of that kind
was made of raw cotton; but its manufacture was by the Arabians extended to old
worn-out cotton, and even to the smallest pieces it is said. But as there are
cotton plants of various kinds, it was natural that they should produce papers
of different qualities; and it was impossible to unite their woolly particles
so firmly as to form a strong substantial paper, for want of sufficient skill
and proper machinery, using as they did mortars and rude horse-mills. The
Greeks, it is said, made use of cotton paper before the Latins. It came into
Germany through Venice and was called Greek parchment.
"The Moors, who were the paper-makers of Spain, having been
expelled by the Spaniards, the latter, acquainted with water mills, improved
the manufacture so as to produce a paper from cotton nearly equal to that made
of linen rags." A chronology of paper
relating to the earliest specimens of them can also be found in Munsell’s work
on that subject; several are here cited:
"A. D. 704. The
Arabians are supposed to have acquired the knowledge of making paper of cotton,
by their conquests in Tartary.
"A. D. 706.
Casiri, a Spanish author, attributes the invention of cotton paper to Joseph
Amru, in this year, at Mecca; but it is well known that the Chinese and
Persians were acquainted with its manufacture before this period.
"A. D. 900. The
bulls of the popes in the eighth and ninth centuries were written upon cotton
paper.
"A. D. 900.
Montfaucon, who on account of his diligence and the extent of his researches is
great authority, wrote a dissertation to prove that charta bombycine, cotton
paper, was discovered in the empire of the east toward the end of the ninth or
beginning of the tenth century.
"A. D. 1007. The
plenarium, or inventory, of the treasure of the church of Sandersheim, is
written upon paper of cotton, bearing this date.
"A. D. 1049. The
oldest manuscript in England written upon cotton paper, is in the Bodleian
collection of the British Museum, having this date.
"A. D. 1050. The
most ancient manuscript on cotton paper, that has been discovered in the Royal
Library at Paris having a date, bears record of this year.
"A. D. 1085. The
Christian successors of Moorish paper-makers at Toledo in Spain, worked the
paper-mills to better advantage than their predecessors. Instead of
manufacturing paper of raw cotton, which is easily recognized by its yellowness
and brittleness, they made it of rags, in moulds through which the water ran
off; for this reason it was called parchment cloth.
"A. D. 1100. The
Aphorisms of Hippocrates, in Arabia, the manuscript of which bears this date,
has been pronounced the oldest specimen of linen paper that has come to light.
"A. D. 1100.
Arabic manuscripts were at this time written on satin paper, and embellished
with a quantity of ornamental work, painted in such gay and resplendent colors
that the reader might behold his face reflected as if from a mirror.
"A. D. 1100. There
was a diploma of Roger, king of Sicily, dated 1145, in which be says that he
had renewed on parchment a charter that had been written on cotton paper in
1100.
"A. D. 1102. The
king of Sicily appears to have accorded a diploma to an ancient family of
paper-makers who had established a manufactory in that island, where cotton was
indigenous, and this has been thought to point to the origin of cotton paper,
quite erroneously.
"A. D. 1120. Peter
the Venerable, abbot of Clum, who flourished about this time, declared that
paper from linen rags was in use in his day.
"A. D. 1150.
Edrisi, who wrote at this time, tells us that the paper made at Xativa, an
ancient city of Valencia, was excellent, and was exported to countries east and
west.
"A. D. 1151. An
Arabian author certifies that very fine white cotton paper was manufactured in
Spain, and Cacim aben Hegi assures us that the best was made at Xativa. The
Spaniards being acquainted with water-mills, improved upon the Moorish method
of grinding the raw cotton and rags; and by stamping the latter in the mill,
they produced a better pulp than from raw cotton, by which various sorts of
paper were manufactured, nearly equal to those made from linen rags.
"A. D. 1153.
Petrus Mauritius (the Abbi de Cluni), who died in this year, has the following
passage on paper in his Treatise against the Jews; ‘The books we read every day
are made of sheep, goat, or calf skin; or of rags (ex rasauris veterum
pannorum),’ supposed to allude to modern paper.
"A. D. 1178. A
treaty of peace between the kings of Aragon and Castile is the oldest specimen
of linen paper used in Spain with a date. It is supposed that the Moors, on
their settlement in Spain, where cotton was scarce, made paper of hemp and
flax. The inventor of linen-rag paper, whoever he was, is entitled to the
gratitude of posterity.
"A. D. 1200.
Casiri positively affirms that there are manuscripts in the Escurial palace
near Madrid, upon both cotton and hemp paper, written prior to this time."
Abdollatiph, an Arabian
physician, who visited Egypt in 1200, says that the linen mummy-cloths were
habitually used to make wrapping paper for the shopkeepers.
A document with the
seals preserved dated A. D. 1239 and signed by Adolphus, count of Schaumburg is
written on linen paper. It is preserved in the university of Rinteln, Germany,
and establishes the fact that linen paper was already in use in Germany.
Specimens of flax paper
and still extant are quite numerous, a very few of them having dates included
in the eighth and ninth centuries.
The charta Damascena,
so-called from the fact of its manufacture in the city of Damascus, was in use
in the eighth century. Many Arabian MSS. on such a paper exist dating from the
ninth century.
The charta bombycina
(bombyx, a silk and cotton paper) was much employed during mediæval periods.
The microscope,
however, has demonstrated conclusively many things formerly in doubt and
relating particularly to the matter of the character of fibre used in
paper-making. One of the most important is the now established fact that there
is no difference between the fibres of the old cotton and linen papers, as made
from rags so named.
To ascertain the
precise period and the particular nation of Europe, when and among whom the use
of our common paper fabricated from linen rags first originated, was a very
earnest object of research with the learned Meerman, author of a now
exceedingly rare work on this subject and published in 1767. His mode of
inquiry was unique. He proposed a reward of twenty-five golden ducats, to
whoever should discover what on due examination should appear to be the most
ancient manuscript or public document inscribed on paper manufactured from
linen rags. This proposal was distributed through all parts of Europe. His
little volume contains the replies which Meerman received. The scholars who remitted
the result of their investigations were unable to distinguish between what they
estimated as cotton or linen rags. They did, however, establish the fact that
paper made of linen rags existed before 1308, and some of them even sought to
give the honor of the invention to Germany. They also asserted that the most
ancient English specimen of such a paper belonged to the year 1342.
The transformation of
paper made from every conceivable fibrous material into what is commonly known
as "linen" or true paper was of slow growth until after the invention
of printing. Following that great event it is surprising, how, in so short a
period, the manufacturers of paper improved its quality and the degree of
excellence which it later attained. They imitated the old vellum so closely
that it was even called vellum and is so known to this day. This class of paper
was employed both for writing and printing purposes and has never been
excelled, surpassing any like productions of modern times.
A curious custom came into
vogue during the early infancy of the "linen" paper industry, which
is of so much interest and possesses so curious a history as to be well worth
mentioning. It is the water mark as it is commonly but erroneously termed in
connection with paper manufacture.
Its origin dates back
to the thirteenth century, though the monuments indicating its use before the
time of printing are but few in number.
The real employment of
the water mark may be said to have commenced at the time when it was a custom
of the first printers to omit their names from their works. Also, it is to be
considered that at this period comparatively few people could either read or
write and therefore pictures, designs or other marks were employed to enable
them to distinguish the paper of one manufacturer from another. These marks as
they became common naturally gave their names to the different sorts of paper.
The earliest known
water mark on linen paper represented a picture of a tower and was of the date
of 1293. The next known water mark which can be designated is a ram’s head and
is found in a book of accounts belonging to an official of Bordeaux which was then
subject to England. It is dated 1330.
In the fifteenth
century there were no distinctions in the quality of paper used for manuscripts
or for books. In the Mentz Bible of 1462 are to be found no less than three
sorts of paper. Of this Bible, the water mark in some sheets is a bull’s head
simply, and in others a bull’s head from whose forehead rises a long line, at
the end of which is a cross. In other sheets the water mark is a bunch of
grapes.
In 1498 the water mark
of paper consisted of an eight pointed star within a double circle. The design
of an open hand with a star at the top which was in use as early as 1530,
probably gave the name to what is still called hand paper.
It appears that even so
high a personage as Henry VIII of England in 1540 utilized the water mark in
order to show his contempt for and animosity to Pope Paul III, with whom he had
then quarreled, gave orders for the preparation of paper, the water mark of
which was a hog with a miter: this he used for his private correspondence.
A little later, about
the middle of the sixteenth century, the favorite paper mark was the jug or
pot, from which would appear to have originated the term pot paper. Still
another belonging to this period was the device of a glove.
At the beginning of the
seventeenth century, the device was a fool’s cap and which has continued by
name as the particular size which we now designate fool’s cap.
The water mark has
continued to increase in popularity and to-day may be found in almost any kind
of paper, either in the shape of designs, figures, numbers or names.
The circumstance of the
water mark has at various times been the means of detecting frauds, forgeries
and impositions in our courts of law and elsewhere. The following is introduced
as a whimsical example of such detections and is said to have occurred in the
fifteenth century, and is related by Beloe, London, 1807:
"The monks of a certain monastery at Messina exhibited to a visitor
with great triumph, a letter which they claimed had been written in ink by the
Virgin Mary with her own hand, not on the ancient papyrus, but on paper made of
rags. The visitor to whom it was shown observed with affected solemnity, that
the letter involved also a miracle because the paper on which it was written
could not have been in existence until over a thousand years after her
death." An interesting
example of the use of water marks on paper for fraudulent purposes is to be
found in a pamphlet entitled "Ireland’s Confessions." This person, a
son of Samuel Ireland, who was a distinguished draughtsman and engraver, about
the end of the eighteenth century fabricated a pretended Shakespeare MSS.,
which as a literary forgery was the most remarkable of its time. Previous to
his confessions it had been accepted by the Shakespearean scholars as
unquestionably the work of the immortal bard. The following is a citation from
his Confessions:
"Being thus urged forward to the production of more manuscripts, it
became necessary that I should posses; a sufficient quantity of old paper to
enable me to proceed; in consequence of which I applied to a book-seller named
Verey, in Great May’s buildings, St. Martin’s Lane, who, for the sum of five
shillings, suffered me to take from all the folio and quarto volumes in his
shop the fly leaves which they contained. By this means I was amply stored with
that commodity--nor did I fear any mention of the circumstance by Mr. Verey,
whose quiet, unsuspecting disposition, I was well convinced, would never lead
him to make the transaction public; in addition to which, he was not likely
even to know anything concerning the supposed Shakespearean discovery by
myself, and even if he had, I do not imagine that my purchase of the old paper
in question would have excited in him the smallest degree of suspicion. As I
was fully aware, from the variety of water-marks, which are in existence at the
present day, that they must have constantly been altered since the period of
Elizabeth and being for some time wholly unacquainted with the water-marks of
that age, I very carefully produced my first specimens of the writing on such
sheets of old paper as had no marks whatever. Having heard it frequently stated
that the appearance of such marks on the papers would have greatly tended to
establish their validity, I listened attentively to every remark which was made
upon the subject, and from thence I at length gleaned the intelligence that a
jug was the prevalent water-mark of the reign of Elizabeth; in consequence of
which I inspected all the sheets of old paper then in my possession, and having
selected such as had the jug upon them, I produced the succeeding manuscripts
upon these, being careful, however, to mingle with them a certain number of
blank leaves, that the production on a sudden of so many water-marks might not
excite suspicion in the breasts of those persons who were most conversant with
the manuscripts." Fuller,
writing in 1662, characterizes the paper of his day:
"Paper participates in some sort of the character of the country
which makes it; the Venetian being neat, subtle, and court-like; the French
light, slight, and slender; and the Dutch thick, corpulent, and gross, sticking
up the ink with the sponginess thereof. And he complains of the ‘vast sums of
money expended in our land for paper out of Italy, France, and Germany, which
might be lessened were it made in our nation.’ " Ulman Strother in 1390 started his paper mill at Nuremberg in
Bavaria which was the first paper mill known to have been established in
Germany, and is said to have been the only one in Europe then manufacturing
paper from linen rags.
Among the privy
expenses of Henry VII of the year 1498 appears the following entry: "A
reward given to the paper mill, 16s. 8d." This is probably the paper mill
mentioned by Wynkin de Worde, the father of English typography. It was located
at Hertford, and the water mark he employed was a star within a double circle.
The manufacture of
paper in England previous to the revolution of 1688 was an industry of very
small proportions, most of the paper being imported from Holland.
The first paper mill
established in America was by William Rittenhouse who emigrated from Holland
and settled in Germantown, Pa., in 1690. At Roxborough, near Philadelphia, on a
stream afterwards called Paper Mill run, which empties into the Wissahicken
river, was located the site which in company with William Bradford, a printer,
he chose for his mill. The paper was made from linen rags, mostly the product
of flax raised in the vicinity and made first into wearing apparel.
It was Reaumer, who in
1719 first suggested the possibility of paper being made from wood. He obtained
his information on this subject from examination of wasps’ nests.
Matthias Koops in 1800
published a work on "Paper" made from straw, wood and other
substances. His second edition appeared in 1801 and was composed of old paper
re-made into new. Another work on the subject of "Paper from Straw,
&c.," by Piette, appeared in 1835, which said work contains more than
a hundred pages, each one of which was made from a different kind of material.
Many other valuable
works are obtainable which treat of rag paper manufacture and the stories they
tell are instructive as well as interesting.
CHAPTER XXXI. MODERN INK
BACKGROUNDS (WOOD PAPER AND "SAFETY" PAPER).
SOME GENERAL
OBSERVATIONS ABOUT PAPER-MAKING MATERIALS--PROBABILITIES AS TO THE FUTURE OF
THE PUBLIC RECORDS--ESTIMATION OF SUCH MATTERS BY THE LATE POPE--INVENTION OF
WOOD-PULP PAPER --ITS LASTING QUALITIES--THE THREE KINDS OF SUCH PAPER
DEFINED--DISCUSSION OF THE SUBJECT OF FUNGI IN PAPER BY GLYDE--SOME TESTS TO
ASCERTAIN THE MATERIAL OF WHICH PAPER IS COMPOSED--TESTS AS TO SIZING AND THE
DETERMINATION OF THE DIRECTION OF THE GRAIN--ABSORBING POWERS OF BLOTTING
PAPER--TESTS FOR GROUND WOOD--NEW MODE OF ANALYSTS--WHEN THE FIRST
"SAFETY" PAPER WAS INVENTED--THE MANY KINDS OF "SAFETY"
PAPER AND PROCESSES IN THEIR MANUFACTURE--CHRONOLOGICAL REVIEW COVERING THIS
SUBJECT--SURVEY OF THE VARIOUS PROCESSES IN THE TREATMENT AND USE OF "SAFETY"
PAPER--ONLY THREE CHEMICAL "SAFETY" PAPERS NOW ON THE MARKET--WHY IT
IS POSSIBLE TO RAISE SOME MONETARY INSTRUMENTS.
PAPER manufacturers
have tried all the pulp-making substances. This statement to the unlearned must
seem curious, because in the very early times they were content with a single
material and that did not even require to be first made into the form of pulp.
When the supply of papyrus failed, it was rags which they substituted. By the
simplest processes they produced a paper with which our best cannot compare. In
some countries great care is exercised in selecting the quality of paper for
official use, in others none at all.
What will be the state
of our archives a few hundred years hence, if they be not continually recopied?
Some of the printed
paper rots even more quickly than written.
The late Pope at one
time invited many of the savants, chemists and librarians of Europe, to meet at
Einsiedlen Abbey in Switzerland. He requested that the subject of their
discussions should be both ink and paper. He volunteered the information,
already known to the initiated, that the records of this generation in his
custody and under his control were fast disappearing and unless the writing
materials were much improved he estimated that they would entirely disappear. It
is stated that at this meeting the Pope’s representative submitted a number of
documents from the Vatican archives which are scarcely decipherable though
dated in the nineteenth century. In a few of those of dates later than 1873 the
paper was so tender that unless handled with exceptional care, it would break
in pieces like scorched paper.
These conditions are in
line with many of those which prevail with few exceptions in every country,
town or hamlet.
A contributory cause as
we know is a class of poor and cheap inks now in almost universal use. The
other is the so-called "modern" or wood-pulp paper in general vogue.
Reaumur, as already
stated, back in 1719 suggested from information gathered in examinations of
wasps’ nests, that a paper might be manufactured from wood. This idea does not
appear to have been acted upon until many years later, although in the interim
inventors were exhausting their ingenuity in the selection of fibrous materials
from which paper might be manufactured.
The successful
introduction of wood as a substitute for or with rags in paper manufacture
until about 1870 was of slow growth; since which time vast quantities have been
employed. In this country alone millions of tons of raw material are being
imported to say nothing of home products.
Its value in the cause
of progress of some arts which contribute greatly to our comfort and
civilization cannot be overestimated, but nevertheless the wood paper is bound
to disintegrate and decay, and the time not very far distant either. Hence, its
use for records of any kind is always to be condemned.
There are three classes
of wood pulp; mechanical wood, soda process, and the sulphite. The first or
mechanical wood is a German invention of 1844, where the logs after being cut
up into proper blocks, were then ground against a moving millstone against
which they were pressed and with the aid of flowing water reduced to a pulpy
form. This pulp was transported into suitable tanks and then pumped to the
"beaters."
The soda process wood
and sulphite wood pulp are both made by chemical processes. The first was
invented by Meliner in 1865. The preparation of pulp by this process consists
briefly in first cutting up the logs into suitable sections and throwing them
into a chipping machine. The chips are then introduced into tanks containing a
strong solution of caustic soda and boiled under pressure.
The sulphite process is
substantially the same except that the chips are thrown into what are called
digesters and fed with the chemicals which form an acid sulphite. The real
inventor of this latter process is not known.
The chemicals employed
in both of these processes compel a separation of the resinous matters from the
cell tissues or cellulose. These products are then treated in the manufacturing
of paper with few variations, the same as the ordinary rag pulp.
These now perfected
processes are the results of long and continuing experimentations made by many
inventors.
The following paper was
read before the London Society of Arts by Mr. Alfred Glyde, in May, 1850, and
is equally applicable to some of the wood paper of the present day:
"Owing to the imperfections formerly existing in the microscope,
little was known of the real nature of the plants called fungi until within the
last few years, but since the improvements in that instrument the subject of
the development, growth, and offices of the fungi has received much attention.
They compose, with the algæ and lichens, the class of thallogens (Lindley), the
algæ existing in water, the other two in air only. A fungus is a cellular
flowerless plant, fructifying solely by spores, by which it is propagated, and
the methods of attachment of which are singularly various and beautiful. The
fungi differs from the lichens and algæ in deriving their nourishment from the
substances on which they grow, instead of from the media in which they live.
They contain a larger quantity of nitrogen in their constitution than
vegetables generally do, and the substance called ‘fungine’ has a near
resemblance to animal matter. Their spores are inconceivably numerous and
minute, and are diffused very widely, developing themselves wherever they find
organic matter in a fit state. The principal conditions required for their
growth are moisture, heat, and the presence of oxygen and electricity. No
decomposition or development of fungi takes place in dry organic matter, a fact
illustrated by the high state of preservation in which timber has been found
after the lapse of centuries, as well as by the condition of mummy-cases,
bandages, etc., kept dry in the hot climate of Egypt. Decay will not take place
in a temperature below that of the freezing point of water, nor without oxygen,
by excluding which, is contained in the air, meat and vegetables may be kept
fresh and sweet for many years.
"The action which takes place when moist vegetable substances are
exposed to oxygen is that of slow combustion (‘eremacausis’), the oxygen
uniting with the wood and liberating a volume of carbonic acid equal to itself,
and another portion combining with the hydrogen of the wood to form water.
Decomposition takes place on contact with a body already undergoing the same
change, in the same manner that yeast causes fermentation. Animal matter enters
into combination with oxygen in precisely the same way as vegetable matter, but
as, in addition to carbon and hydrogen, it contains nitrogen, the products of
the eremacausis are more numerous, being carbon and nitrate of ammonia,
carburetted and sulphuretted hydrogen, and water, and these ammoniacal salts
greatly favor the growth of fungi. Now paper consists essentially of woody
fibre, having animal matter as size on its surface. The first microscopic
symptom of decay in paper is irregularity of surface, with a slight change of
color, indicating the commencement of the process just noticed, during which,
in addition to carbonic acid, certain organic acids are formed, as crenic and
ulmic acids, which, if the paper has been stained by a coloring matter, will
form spots of red on the surface. The same process of decay goes on in
parchment as in paper, only with more rapidity, from the presence of nitrogen
in its composition. When this decay has begun to take place, fungi are
produced, the most common species being Peniciliumglaucum. They insinuate
themselves between the fibre, causing a freer admission of air, and
consequently hasten the decay. The substances most successfully used as
preventives of decay are the salts of mercury, copper, and zinc. Bichloride of
mercury (corrosive sublimate) is the material employed in the kyanization of
timber, the probable mode of action being its combination with the albumen of
the wood, to form an insoluble compound not susceptible of spontaneous
decomposition, and therefore incapable of exciting fermentation. The antiseptic
power of corrosive sublimate may be easily tested by mixing a little of it with
flour paste, the decay of which, and the appearance of fungi, are quite
prevented by it. Next to corrosive sublimate in antiseptic value stand the
salts of copper and zinc. For use in the preservation of paper the sulphate of
zinc is better than the chloride, which is to a certain extent
delinquescent." There are numerous
paper tests which include the matter of sizing, direction of the grain,
absorbing powers, character of ingredients, etc. A few of them are cited.
SIZING.--The everyday
tests as to hardness of sizing answer every ordinary purpose: Moisten with the
tongue, and if the paper is slack-sized you can detect it often by the instant
drawing or absorption of the moisture. Watch the spot moistened, and the longer
it remains wet the better the paper is sized. Look through the spot
dampened--the poorer the sizing the more transparent is the paper where it is
wet. If thoroughly sized no difference will be apparent between the spot
dampened and the balance of the sheet. When there is a question as to whether a
paper is tub or engine sized, it can be usually decided by wetting the
forefinger and thumb and pressing the sheet between them. If tub-sized, the
glue which is applied to the surface will perceptibly cling to the fingers.
TO TEST THE INK
RESISTING QUALITY OF PAPER.--Draw a heavy ink line across the sheet. If the
paper is poorly sized, a feathery edge will appear, caused by spreading of the
ink. Slack-sized paper will be penetrated by the ink, which will plainly appear
on the reverse side of the sheet.
TO DETERMINE THE
DIRECTION OF THE GRAIN.--An easy but sure test to determine the direction of
the grain in a sheet of paper, which will be found useful and worth
remembering, is as follows:
For instance, the size
of sheet is 17x22 inches. Cut out a circular piece as nearly round as the eye
can judge; before entirely detaching from the sheet, mark on the circle the
17-inch way and the 22-inch way; then float the cut out piece on water for a
few seconds; then place on the palm of the hand, taking care not to let the
edges stick to the hand, and the paper will curl until it forms a cone; the
grain of the paper runs the opposite way from which the paper curls.
ABSORBING POWERS OF
BLOTTING PAPER.--Comparative tests as to absorbing powers of blotting can be
made between sheets of same weight per ream by allowing the pointed corner of a
sheet to touch the surface of a drop of ink. Repeat with each sheet to be
tested, and compare the height in each to which the ink has been absorbed. A
well-made blotting paper should have little or no free fibre dust to fill with
ink and smear the paper.
TEST FOR GROUND
WOOD.--Make a streak across the paper with a solution of aniline sulphate or
with concentrated nitric acid; the first will turn ground wood yellow, the
second will turn it brown. I give aniline sulphate the preference, as nitric
acid acts upon unbleached sulphite, if present in the paper, the same as it
acts upon ground wood, viz., turning it brown.
Phloroglucin gives a
rose-red stain on paper containing (sulphite) wood pulp, after the specimen has
been previously treated with a weak solution of hydrochloric acid.
About the end of the
eighteenth century it became necessary to make special papers denominated
"safety paper." Their manufacture has continued until the present day
although much limited, largely because of the employment of mechanical devices
which seek to safety monetary instruments. Such safety papers are of several
kinds.
1. Paper made with
distinguishing marks to indicate proprietorship, as with the Bank of England
water mark, to imitate which is a felony. Or the paper of the United States
currency, which has silk fibers united with the pulp, the imitation of which is
a felony.
2. Paper made with
layers or materials which are disturbed by erasure or chemical discharge of
written or printed contents, so as to prevent fraudulent tampering.
3. Paper made of
peculiar materials or color, to prevent copying by photographic means.
A number of processes
may be cited:
One kind is made of a
pulp tinged with a stain easily affected by chlorine, acids, or alkalis, and is
made into sheets as usual.
Water marks made by
wires twined among the meshes of the wire cloth on which the paper is made.
Threads embodied in the
web of the paper. Colored threads systematically arranged were formerly used in
England for post-office envelopes and exchequer bills.
Silken fibers mixed
with the pulp or dusted upon it in process of formation, as used in the United
States currency.
Tigere, 1817, treated
the pulp of the paper, previous to sizing, with a solution of prussiate of
potash.
Sir Win. Congreve,
1819, prepared a colored layer of pulp in combination with white layers, also
by printing upon one sheet and covering it with an outer layer, either plain or
water-marked.
Glynn and Appel, 1821,
mixed a copper salt in the pulp and afterward added an alkali or alkaline salt
to produce a copious precipitate. The pulp was then washed and made into paper
and thereafter dipped in a saponaceous compound.
Stevenson, 1837,
incorporated into paper a metallic base such as manganese, and a neutral
compound like prussiate of potash, to protect writing from being tampered with.
Varnham, 1845, invented
a paper consisting of a white sheet or surface on one or both sides of a
colored sheet.
Stones, 1851. An iodide
or bromide in connection with ferrocyanide of potassium and starch combined
with the pulp.
Johnson, 1853, employed
the rough and irregular surface produced by the fracture of cast iron or other
brittle metal to form a water mark for paper by taking an impression therefrom
on soft metal, gutta-percha, etc., and afterward transferring it to the wire
cloth on which the paper is made.
Scoutteten, 1853,
treated paper with caoutchoue dissolved in bisulphide of carbon, in order to
render it impermeable and to prevent erasures or chemical action.
Ross, 1854, invented
water-lining or printing the denomination of the note in colors while the pulp
was yet soft.
Evans, 1854, commingled
a lace or open-work fabric in the pulp.
Courboulay, 1856, mixed
the pulp and applied to the paper salts of iodine or bromine.
Loubatieres, 1857,
manufactured paper in layers, any or all of which might be colored, or have
impressions or conspicuous marks for preventing forgery.
Herapath, 1858,
saturated paper during or after its manufacture with a solution of a
ferrocyanide, a ferriccyanide, or sulphocyanide of potassium, sodium, or
ammonium.
Seys and Brewer, 1858,
applied aqueous solutions of ferrocyanide of potassium or other salts, which
formed an indelible compound with the ferruginous base of writing ink.
Sparre, 1859, utilized
opaque matter, such as prussian blue, white or red lead, insoluble in water and
stenciled on one layer of the paper web, forming a regular pattern; this was
then covered by a second layer of paper.
Moss, 1859, invented a
coloring matter prepared from burned china or other clay, oxide of chromium or
sulphur, and combined it with the pulp.
Barclay, 1859,
incorporated with the paper:
1. Soluble
ferrocyanides, ferricyanides, and sulphocyanides of various metals, by forming
dibasic salts with potassium, sodium, or ammonium, in conjunction with
vegetable, animal, or metallic coloring matters.
2. Salts of manganese,
lead, or nickel not containing ferrocyanogen.
3. Ferrocyanides, etc.,
of potassium, sodium, and ammonium, in conjunction with insoluble salts of
manganese, lead, or nickel.
Hooper, 1860. Employed
oxides of iron, either alone or dissolved in an acid, and mixed with the pulp.
Nissen, 1860. Treated
paper with a preparation of iron, together with ammonia, prussiate of potash
and chlorine, while in the pulp or being sized.
Middleton, 1860. Joined
together one portion of a bank note printed upon one sheet of thin paper and
the other part on another; the two were then cemented together by india-rubber,
gutta-percha, or other compound. The interior printing could be seen through
its covering sheet, so that the whole device on the note appeared on its face.
Olier, 1861. Employed
several layers of paper of various materials and colors; the middle one was
colored with a deleble dye, whose color was changed by the application of
chemicals to the outer layer.
Olier, 1863. Prepared a
paper of three layers of different thicknesses, the central one having an
easily removable color, and the external layers were charged with silicate of
magnesia or other salt.
Forster and Draper,
1864. Treating paper during or after manufacture with artificial ultramarine
and Prussian blue or other metallic compound.
Hayward, 1864.
Incorporated threads of fibrous materials of different colors or characters
into and among the pulp.
Loewenberg, 1866.
Introduced prussiate of potash and oxalic acid or such other alkaline salts or
acids into the pulp, in order to indicate fraud in the removal of cancellation
stamps or written marks.
Casilear, 1868. Printed
numbers on a fugitive ground, tint or color in order to prevent alteration of
figures or numbers.
Jameson, 1870. Printed
on paper, designs with ferrocyanide of potassium and then soaked the paper when
dry in a solution of oxalic acid in alcohol.
Duthie, 1872. Made a
ground work of writing ink of different colors by any known means of pen
ruling.
Syms, 1876. Produced
graduated colored stains, which were made to partially penetrate and spread in
the pulp web.
Van Nüys, 1878. Colored
the Paper with a pigment and then printed designs with a soluble sulphide.
Casilear, 1878. United
two distinctive colored papers, one a fugitive and the other a permanent color.
Hendrichs, 1879. Dipped
ordinary paper in an aqueous solution of sulphate of copper and carbonate of
ammonia and then added alkaline solutions of cochineal or equivalent coloring
matter.
Nowlan, 1884. Backed
the ordinary chemical paper with a thin sheet of waterproof paper.
Menzies, 1884.
Introduced iodide and iodate of potassium or their equivalents into paper.
Clapp, 1884. Saturated
paper with gallo-tanic acid, but the ink used on this paper contained
ferri-sesquichloride or other similar preparation of iron.
Hill, 1885. Introduced
into paper, ferrocyanide of manganese and hydrated peroxide of iron.
Schreiber, 1885.
Colored paper material with indigo and with a subsequent treatment of chromates
soluble only in alcohol.
Schreiber, 1885.
Treated finished paper with ferric-oxide salts and with ferrocyanides insoluble
in water but soluble in acids.
Schlumberger, 1890.
Impregnated white paper with a resinated ferrous salt, a resin compound of
plumbic ferrocyanide, and a resin compound of ferrocyanide of manganese in
combination with a salt of molybdenum and a resin compound of zinc sulphide.
Schlumberger, 1893.
Dyed first the splash fibers and mixed them with the paper pulp. Second. He
also treated portions of the surface with an alkali, so as to form lines or
characters thereon, then immersed the same in a weak acid, in order to produce
water-mark lines.
Carvalho, 1894. 1.
Charged the paper with bismuth iodide and sodium iodide. 2. Charged the paper
with a bismuth salt and iodide of soda in combination with primulin, congo red
or other pigment. 3. Charged the paper with a benzidine dye and an alkaline
iodide.
1895. Applied a
compound, sensitive to ink erasing chemicals, after the writing has been placed
on the paper.
Hoskins and Weis, 1895,
a safety paper having added thereto a soluble ferrocyanide and a per-salt of
iron insoluble in water but decomposable by a weak acid in the presence of a
soluble ferrocyanide, as and for the purpose described. (2) A safety paper
having added thereto a ferrocyanide soluble in water, a per-salt of iron
insoluble in water but easily decomposed by weak acids in the presence of a
ferrocyanide soluble in water, and a salt of manganese easily decomposed by
alkalis or bleaching agents, substantially as described.
A review of the various
processes for treatment of paper in pulp or when finished, demonstrates that
time, money and study has been devoted to the production of a real safety
paper. Some compositions and processes have in a measure been successful. It is
found, however, that the ingenuity of those evil-minded persons, to the
detection of whose efforts to alter the writing in documents this class of
invention has more particularly been directed, finds a ready way of removing in
some cases the evidence which the chemical reagent furnishes. This being true
most of them have become obsolete, having entirely failed to accomplish the
purposes for which they were invented.
There are but three
so-called safety papers now on the market, if we exclude those possessing
printed designs in fugitive colors.
It is a strange
anomaly, nevertheless it is true, that 90 per cent or more of the
"raised" checks, notes, or other monetary instruments which were in their
original condition written on ordinary or so-called safety paper, never could
have been successfully "put through" but for the gross and at times
criminal negligence of their writers by the failure to adopt precautions of the
very simplest kinds, and thereby avoided placing temptation in the way of many
who under other circumstances would never have thought of becoming forgers.
There is no safety
paper, safety ink, or mechanical appliance which will prevent the insertion of
words or figures before other words or figures if a blank space be left where
the forger can place them.
CHAPTER XXXII. CURIOSA
(INK AND OTHER WRITING MATERIALS).
ARTIFICIAL INK AND
PAPER OWE THEIR INVENTION TO THE WASP--PHŒNICIA, "LAND OF THE
PURPLE-DYE" --LINES, ADDRESSED TO THE PHŒNICIAN--OLDEST EXISTING PIECE OF
LITERARY COMPOSITION--WHERE PAPYRUS STILL GROWS--DU CANGE’S LINES ON THE
STYLUS--MATERIALS USED TO PROMULGATE ANCIENT LAWS OF GREECE--ANCIENT METHOD OF
WRITING WILLS--MATERIALS EMPLOYED IN ANCIENT HEBREW ROLLS--ANTIQUITY OF
EXISTING HEBREW WRITING --OLDEST SPECIMEN OF GREEK WAX WRITING--WOODEN TALLIES
AS EMPLOYED IN ENGLAND--WHEN WRITING IN GOLD CEASED--DATE OF THE FIRST
DISCOVERY OF GREEK PAPYRUS IN EGYPT--PERIODS TO WHICH BELONG VARIOUS STYLES OF
WRITING--ANECDOTE AND POEM ABOUT THE FIRST GOLD PEN--INTERESTING NOTES ABOUT
PENS AND INK-HORNS--EMPLOYMENT OF THE PEN AS A BADGE IN THE FOURTEENTH
CENTURY--SOME LINES BY COCKER--THE OLDEST EXISTING WRITTEN DOCUMENTS OF
RUSSIA--WHEN SEALING WAX WAS FIRST EMPLOYED--PLINY’S DESCRIPTION OF THE
DIFFERENT KINDS OF PAPYRUS PAPER--MODE OF PRESERVING THE ANCIENT PAPYRUS
ROLLS--SUGGESTIONS RESPECTING USES OF INK--COMPARATIVE TABLE ABOUT COAL TAR AND
ITS BY-PRODUCTS --COMPOSITIONS OF SECRET INKS AND HOW TO RENDER THEM
VISIBLE--CHARACTER OF INK EMPLOYED FOR MANY YEARS BY THE WASHINGTON PATENT
OFFICE--FACTS ELICITED BY HERAPATH IN THE UNROLLMENT OF A MUMMY--LINES FROM
SHAKESPEARE AND PERSEUS--SEVENTEENTH CENTURY OBSERVATIONS ABOUT SECRET
INKS--CAUSE OF THE DESTRUCTION OF MANY ANCIENT MSS.--METHODS TO BE EMPLOYED IN
THE RESTORATION OF SOME OLD INKS--VARIATIONS IN THE MEANING OF WORDS--THE
POUNCE BOX PRECEDED BLOTTING PAPER--SOME OBSERVATIONS ABOUT BLOTTING
PAPER--ANECDOTE RELATING TO DR. GALE--WHEN WAFERS WERE INTRODUCED--PERSIAN
ANECDOTE ABOUT THE DIVES--EPISODES RESPECTING THE STYLUS--DESCRIPTION BY BELOE
OF ANCIENT PERSIC AND ARABIC MSS.--CITATION FROM OLD BOSTON NEWSPAPER AND
POEM--METHOD OF COLLECTING RAGS IN 1807 AND SOME LINES ADDRESSED TO THE
LADIES--METHOD TO PHOTOGRAPH COLORED INKS--POEM BY ISABELLE HOWE FISKE.
IN considering the
important and kindred subjects of "gall" ink and "pulp"
paper, we are not to forget the little things connected with their development
and which, indeed, made their invention possible.
The gall-nut contains
gallic and gallo-tannic acid, and which acids, in conjunction with an iron
salt, forms the sole base of the best ink. This nut is produced by the
punctures made on the young buds of branches of certain species of oak trees by
the female wasp. This same busy little insect was also the first professional
paper maker. She it was who taught us not only the way to change dry wood into
a suitable pulp, the kind of size to be used, how to waterproof and give the
paper strength, but many more marvelous details appertaining to the manufacture
of paper which in their ramifications have proved of inestimable benefit and
service to the human race.
* * * * * * *
The Greek word "Phœnicia"
means literally "the land of the purple dye," and to the Phœnicians
is attributed the invention of the art of writing.
TO THE PHŒNICIAN.
“Creator of celestial
arts,
Thy painted word speaks to the eye; To
simple lines thy skill imparts
The glowing spirit’s ecstasy.” The
oldest piece of literary composition known in the oldest book (roll) in
existence is to be found in the celebrated papyrus Prisse, now in the Louvre at
Paris. It consists of eighteen pieces in Egyptian hieratic writing, ascribed to
about the year B. C. 2500.
While the papyrus plant
has almost vanished from Egypt, it still grows in Nubia and Abyssinia. It is
related by the Arab traveler, Ibn-Haukal, that in the tenth century, in the
neighborhood of Palermo in Sicily, the papyrus plant grew with luxuriance in
the Papirito, a stream to which it gave its name.
Du Cange, 1376, cites
the following lines from a French metrical romance, written about that time, to
show that waxen tablets continued to be occasionally used till a late period:
“Some with antiquated
style
In waxen tablets promptly write; Others
with finer pen, the while
Form letters lovelier to the sight.” The
laws of Greece were promulgated by means of MSS. on linen, as they were also in
Rome, and in addition to linen; cloth and silk were occasionally used. Skins of
various kinds of fish, and even the “intestines of serpents” were employed as
writing materials. Zonaras states that the fire which took place at
Constantinople in the reign of Emperor Basiliscus consumed, among other
valuable remains of antiquity, a copy of the Iliad and Odyssey, and some other
ancient poems, written in letters of gold upon material formed of the
intestines of a serpent. We are also informed by Purcelli that monuments of
much more modern dates, the charter of Hugo and Lothaire, A. D. 933 (kings of
Italy), preserved in the archives of Milan, are written upon fish skins.
Constantine authorized
his soldiers dying on the field of battle to write their last will and
testament with the point of their sword on its sheath or on a shield.
B. C. 270. The Jewish
elders, by order of the high priest, carried a copy of the law to Ptolemy
Philadelphus, written in letters of gold upon skins, the pieces of which were
so artfully put together that the joinings did not appear.
No monuments of Hebrew
writing exist which are not posterior even to the Christian era, with the
exception of those on the coins of the Maccabees, which are in the ancient or
what is termed the Samaritan forms of the Hebrew letters. This coinage took
place about B. C. 144.
The most ancient
specimen of Hebrew ink writing extant is alleged to have been written A. D.
489. It is a parchment roll which was found in a Kariat synagogue in the
Crimea. Another, brought from Danganstan, if the superscription be genuine, has
a date corresponding with A. D. 580. The date of still another of the
celebrated Hebrew scriptural codices, about which there is no dispute, is the
Hilel codex written at the end of the sixth century. Its name is said to be
derived from the fact that it was written at Hila, a town built near the ruins
of the ancient Babel; some maintain, however, that it was named after the man
who wrote it.
One of the earliest
specimens of Greek (wax) writing is an inscription on a small wooden tablet now
in the British museum. It refers to a money transaction of the thirty-first
year of Ptolemy Philadelphus, B. C. 254.
In England the custom
of using wooden tallies, inscribed as well as notched in the public accounts,
lasted down to the nineteenth century.
Gold writing was a
practice which died out in the thirteenth century.
The first discovery of
Greek papyri in Egypt took place in the year 1778. It is of the (late of A. D.
191 and outside of Egypt and Herculaneum is the only place in which the Greek
papyri has ever been found.
Square capital ink
writing in Latin of ancient date is found on a few leaves of an MS. of Virgil,
which is attributed to the close of the fourth century, and the first rustic
MS. to which an approximate date can be given, belongs to the close of the
fifth century.
The most ancient uncial
ink writing extant, belongs to the fourth century, whilst the earliest mixed
uncial and miniscule writing pertains to the sixth century.
The oldest extant Irish
MS. in the round Irish hand is ascribed to the latter part of the seventh
century, while the earliest specimen of English writing of any kind extant
dates about the beginning of the eighth century.
The gold pen won by
Peter Bales in his trial of skill with Johnson, during the reign of Queen
Elizabeth, if really made for use, is probably the first modern example of such
pens. Bales was employed by Sir Francis Walsingham, and afterwards kept a
writing school at the upper end of the Old Bailey. In 1595, when nearly fifty
years old, he had a trial of skill with one Daniel Johnson, by which he was the
winner of a golden pen, of a value of [Pd]20, which, in the pride of his
victory, he set up as his sign. Upon this occasion John Davis made the
following epigram in his “Scourge of Folly”:
“The Hand and Golden
Pen, Clophonion
Sets on his sign, to
shew, O proud, poor soul,
Both where he wonnes,
and how the same he won,
From writers fair,
though he writ ever foul
But by that Hand, that
Pen so borne has been,
From place to Place,
that for the last half Yeare,
It scarce a sen’night
at a place is seen.
That Hand so plies the
Pen, though ne’er the neare,
For when Men seek it,
elsewhere it is sent,
Or there shut up as for
the Plague or Rent,
Without which stay, it
never still could stand,
Because the Pen is for
a Running Hand.”
The sign of the “Hand
and Pen” was also used by the Fleet street marriage-mongers, to denote “marriages
performed without imposition.”
Robert More, a famous
writing master, in 1696 lived in Castle street, near St. Paul’s churchyard,
London, at the sign of the “Golden Pen.”
The ink horn in Queen
Elizabeth’s time was in popular use as a receptacle for holding writing ink,
and Petticoat lane in London was the great manufacturing center for them.
Bishops Gate in the same vicinity was known as the “home of the scribblers.”
Beginning with 1560 and
for many years thereafter the sign of the Five Ink Horns was appropriately
displayed by Haddon on the house in which he dwelt.
Away back in the time
of King Edward III (1313-1377), royalty was employing the pen, both quill and
gold, as badges. This is indicated in the accompanying interesting list to be
found in the Harlein library:
“King Edward the iii. gave a lyon in his proper coulor, armed, azure,
langue d’or. The oustrich fether gold, the pen gold, and a faucon in his proper
coulor and the Sonne Rising.
“The Prince of Wales the ostrich fether pen and all arg.
“Henry, sonne of the Erl of Derby, first Duk of Lancaster, gave the red
rose uncrowned, and his ancestors gave the Fox tayle in his prop. coulor and
the ostrich fether ar. the pen ermyn.
“The Ostrych fether silver, the pen gobone sylver and azur, is the Duk
of Somerset’s bage.
“The ostrych fether silver and pen gold ys the kinges.
“The ostrych fether pen and all sylver ys the Prynces.
“The ostrych fether sylver, pen ermyn is the Duke of Lancesters.
“The ostrych fether sylver and pen gobone is the Duke of Somersets.” “What’s great Goliath’s spear, the
sevenfold shield,
Scanderbeg’s sword, to
one who cannot wield
Such weapons? Or, what
means a well cut quill,
In th’ untaught hand of
him that’s void of skill?”
--COCKER, A. D. 1650. The
oldest ink (Russian) documents that exist in Russia are two treaties with the
Greek emperors, made by Oleg, A. D. 912, and Igor, A. D. 943. Christianity,
introduced into Russia at the beginning of the eleventh century by Vladimir the
Great, brought with it many words of Greek origin. Printing was introduced
there about the middle of the sixteenth century. The oldest printed book which
has been discovered is a Sclavonic psalter, the date Kiev, 1551, two years
after a press was established in Moscow.
It is said that the
skins of 300 sheep were used in every copy of the first printed Bible. Hence
the old saying, “It takes a flock of sheep to write a book.”
What would have been
the comment in olden times, to learn that it takes almost a forest of trees to
print the Sunday edition of some of our great newspapers?
Wax (shoemakers’) was
first employed on documents A. D. 1213, although it was white wax which was
used to seal the magna charta, granted to the English barons by King John, A.
D. 1215. In 1445 red wax was much employed in England, but the earliest
specimen of red sealing wax extant is found on a letter dated August 3, 1554.
Pliny enumerates and
describes eight different kinds of papyrus paper:
1. Charter
hieratica--sacred paper, used only for books on religion. From adulation of
Augustus it was also called charta augusta and charta livia.
2. Charta
amphitheatrica--from the place where it was fabricated.
3. Charta fannia--from
Fannius, the manufacturer.
4. Charta saitica--from
Sais in Egypt. This appears to have been a coarser kind.
5. Charta tœniotica--from
the place where made, now Damietta. This was also of a less fine quality.
6. Charta claudia. This
was an improvement of the charta hieratica, which was too fine.
7. Charta emporitica. A
coarse paper for parcels.
There was also a paper
called macrocollum, which was of a very large size.
Of all these, he says,
the charta claudia was the best.
The ink-written rolls
of papyrus were placed vertically in a cylindrical box called capsula. It is
very evident that a great number of such volumes might be comprised in this way
within a small space, and this may tend to explain the smallness of the rooms
which are considered to have been used for containing the ancient libraries.
At Mentz, in Upper
Germany, is a leaf of parchment on which are fairly written twelve different
kinds of handwritings in six different inks also a variety of miniatures and
drawings curiously done with a pen by one Theodore Schubiker, who was born
without hands and performed the work with his feet.
In Rome the very plate
of brass on which the laws of the ten tables are written is still to be seen.
Stylographic inks
should not be used upon records, most of them are aniline. The absence of solid
matter, which makes them desirable for the stylographic pen, unfits them for
records.
Never add water to ink.
While an ink which has water as its base might, under certain conditions bear
the addition of an amount equal to that lost by evaporation, as a rule the ink
particles which have become injured will not assimilate again.
One of the best methods
to cleanse a steel pen after use, is to stick it in a raw (white) potato.
Inks which are
recommended as permanent, because water will not remove them, while it does
immediately obliterate others, may not be permanent as against time. These inks
may be the best for monetary purposes, but, owing to an excess of acid in them,
may be dangerous in time to the paper.
It is interesting,
since coal tar has acquired so important a position in the arts, to trace how
its various products successively rose in value. The prices in Paris, as given
by M. Parisal in 1861, are as follows:
Coal,..................................
1/4 c. per lb.
Coal
tar,.............................. 3/4 “ “
Heavy coal
oil,.............. 2 1/2 a 3 3/4 “ “
Light coal
oil,............. 6 3/4 a 10 1 /4 “ “
Benzole,........................
10 1/2 a 13 “ “
Crude
nitro-benzole,................ 57 a 61 “ “
Rectified
nitro-benzole,............ 82 a 96 “ “
Ordinary
aniline,............. $3.27 a $4.90 “
Liquid aniline
violet,.............. 28 a 41 “ “
Carmine aniline
violet,....... 32 c. a $1.92 “
Pure aniline violet, in
powder,.... $245 a $326.88 “
The last is equal to
the price of gold. And so, says M. Parisal, from coal, carried to its tenth
power, we have gold; the diamond is to come.
Modern chemistry offers
many formulas and methods of rendering visible secret or sympathetic inks.
Writing made with any of the following solutions, and permitted to dry, is
invisible. Treatment by the means cited will render them visible.
Solution.After treatment.Color produced.Acetate of lead.Sulphuret of
potassium.Brown.Gold in nitrohydrochloric acid.Tin in same
acid.Purple.Nut-galls.Sulphate of iron.Black.Dilute sulphuric
acid.Heat.Black.Cobalt in dilute nitrohydrochloric acid.Heat.Green.Lemon
juice.Heat.Brown.Oxide of copper in acetic acid and salt.Heat.Blue.Nitrate of
bismuth.Infusions of Nutgalls.Brown.Common starch.Iodine in
alcohol.Purple.Colorless iodine.Chloride of lime.Brown.Phenolphtalin.Alkalhie
solution.Red.Vanadium.Pyrogallic acid.Purple. The
Patent Office at Washington, D. G, for more than forty years employed a violet
copying ink made of logwood. From 1853 until 1878 it was furnished by the
Antoines of Paris, of the brand termed “Imperial;” in later years it was
supplied by the Fabers. Since 1896 they have been using “combined” writing
fluids.
The following facts
elicited by the unrollment of a mummy at Bristol, England, in 1853, were
communicated to the Philosophical Magazine, by Dr. Herapath. He says:
“On three of the bandages were hieroglyphical characters of a dark
color, as well defined as if written with a modern pen; where the marking fluid
had flowed more copiously than the characters required, the texture of the
cloth had become decomposed and small holes had resulted. I have no doubt that
the bandages were genuine, and had not been disturbed or unfolded; the color of
the marks were so similar to those of the present ‘marking ink,’ that I was
induced to try if they were produced by silver. With the blowpipe I immediately
obtained a button of that metal; the fibre of the linen I proved by the
microscope, and by chemical reagents, to be linen; it is therefore certain that
the ancient Egyptians were acquainted with the means of dissolving silver, and
of applying it as a permanent ink; but what was their solvent? I know of none
that would act on the metal and decompose flax fibre but nitric acid, which we
have been told was unknown until discovered by the alchemist in the thirteenth
century, which was about 2200 years after the date of this mummy, according as
its superscription was read.
“The Yellow color of the fine linen cloths which had not been stained by
the embalming materials, I found to be the natural coloring matter of the flax;
they therefore did not, if we judge from this specimen, practice bleaching.
There were, in some of the bandages near the selvage, some twenty or thirty
blue threads; these were dyed by indigo, but the tint was not so deep nor so
equal as the work of the modern dyers; the color had been given it in the
skein.
“One of the outer bandages was of a reddish color, which dye I found to
be vegetable, but could not individualize it; Mr. T. J. Herapath analyzed it
for tin and alumina, but could not find any. The face and internal surfaces of
the orbits had been painted white, which pigment I ascertained to be finely
powdered chalk.” “I am a scribbled
form, drawn with a Pen
Upon a Parchment, and
against this fire
Do I shrink up.”
--KING JOHN, v, 7. “With much
ado, his Book before him laid,
And Parchment with the
smoother side display’d;
He takes the Papers,
lays ’em down agen,
And with unwilling
fingers tries his Pen;
Some peevish quarrel
straight he tries to pick,
His Quill writes
double, or his Ink’s too thick;
Infuse more Water; now ’tis
grown too thin,
It sinks, nor can the
characters be seen.”
--Persius, translated by Dryden. INKS
CALLED SYMPATHETICAL (Seventeenth Century).
“These operations are
liquors of a different nature, which do destroy one another; the first is an
infusion of quick-lime and orpin; the second a water turn’d black by means of
burned cork; and the third is a vinegar impregnated with saturn.
“Take an ounce of
quick-lime, and half an ounce of orpin, powder and mix them, put your mixture
into a matrass, and pour upon it five or six ounces of water, that the water
may be three fingers breadth above the powder, stop your matrass with cork,
wax, and a bladder; set it in digestion in a mild sand heat ten or twelve
hours, shaking the matrass from time to time, then let it settle, the liquid
becomes clear like common water.
“Burn cork, and quench
it in aqua vitæ, then dissolve it in a sufficient quantity of water, wherein
you shall have melted a little gumm arabick, in order to make an ink as black
as common ink. You must separate the cork that can’t dissolve, and if the ink
be not black enough, add more cork as before.
“Get the impregnation
of saturn made with vinegar, distilled as I have shewn before, or else dissolve
so much salt of saturn as a quantity of water is able to receive: write on
paper with a new pen dipt in this liquor, take notice of the place where you
writ, and let it dry, nothing at all will appear.
“Write upon the
invisible writing with the ink made of burnt cork, and let it dry, that which
you have writ will appear as if it had been done with common ink.
“Dip a little cotton in
the first liquor made of lime and orpin, but the liquor must be first settled
and clear; rub the place you writ upon with this cotton and that which appeared
will presently disappear, and that which was not seen will appear.
ANOTHER EXPERIMENT.
Take a book four
fingers breadth in bigness, or bigger if you will: write on the first leaf with
your impregnation of saturn, or else put a paper that you have writ upon
between the leaves; turn to t’ other side of the Book, and having observed as
near as may be the opposite place to your writing, rub the last leaf of the
book with cotton dipt in liquor made of quicklime and orpin, nay and leave the
cotton on the place clap a folded paper presently upon it, and shutting the
book quickly, strike upon it with your hand four or five good strokes; then
turn the book, and clap it into a press for half a quarter of an hour; take it
out and open it, you’ll find the place appear black, where you had writ with
the invisible ink. The same thing might be done through a wall, if you could
provide something to lay on both sides, that might hinder the evaporation of
the spirits.
REMARKS.
“These operations are
indeed of no use, but because they are somewhat surprizing, I hope the curious
will not take it ill, that I make this small digression.
“It is a hard matter to
explicate well the effects I have now related, nevertheless I shall endeavour
to illustrate them a little, without having recourse to sympathy and antipathy,
which are general terms, and do not explicate nothing at all; but before I
begin, we must remark several things.
“The first is, that it
is an essential point to quench the coal of cork in aqua vitæ, that the visible
ink may become black with it.
“Secondly, that the
blackness of this ink does proceed from the fuliginosity or sooty part of the
coal of the cork which is exceeding porous and light, and that this
fuliginosity is nothing but an oil very much rarefied.
“Thirdly, that the
impregnation of saturn, which makes the invisible ink, is only a lead
dissolved, and held up imperceptibly in an acid liquor, as I have said, when I
spoke of this metal.
“Fourthly, that the
first of these liquors in a mixture of the alkali and igneous parts of
quick-lime with the sulphureous substance of arsenick; for the orpin is a sort
of arsenick, as I said before.
“All this being
granted, as no body can reasonably think otherwise, I now affirm, that the
reason why the visible ink does disappear, when the defacing liquor is rubbed
upon it, is that this liquor consisting of an alkali salt, and parts that are
oily and penetrating, this mixture does make a kind of soap, which is able to
dissolve any fuliginous substance, such as burnt cork, especially when it has
been already rarefied and disposed for dissolution by aqua vitæ, after the same
manner as common soap, which is compounded of oil, and an alkali salt, is able
to take away any spots made by grease.
“But it may be
demanded, why after the dissolution the blackness does disappear.
“I answer, that the
fuliginous parts have been so divided, and locked up in the sulphureous alkali
of the liquor, that they are become invisible, and we see every day that very
exact solutions do render the thing dissolved imperceptible, and without
colour.
“The little alkali salt
which is in the burnt cork may also the better serve to joyn with the alkali of
the quick-lime, and to help the dissolution.
“As for the invisible
ink, it is easy to apprehend how that appears black, when the same liquor,
which serves to deface the other, is used upon it. For whereas the impregnation
of saturn is only a lead suspended by the edges, of the acid liquor, this lead
must needs revive, and resume its black colour, when that which held it
rarefied is entirely destroyed; so the alkali of quicklime being filled with
the sulphurs of arsenickbecomes very proper to break and destroy the acids, and
to agglutinate together the particles of lead.
It happens that the
visible ink does disappear by reason that the parts which did render it black
have been dissolved; and the invisible ink does also appear because the
dissolved parts have been revived.
“Quick-lime and,
orpiment being mixed and digested together in water, do yield a smell much like
that which happens when common sulphur is boiled in a lixivium, of tartar. This
here is the stronger, because the sulphur of arsenick is loaded with certain
salts that make a stronger impression on the smell. Quicklime is an alkali that
operates in this much like the salt of tartar in the other operation; you must
not leave the matrass open, because the force of this water doth consist in a
volatile.
“The lime retains the
more fixt part of the arsenick and the sulphurs that come forth are so much the
more subtile, as they are separated from what did fix them before, and this
appears to be so, because the sulphurs must of necessity pass through all the
book to make a writing of a clear and invisible liquor appear black and
visible: and to facilitate this penetration the book is strook, and then turned
about, because the spirit or volatile sulphurs do always tend upwards; you must
likewise clap it into a press, that these sulphurs may not be dispersed in the
air. I have found, if that these circumstances are not observed, the business
fails. Furthermore that which persuades me that the sulphurs do pass through
the book, and not take a circuit to slip in by the sides, as many do imagine,
is that after the book is taken out of the press, all the inside is found to be
scented with the smell of this liquor.
“There is one thing
more to be observed, which is, that the infusion of quick-lime and orpin be
newly made, because otherwise it will not have force enough to penetrate. The
three liquors should be made in different places too; for if they should
approach near one another, they would be spoiled.
“This last effect does
likewise proceed from the defacing liquor; for because upon the digestion of
quicklime and orpin, it is a thing impossible for some of the particles will
exalt, stop the vessel as close as you will; the air impregnated with these
little bodies does mix with, and alter the inks, insomuch that the visible ink
does thereby become the less black, and the invisible ink does also acquire a
little blackness.”
Priceless MSS. in
immense number written in periods between the third and thirteenth centuries
have been destroyed by modern scholars in experimentations based on the false
theory that the faded inks on them, whether above or below other inks
(palimpsests), contained iron.
Sulphocyanide of
potassium is highly esteemed as a reagent for the restoration of writing, if
iron is present. Theoretically, it is one of the best for such a purpose if
employed with acetic acid. It causes, however, such a decided contraction of
parchment as to be utterly useless, but for paper MSS. is excellent. The
metallic sulphides generally pronounced harmless, causes the writing to soften
and become illegible in a short time. On the other hand, yellow prussiate of
potash, with acetic acid in successive operations is of great service in
treating the most perplexing palimpsests.
Ink which badly
corrodes a steel pen need not necessarily be condemned; it may contain just the
qualities which make it bind to the paper and render it more durable.
Some inks which are
fairly permanent against time if not tampered with, can be removed with water.
This is true of the most lasting of inks,--the old “Indian.”
In ancient Latin MSS.
the words fuco, fucosus and fucus are found to be frequently employed. It is
interesting to note the variations in their meaning:
FUCO.--To color, paint
or dye a red color.
FUCOSUS.--Colored,
counterfeit, spurious, painted, etc.
FUCUS.--Rock lichen
(orchil) red dye. Red or purple color. The (reddish) juice with which bees stop
up the entrance to their hives. Bee glue.
FUCUS.--A drone.
In Japan the word “ink”
possesses more than one meaning Four hundred Inks--one degree of sixty
miles." (See Geographical Grammar, of 1737, page 3.)
“Say what you will Sir,
but I know what I know;
That you beat me at the
Mart, I have your hand to show;
If the skin were
Parchment, and the blows you gave were Ink,
Your own Hand-writing
would tell you what I think.”
--Comedy of Errors, iii, 1. The
first book ever printed in Europe, to wit, a copy of “Tully’s Offices,” is
carefully preserved in Holland.
White’s Latin-English
Dictionary, 1872, distinguishes the words Atramentum and Sutorium in their
interpretations.
ATRAMENTUM.--The thing
serving for making black. A black liquid of any kind. A writing ink. Shoemaker’s
black. Blue vitriol.
SUTORIUM.--Belonging to
a shoemaker.
Before the employment
of blotting paper a pounce-box which contained either powdered gum sandarach
and ground cuttle-fish bones, or powdered charcoal, sand and like materials was
used by shaking it like a pepper-box on freshly written manuscripts.
Blotting paper as first
employed consisted of very thin sheets and of a dark pink color, which fashion
changed to blue in later years.
Good blotting paper of
the present time removes fully two thirds of fresh ink when used on hard
finished paper.
Blotting paper should
not be used upon records. Its use removes the body of the ink, leaving discoloration,
but nothing for penetration. In inks intended for copying, the employment of
blotting paper is especially bad.
“Thou hast most traitorously corrupted the youth of the realm in
erecting a Grammar School; and whereas, before, our forefathers had no other
books but the score and the tally, thou hast caused printing to be used, and
contrary to the King, his crown and dignity, thou hast built a paper mill.” --2
King Henry VI, iv, 5. Mr. Knight
relates a conversation between Dr. Gale and a gentlemen from the West relative
to the introduction of some material into ink to prevent moulding. Dr. Gale had
astonished his friend by stating--"will prevent the deposition of the ova
of infusoria animalcutæ;" when it was suggested that he add "and the
sporadic growths of thallogenic cryptograms and be fatal to the fungi."
The University of
Pennsylvania claims to possess the oldest piece of writing in the world and
which is on a fragment of a vase found at Nippur. It is an inscription in
picture writing supposed to have been made 4,500 years before Christ.
Wafers were not
introduced until the close of the sixteenth century.
The Persians in ancient
times, some 800 years B. C., were in the habit of celebrating certain festivals
and it is related that in the month of December one of their ceremonies was
that of driving the Dives (spirits) out of their houses.
For this purpose the
Magi wrote certain words with saffron on skins, papyrus or wood and then smoked
it over a fire. The spell thus prepared was glued or nailed to the inside of
the door, which was painted red. The priest then took sand, which he spread
with a long knife, whilst he muttered certain prayers and then throwing it on
the floor the enchantment was complete; and the Dives were supposed immediately
to vanish; or at least to be deprived of all malignant influence.
Aristotle’s work on the
Constitution of Athens, B. C. 340, or probably the copy made by Tyrannio, was
discovered transcribed underneath farm accounts of land in the district of
Hermopolis in Egypt in the reign of Vespasian, A. D. 9 to 79.
In MSS. written before
the invention of printing and indeed for many years after, the title page if
any, will be found on the last page with the date.
"Let lawyers bawl
and strain their throats,
’Tis I that must the
lands convey,
And strip their clients
to their coats,
Nay, give their very
souls away!"
--DEAN SWIFT, "On ink."
"It is certain that in their treaties with the European Greeks of
Constantinople the Arabs always stipulated for the delivery of a fixed number
of manuscripts. Their enthusiasm for Aristotle is equally notorious; but it
would be unjust to imagine that, in adopting the Aristotelian method, together
with the astrology and alchemy of Persia, and of the Jews of Mesopotamia and
Arabia, they were wholly devoid of originality." The "Arabic" numerals which we now employ are probably of
Indian origin, having been brought by Arab traders from the East and introduced
by them into Spain in the middle ages, whereas they spread over Europe coming
in use in England perhaps about the eleventh century. But whether India
invented them or borrowed from Greek or other traders from the West is unknown.
The ancient writing
implement known as the stylus was made of every conceivable material, sometimes
with the precious metals, but usually of iron, and on occasion might be turned
into formidable weapons. It was with his stylus that Cæsar stabbed Casca in the
arm, when attacked in the senate by his murderers; and Caligula employed some
person to put to death a senator with a like instrument.
In the reign of
Claudius women and boys were searched to ascertain whether there were any
styluses in their pen cases. Stabbing with the pen, therefore, is not merely a
metaphorical expression.
Sir William Gore Ouseley,
a famous diplomat and savant, who was living at the beginning of the nineteenth
century, during his long residence in India spent a fortune in the collection
of ancient Persic and Arabic MSS. In 1807 he permitted them to be examined by
Beloe, whose description of a few will bear repeating:
"No. 1. A Kóran, in the Cúfi or Cufic character, said to be written
by Ali, the son-in-law of Mahammed, the Arabian prophet. The substance upon
which this curious manuscript is written appears to be a fine kind of asses’
skin or vellum, and the ink of a red, brownish colour. The ends of verses are
marked by large stars of gold. If written by Ali, it must be nearly twelve
hundred years old, but at all events may be considered as very ancient, many
hundred years having elapsed since the use of the Cúfi character has given way
to the Neskh, Suls, etc., etc. This manuscript is still in excellent
preservation."
"No. 4. Beharistan, ‘The Garden of Spring.’ A book on ethics and
education, illustrated by interesting anecdotes and narratives, written both in
verse and prose, in imitation of the Gulistan, or ‘Rose garden’ of Saadi, and
like it divided into eight chapters, composed by Nuruddin, Abdurrahman Jámi,
ben Ahmed of the village of Jám, near Herat. He was born A. H. 817 and died at
the age of 81 years (about A. D. 1492). As a grammarian, theologist and poet he
was unequalled, and his compositions are as voluminous as they are excellent.
The enormous expense which people have incurred to possess accurate copies of
and to adorn and embellish his works, is no small proof of the great estimation
in which they were held by the literati of the East."
"This volume is a small folio, consisting of 134 pages, written in
the most beautiful Nastilik character, by the famous scribe Mohammed Hussein,
who, in consequence of his inimitable penmanship, obtained the title of Zerin
Kalm, or ‘Pen of Gold.’ The leaves are of the softest Cashmirian paper, and of
such modest shades of green, blue, brown, dove, and fawn colors, as never to
offend the eye by their glare, although richly powdered with gold. The margins,
which are broad, display a great variety of chaste and beautiful delineations
in liquid gold, no two pages being alike. Some are divided into compartments,
others are in running patterns, in all of which the illuminations show the most
correct, and at the same time fanciful taste. Many are delineations of field
sports, which, though simple outlines of gold, are calculated to afford the
highest gratifications to the lover of natural history, as well as the artist,
from the uncommon accuracy with which the forms of the elephant, rhinoceros,
buffalo, lion, tiger, leopard, panther, lynx, and other Asiatic animals are
portrayed. It appears, by the names which are inserted at the bottom of the
pages, that several artists were employed in the composition and combination of
these ornaments, one for the landscape, another for the animals, and a third
for the human figures, all of whom have given proofs of superior merit. It
would take almost a month to inspect all the excellencies of this rare
manuscript; for, although so richly ornamented in gold, the chaste colors of
the ground prevent any glaring obtrusion on the eye, and oblige the examiner to
place it in a particular point of light to see the exquisite and minute
beauties of the delineations. The paintings, which are meant to illustrate the
subject of the book, are done in colors, and in the center of the leaves.
"On the back of the first page are the autographs of the Emperors
of Hindustan, Jehángir and his son Shajehán."
"No. 5. ‘A Diwán i Sháhi.’ A Diwán or Collection Odes by Sháhi,’
transcribed by the famous penman Mir Ali, in Bokárà, A. D. 1534. (A. H. 940.)
"The author of these poems, Mamlic Arnir Sháhi, the son of Malic
Jemaluddin Firózkóhi, a nobleman of high rank and fortune as well as great
literary attainments, was born in Sebzwár, A. H. 786. He passed a part of his
life at the courts of Baisankar (the son of Sháhrúkh Mirza, and grandson of
Tamerlane) and of his son Abul Kasim Báber, during which time he held
appointments of the highest trust and emolument, and was universally caressed.
But, taking offense at an expression of Sultan Baber’s, which he conceived
reflected on his father, he quitted the court in disgust, and passed the
remainder of his life in the cultivation of the sister arts, poetry, painting,
and music in all of which he eminently excelled. He was also unequalled in
penmanship. At the age of seventy years be died in Asterabad, during the reign
of Báber, A. H. 856, and was buried in the suburbs of his native city, Sebzwár,
in a mausoleum erected by his ancestors.
"Mir Ali, who transcribed this book, was the most excellent penman
of his time. He was born in the reign of Sultan Hussein Mirza Bahudur, the son
of Mansur, and great grandson of Omar Sheikh, the second son of Tamerlane. He
was a learned man and good poet, and took the Takhulas (poetical title) most
appropriate to his greatest accomplishments, of Al Cateb, or ‘the Scribe.’ He
was the pupil of Sultan Ali, but far exceeded his master in calligraphy. An
entire book written by him is justly esteemed a great treasure in the East.
"On the back of the first page of this most beautiful manuscript
are the autographs of the Emperors of Hindustan, Jehangir (the son of the great
Acber) and his son Sháh Jehán; there is also the seal of Aurangzeb, the son of
Shah Jehun. Jehangir dates the acquiring possession of this treasure A. H.
1025, and Shah Jehun, A. H. 1037.
"A collection of mythological drawings (brought from a fort in Bhùtán,
where they were taken as plunder) exceedingly well coloured, and richly
illumined. Some of the deities resemble those of the Tartars, delineated by the
traveller Pallas; others again are pure Hindu and many Chinese; but the most
frequent are the representations of Baudh, exactly as depicted in the paintings
and temples at Ceylon. The religion of Bhùtán and Neipál seems to be like the
local situation of those countries, the link of connection between that of the
Hindus, with its different schisms, and that of the Chinese with the Tartar
superstructure.
"With this book of drawings are several rolls of Bhùtán Scripture,
very well stamped by stereotype blocks of wood. Some of the blocks accompanied
the drawings; they are sharply and neatly cut in a kind of Sanscrit character,
and are objects of great curiosity, as, by the accounts of the natives, this
mode of printing has been in use for time immemorial."
"There are besides in Sir Gore Ouseley’s collection 1,100 most
beautiful books of Persian and Indian paintings, portraits of the Emperors of
Hindustan from Sultan Báber down to Bahudur Shah, finely colored drawings of
natural history, and curious designs of fancy, with specimens of fine
penmanship in the different kinds of Arabic and Persian characters. Several
Sanscrit manuscripts, highly ornamented and richly illumined, some of them
written in letters of gold and silver on a black ground. Many of them
illustrated with the neatest miniature paintings of the Hindu gods and saints.
Two Koráns, the letters entirely of gold, with the vowel points in black. The
two versions of Pilpais or Bedpai’s fables, by Hussein Vaiz and Abulfazl,
illustrated with upwards of 700 highly finished miniatures; the best historical
works in the Persian language, finely written, and in high preservation." The high regard with which the
writers of MSS. in ancient Persia were viewed may be learned among other things
from the following anecdote:
One of the most eminent
among them was in his walks solicited by a beggar for alms. "Money,"
he replied, "I have none," but taking his pen and ink from his
girdle, which are the insignia of the profession (without which they never went
abroad), he took a piece of paper, and wrote some word or other upon it. The
poor man received it with gratitude, and sold it to the first wealthy person he
met for a golden mohur, in value about $2.50.
"Is not this a
lamentable thing, that of the skin of
an innocent lamb should
be made Parchment?
that Parchment being scribbled
o’er should
undo a man?"
--2 King Henry VI, iv, 2. The
Boston News Letter, 1769, announces:
"The bellcart will go through Boston before the end of next month,
to collect rags for the paper mill at Milton, when all people that will
encourage the paper manufactory may dispose of them." "Rags are as beauties, which concealed
lie,
But when in paper how
it charms the eye;
Pray save your rags,
new beauties it discover,
For paper truly every
one’s a lover:
By the pen and press
such knowledge is displayed,
As wouldn’t exist, if
paper was not made.
Wisdom of things,
mysterious, divine,
Illustriously doth on
paper shine."
Gen. Walter Martin,
proprietor of the township of Martinsburg, Lewis county, N. Y., erected a
paper-mill, which was run by John Clark & Co. This was in 1807. They gave
notice that rags would be received at the principal stores in Upper Canada and
the Black river country, which (like many of the advertisements of the early
papermakers, both in England and America), was accompanied by a poetic address
to the ladies, one stanza of which ran thus:
Sweet ladies pray be
not offended,
Nor mind the jests of
sneering wags;
No harm, believe us, is
intended,
When humbly we request
your rags."
The employment of
complementary color screens has made it possible to photograph colors which
formerly indicated no contrast with white back grounds in the negative and
later in the finished picture.
This discovery has
destroyed the value of "safety" papers, based on complete tints or
possessing colored lines or words.
"IN MANUSCRIPT. "The rain storm wields a noisy pen
Adown the pane, Wet
splashes leaving, blots of strange white ink,
Blunders of rain. "And
yet no poems of ecstatic men,
Olympic faced, Could be
as wonderful as these, I think,
In cipher
traced." --ISABELLE HOWE FISKE.GENERAL INDEX
ABBÉ Huc, anecdote by
the 253
ABBÉ DE CLUNI, author
of a 300
ABISHA, Samaritan
Pentatuech written by 23
ABDOLLTIPH, ancient
Arabian physician 300
Abyssinia 324
Acacia tree, gum from
the 11, 80, 81, 165,196, 266
Acid, purpose of its
use in ink 165
" danger of its
misuse 165, 330
" acetic 115,338
" ellago-tannic 11
" hydrochloric
167,174,315
" oxalic 97
" picric 175
" sulphite 310,
311, 316
" sulphuric
115,172,175
" sulphurous 172,
173
Acta Diurna, name of
first newspaper: 59
ADAMS, HENRY C., In re
Gordon will contest 225,226,227,228
"Added
color," its use and misuse in ink. . . 100, 101, 127, 131, 133, 157, 160,
161, 164, 167, 170, 183, 186, 187, 208, 209, 211, 212, 213
Ægian Sea, islands of
the 8
ALARIC, destruction of
Rome by 43
ALBINGER will contest
244
Alchemy preceded
chemistry 90
Alchiber, Arabian name
for 2, 73
ALCUIN, inventor of the
miniscule 69, 70, 95
Aleppo nut-galls 74
Alexander blue 6
ALEXANDER THE GREAT 9,
16, 27, 273, 274
Alexandria libraries
27, 28, 29, 30, 45, 282
Alizarin, artificial
production of 185
Alizarin ink
...................... 125,170,210
Alkali hydrates, for
testing ink 168,172,173
Alkanet 173
ALLEINE, JOSEPH, author
and penman 109
ALLEINE, RICHARD,
penman I 109
ALLEN, PROFESSOR ALFRED
H 153, 170, 171, 172, 173
ALLEN, modern ink
pioneer 208
Alum, use of 124
Amber 190
AMBROSINUS, ancient
writer 267
America, early, ink
used in 101
"American
Banker," citation from the 241, 242, 243
American Banker’s
Association 243
Ammonia, spirits of
167, 174
Ammonium, bichromate of
135
" sulphide of 169
AMRU, JOSEPH, inventor
of 298
Amsterdam, an ink
center 207
ANDERSON, modern ink
pioneer 208
ANDREWS, JEREMIAH,
penman 109
Aniline
133,157,170,172,183,184,186
" black 185
" blue 173, 185
" red 174
" sulphate of 316
Animal colors 63
ANTHON, PROFESSOR
CHARLES 47, 48, 49, 50
Antimony, employment of
11, 265
Antiquity of MSS.,
established by the 51, 52
ANTOINE, modern ink
pioneer 207, 210, 211, 331
APPEL, on safety paper
316
Arabia, pertaining to
2, 73, 75, 80, 83, 93, 206, 252, 297, 298, 299, 342
Arabia, ink of 2, 73,
75
Arabic, gum (see Acacia
tree).
Arabic writing 18, 24
ARBUTHNOT, CHARLES,
some observations of 9, 10, 61
Archil (see Orchil).
Archives of 157, 307
ARISTOTLE 61, 273
"Armarian,"
the 94
Armenia 7, 10
ARNOLD, investigator
and modern ink pioneer 130, 207, 208, 209
ARNOUX, maker of
metallic pens 257
Artificial aging of ink
167
" light, injurious
effects of 68
ASCHAM ROGER, penman
107
Assyrians, writing
instruments of the 246, 247, 248
ASTLE, SIR THOMAS, some
observations by 17, 26, 27, 45, 46, 47, 48, 49, 50, 51, 116, 117
Atlantic, coast of the
9
Atramentum 74, 339
Augurs (soothsayers) 15
Augusta, ancient paper
called 275
AUGUSTUS, EMPEROR 10
AUSTIN, EMANUEL, penman
111
AYERS, JOHN, author and
penman 108
Bablah, utilized for
11, 158
Babylon 18, 48
Bacteria in ink 202
BAEYER, pioneer in the
production of 186
BAIRD, PROFESSOR,
conclusions by 146, 213
BAKER, case of 244
BALE, on monasteries
99, 100
BALES, PETER, author
and penman 107, 326, 327
BANCROFT, citation from
186
Bank of England 315
BANSON, WILLIAM, author
and penman 109
BARBEDOR, penman 113
BARCLAY, on safety
paper 317, 318
Bark, rolls of 21, 22,
26, 32, 33, 34, 39, 46, 246, 273
BARNES, modern ink
pioneer 208
BARTRAM, modern ink
pioneer 208
BASILICUS, EMPEROR 324
BEAUCHESNE, JOHN DE,
author and penman 107
BECKER, CHARLES,
forgery by 240, 241, 242, 243, 244
BECKETT, CHARLES H 222
BECKHAM, GEORGE, author
and penman 109
BEDELL, case of 244
BELOE, author and
savant 304, 342, 343, 344, 345, 346
Berlin, an ink center
207
Berries, used for ink
35
Bible, from whence the
name is derived 273
" bark rolls
alluded to in the 21
" color allusions
in the 2, 3
" diamond
allusions in the 250
" ink allusions in
the 12
" ink horn
allusions in the 12
" Ezekiel’s
lamentations 8
" " visions
21
" book of Job,
citations from the 21, 42
" Mentz 303
" papyrus alluded
to in the 276, 277
" sealing of
letters alluded to in the 21
" stylus alluded
to in the 280
" writing alluded
to in the 19, 20
" written deeds
alluded to in the 248, 249
BICKHAM, GEORGE, J.,
penman 111
BICKHAM, JOHN, penman
109
BILLINGSLEY, MARTIN,
author and penman 107
BISCHOFF, on tradition
of the 4
Bitumen, ink from 11,
36, 191
Black broth of the 5
Black-lead 261 to 271
" writing ink,
requisites of 132
Black-lead writing ink
2, 35, 63, 72, 95, 127, 129, 131, 134, 154
Blackwood (see
Logwood).
BLACKWOOD, modern ink
pioneer 207
BLAGDEN, DR. CHARLES,
some observations by 116 to 120
BLAIR, modern ink
pioneer 208
BLAND, JOHN, author and
penman 110
BLANDE, JOHN, author
and penman 111
Bleaching of ink 167,
168, 172
Blotting paper 165,
166, 314, 339, 340
BLOXAM, CHARLES L.,
chemical author 75, 161
Blue, ancient symbols
of 3, 4
" Alexander 6
" aniline 173, 185
" Berlin (see
Prussian blue).
" cobalt 40
" copperas 36
" ink 95
" prussian 158
Bodkin (see Stylus).
Bodlein library 298
Bog, Danish name for
273
Bologne 187
Bombycina (see Cotton
and Silk paper).
BONNEY, modern ink
pioneer 208
Books, early form of 33
" derivation of
term 273
" ancient 58, 59,
60, 61, 64, 65, 85, 94, 249, 291
Book of Kells 71
Book-writer’s ink 77
BOOTH, investigator of
130
BOREL, PETER, author of
104, 105
Borrowdale mine of
"black-lead" 262 to 269
BOSSIN, modern ink
pioneer 207
BOSTOCK, DR., some
observations by 120, 121, 153
"Boston News
Letter," citations from 346, 347
BÖTTGER, investigator
of 130, 207
BOY CHRIST, story of
the 4, 5
BRADFORD, WILLIAM,
early paper maker 306
BRAMAH, maker of quill
nibs for pens 259
Brands, variety of ink
214
BRANNT, DR., publisher
of the 152
Brass tables of ancient
Rome 330
Brazil-wood 158, 174,
186, 187
BREWER, on safety paper
317
British government, ink
formula of 147, 148
" Museum 298
BROOKS, GABRIEL, penman
110
BROOKS, WILLIAM, author
and penman 110
BROWN, DAVID, author
and penman 107
Bruchion, library of 29
BRUGSCH, DR., observations
by 23, 24
Brush, for writing 2,
25, 252
Buccinum, ancient color
9, 10
BUCHANAN, DR., on
ancient MSS 284
Bullœ (weights) 32
BURG, BISHOP DE,
observations by 291
Burgundy pitch 79, 80
BUTTERWORTH, E., author
and penman 112
BYRON, lines to his pen
256
Byzantine MSS 92
CADMUS, introduced
letters into 18
CÆSAR, JULIUS 10, 28,
33, 40, 49, 66
Calamus (see Reed
pens).
CALMET, observations of
20, 280
CALVERT, GRACE,
observations of 198
Calves, vellum from 33,
293
Campeachy tree
(logwood) 187
Canada, ink used in 101
CANEPARIUS, PIETRO,
author of 104, 112, 120
Capsœ (capsula) 32, 329
Carbon 76, 125, 159,
161, 162, 199
Carmine (see
Cochineal).
CARO, eosin invented by
185, 227
CARSTAIRS, JOHN, author
and penman 112
CARTER, case of 244
CARTER, modern ink
pioneer 208, 211
CARVALHO, on safety
paper 320
CASERI, Spanish author
298, 300
CASILEAR, on safety
paper 318, 319
CASLEY, Writer on
"Antiquities" 280
Caspian Sea, shores of
the 8
Catechu 158
Chaldeans, writing of
the 18
Chalkanthum 36, 74
CHAMBERLAYNE, on early
pens 257
CHAMBERS, ZACHARY,
author and penman 111
CHAMPION, JOSEPH,
author and penman 112
CHAMPOLLION, JEAN
FRANCOIS 251
CHAMPOUR, author of
125, 193
Chanchi, ink plant of
158
Charcoal 2
CHARDIN, investigator
of 252
CHARLEMAGNE, EMPEROR
63, 69, 70
Charta, some ancient
paper called 275
Charta bombyeina 84,
298, 301
" damascina 300,
301
Charter of Hugo and
Lothaire 325
Chemical National Bank,
case of the 237
Chemical tests for ink
167
" writing fluids
131, 133, 163, 164, 165, 167, 212, 214
Chemico-legal ink 170,
217
Chemnitz, an ink center
207
CHEVALLIER, observation
on the 177
CHEVREUSE, investigator
of 130
CHE-WHANG-TEE, Chinese
Emperor 30
CHILTON, DR.,
investigations of 125, 126
Chilzon, ancient blue
dye 8
Chinese, the 2, 18, 23,
249, 252, 283, 284, 295, 296
CHINNERY, WILLIAM,
author and penman 112
Chlorine 164, 167, 168,
172, 173
Chloroform, removal of
aniline by 172
Christians, ancient 4,
13, 55
Church, the 43, 55, 60,
62, 83, 97
CICERO 59, 61
Cinnibar 10, 11, 40
CLAPP, on safety paper
319
CLARK, JOHN, author and
penman 109
CLARK, RICHARD, author
and penman 112
CLARK, WELLINGTON
penman 111
CLARK, WILLIAM INGLIS,
investigations of 127, 128, 129, 130
CLARKE, case of 244
CLEOPATRA, library
deposited by 28, 282
Clerk, origin of the
word 67
CLITHERS, JOHN, author
and penman 108
Cloth, writing on 246,
324
Coal-tar, color
products of 133, 172, 183
Cobalt blue 40, 74
Cochineal 7, 134, 174
COCHRANE, modern ink
pioneer 207
COCKER, EDWARD, author
and penman 108, 328
Codice (codex) 33, 68,
325
CODY, MARGARET E.,
trial of 231, 232, 233
Cologne, an ink center
207
Colored inks of
antiquity 2, 96
Colors, ancient symbols
of 3, 4
Combined writing and
copying inks 211, 212
COMLEY, WILLIAM, author
and penman 107
Complementary color
screens 167, 347
CONGREVE, SIR WILLIAM,
on safety paper 316
Connecticut, second
state to 137
CONSTANTINE, EMPEROR
325
Constantinople,
libraries of 38, 45, 46, 346
COOK, SOLOMON, author
and penman 110
Copper, oxide of 40
Copperas blue (sulphate
of copper) 36, 63, 82
" green (sulphate
of iron) (see Iron sulphate).
Cotton paper 84, 85,
87, 206, 282, 297, 298, 299, 300
COUBOULAY, on safety
paper 317
Court of Appeals,
decision of the 238, 239, 240
CRAMPTON, DR. CHARLES A
137
Crayons 266, 263
CRESCI, FRANCISCO,
author and penman 112
Criminal methods in the
168
Crimson, ancient symbol
of 4
CRITTEN v. Chemical
National Bank 237
CROCKER-WOOLWORTH, bank
of 241, 242, 243
CROSS, modern ink
pioneer 208
Cross, sign of the 19,
67
Crossed lines, sequence
in 153
CULLEN, HON. EDGAR M
237, 238, 239, 240
Cuneiform writing 18
Cuttle-fish, ink from
the 5
Cyanin 75
Dark ages, the 43, 54,
55, 56, 60, 68, 69, 70, 71, 88, 91, 94, 97
DAVENPORT, DR. BENNETT
F., official chemist of 149
DAVIDS, THADDEUS,
investigator and ink pioneer 130, 208, 209, 210
DAVIES, JOHN, author
and penman 107
DAVIS, JOHN, lines from
"Scourge of Folly" by 327
DAVIS, modern ink
pioneer 208
DAVY, SIR HUMPHREY 39
DAWSON, EDWARD, penman
110
DAY, JOHN, penman 110
DELANG, modern ink
pioneer 23
Denarii, value of 8, 10
DESORMEAUX,
investigator of 136, 199
Destruction of ink 164
Detection of fraud by
the 177, 178, 179, 180, 181, 182
DE VINNE, some observations
by 34, 57, 58, 59, 60, 61, 84, 85, 86
Dextrin 130
Deyó, Hebrew word for
2, 73, 74
Diamonds, used in ink
136
" as writing
implements 250, 257, 259
DIESIBACH, discoverer
of 153
DIETZ-ALLEN, case of
244
DIMON, STEPHEN C.,
contested will of 228, 229, 230, 231
DIOSCORIDES, on ink 6,
34
Diplomatics, science of
93
Diptychs (double
tablets) 34
Discoloration of ink
164
Divi-divi, utilized for
11, 158
Doomsday Book 290
DOUGHTY, pens made by
259
DOVE, NATHANIEL, author
and penman 111
DRAPER, modern ink
pioneer 207
Dresden, an ink center
207
DREWSON, pioneer in the
186
Dublin, an ink center
207
DU CANGE, lines by 324
DU HALDE, citations
from 3, 284
DUNDAS, JOHN, penman
109
DUNLAP, modern ink
pioneer 208
DUPONT v. DUBOS, case
of 244
Durable ink 106
Durability of ink
depends on 132, 133
DUTHIE, on safety paper
319
Dyeing, art of 2, 3, 4,
5, 6, 8, 10, 40, 56, 80
Dyes, test table for
old ink 175, 176
EADE, JOHN, penman 109
Edicts 20
Edinburgh, an ink
center 207
" Review,
translation by the 76
EDRISI, ancient writer
299
EDWARD III, use of pens
as badges by 327, 328
Egyptian ladies
employed 11
" writing 12, 13,
14, 18, 19, 23, 27, 248, 250, 253
Elberfield, an ink
center 207
ELDER, WILLIAM, author
and penman 108
Elishah, isles of 8
ELIZABETH, QUEEN 250,
262, 269, 290, 305, 326, 327
Ellago-tannic acid 11
ELSNER, DR., ink
pioneer 194, 207
EMMERLING, pioneer in
the 186
Enchorial numbers 24
Encyclopædia
Britannica, on the 21, 22
Encres Japonaise,
Antoiné’s 210
End of ancient history
of ink 43
England, some
references to 19, 57, 64, 67, 91, 98, 289, 326
Eosin 174, 185, 186,
227
EPICURUS, ancient
treatise of 40
Erasure of ink 172, 173
Esparto, for paper 63
Estimation of ink, as
held by 213, 214
Etruscan writing 23
EUMENES, King of 33,
282, 283
EUSEBIUS, fragments of
47
EVANDER, brought
letters into 18
EVANS, on safety paper
317
Exchequer ink
.......... 201
EZEKIEL, lamentations
of the prophet 8, 21
FABER, ink pioneer 207,
211, 267, 331
FARRADY, PROFESSOR,
discoverer of 184, 264
FEATHERSTONE, modern
ink pioneer 207
Ferrara, city of 187
Fire-proof ink 201
FISHER, JOHN, author
and penman 108
Fish-glue 82, 131
Fish skins 324
FISKE, ISABELLA HOWE,
poetic lines by 347
FITZGERALD, HON. FRANK
T 234, 235, 236
Flax, for paper 300
Florence, city of 92
Folium (see Leaves).
FORD, modern ink
pioneer 208
Forger and forgeries
164
FOSBROOK, verses on the
95,96
FOSTER and DRAPER, on
safety paper 318
Fountain pen 259
France, some references
to 73, 83, 85, 91, 100, 207, 250, 251, 270
FRZAER, DR. PERSIFOR,
author of 153
FREEMAN modern ink
pioneer 208
French Academy of
Sciences investigates the 121
French courts, custom
in the 221,222
" copying ink 210
Fugitive colors,
printing on paper of 321
" ink, ancient
character of 41
" " modern
character of 134, 177, 187
FULLER, on
characteristics of paper 305
Fustic 175
GAFFORD, modern ink
pioneer 207
Gall-apples for ink 74
Gallic acid for ink 74,
114, 115, 121, 128, 129, 132, 161, 191, 192, 323
"Gall" ink
74, 82, 90, 93, 97, 100, 102, 115, 121, 161, 191, 192, 323
Gall-nuts (see
Nut-galls).
Galls (sour galls for)
82, 102
Gallo-tannic acid 127,
132, 166, 323
GARDNER, JOHN, author
and penman 112
GEISSLER, modern ink
pioneer 207
GEKOUSKI, case of 244
Gelatin or gelatine 2,
75, 161
" pad, transfers
from 223, 224
German government
investigates ink 126
Germany, some
references to 60, 73, 86, 91, 97, 267, 270, 288, 300, 301, 310
GERY, PETER, author and
penman 108
GESNER, old author 269
GETHING, RICHARD,
author and penman 107
GILLOTT, JOSEPH, pen
maker 257, 258
Glucose in ink 134, 209
Glycerine in ink 134
GLYDE, ALFRED, on fungi
in paper 311, 312, 313
GLYNN, on safety paper
316
GOBEL, modern ink
pioneer 208
GOBERT, investigator of
130
Gold pen, old sign
board of the 327
Gold ink 11, 40, 136,
202, 203, 204, 325, 326
Goose quills, pens made
of 254, 255, 256
GORDON, GEORGE P.,
contested will of 224, 225, 226, 227, 228
GOULD, GEORGE J. 231,
232
GOULD, MISS HELEN 232
Gray ink, color of the
16th century 91, 97
GRAEBE, discoverer of
185
Graphite 199, 201, 267,
271
GRATWICK, MOSES, penman
110
Great Britain, destruction
of MSS. in 47
Greeks, the ancient 4,
18, 19, 33, 40, 42, 55, 274, 275, 280, 324, 326
Greek manuscripts 80,
84, 91, 93
Green, ancient symbols
of 3, 4
Green ink 95
GREGORY, HON. CLIFFORD
D 231, 232, 233
Gum for ink 2, 42, 81,
83, 86, 123, 131, 161, 165, 196
" water 36
GUYOT, father of the
modern ink industry 100, 207
HAENLE, modern ink
pioneer 207
HAGAN WILLIAM E.,
author of 153
HALLUM, HENRY 60, 85
Hand and Pen, ancient
sign board of the 327
HARDUIN, old writer 9
Harlein library 41
HARRIS, a discoverer of
ancient papyri 277,278,279
HARRISON, SAMUEL, early
steel pen maker 258
HAWKINS, early pen
maker 259
HAYGEN, old author 280
HAYWARD, on safety
paper 308
HEACOCK, JOHN, penman
109
Hebrew ink writings 325
" "
"(Samaritan) 18, 22, 325
Hebrews, the 3, 13, 19,
62, 73, 74, 276
Hektograph 223
HELOT, first discoverer
of 184
HENDRICHS, on safety
paper 311
HENRY VII. of England
306
HENRY VIII. of England
303
HERAPATH, DR., on mummy
bandages 332
" " on safety
paper 317
Herculaneum 37, 39,
253, 326
Hermoine purple 9
HERODOTUS, citations
from 8, 273
HEUMANN, pioneer in the
185
Hieratic numbers 24
Hieratica, ancient name
for paper 275
Hieroglyphics, Chinese
2
" Egyptian 11, 18
HIGGINS, modern ink
pioneer 208, 212
HILPRECHT, author of
249, 250
HILDEBERT, Archbishop
of Tours 294
HILL, on safety paper
319
Hindee, designation for
24
Historians, ancient
ones misleading 15
Historical Society of
New York 13
HODDER, JAMES, author
and penman 109
HOFFMAN , A. W.,
inventor of 184
HOFFMAN, methods of 170
HOLLAND, DR., lines by
225
Holographic will of 223
HOLT, JUDGE-ADVOCATE,
will of 234
HOMER, works of 41, 273
Honey in ink 2, 74
HOOPER, on safety paper
318
HORACE, lines from 6
Horn pens 257
HOSKINS, on safety
paper 320
HORSLEY J., ink receipt
of 194
HOTZ-OSTERWALD,
observations of 74
HUGHES, LOUIS, author
and penman 107
HUGO, penman 113
HUMPHREY, case of 244
HUMPHREY, JOHNSON,
author and penman 109, 110
HUMPHREYS, NOEL, author
of 18, 24, 25, 37, 247, 280
HYDE, modern ink
pioneer 207
Hydrogen peroxide 169
IBN-HAUKAL, Arab
traveler 324
Illumination of MSS 40,
52, 89, 92, 96
Indelible ink 11, 124,
125, 132, 135
India ink (see
"Indian" ink).
Indian alphabetic
writing 18
"Indian" ink
2, 14, 36, 40, 41, 72, 73, 80, 91, 106, 113, 126, 134, 156, 158, 161, 162, 189,
190, 206, 212, 338
Indians, the 18, 24
India purple 10
Indigo 7, 40, 101, 124,
127, 128, 133, 159, 160, 172, 173, 185, 186, 209
Induline 185
Industry of ink 90, 91,
207, 208
INGLIS, HESTER, pen
woman 107
INGRAHAM, HON. GEORGE
L. 229, 230, 231
Ingrain colors, origin
of name 7
Ink, ancient makers of
206
" of Arabia 2, 73
" alizarin 125
" bag 5
" binder 166
" bitumen 11, 36,
191
" black 2, 63, 72
" blue black
(nigrosine) 134
" " "
(tannin) 129, 130
" box 12
" charcoal 2
" Chinese (see
"Indian" ink).
" cinnabar 40
" classifications
of 131 to 136
" cobalt blue 40
" copper, oxide of
40
" copperas (blue)
36
" " (green)
42
" decoloration of
167, 168
" destruction of
164, 167
" discoloration of
164, 167
" early biblical
12
" eosin 227
" exchequer 201
" fire-proof201
" "gall"
(see Gall ink).
" gold (see Gold
ink).
" hetkograph 223,
224
" horn 12, 327
" India (see
"Indian").
"
"Indian" (see "Indian" ink).
" indelible (see
Indelible ink).
" indigo (see
Indigo ink).
" industry (see
Industry of).
" Japanese use of
word. 339
" kalkanthum (see
Chalkanthum).
" lamp-black 2, 63
" legislation 137,
148, 149, 150, 151
" limpidity of 165
" manufacturers,
names of 215, 216
" myrobolam (see
Myrobolam ink).
" nigrosine (see
Nigrosine).
" phenomena (see
Phenomena of).
" plant of 158,
198
" odd names for
214
" pomegranate (see
Pomegranate).
Ink, prussian blue (see
Prussian blue)
" purple 10
" raven black 211
" reagents 170
" receipts (see
Receipts for).
" record (see
Record inks).
" red 4, 40, 133,
134
" restoration (see
Restoration of).
" secret 40, 135,
331
" sepia 5
" silver 11, 40,
135
" stand 39
" tanno-gallate
(see Tanno-gallate of).
" vanadium 210
" vehicles (see
Vehicles for).
" vermilion 6, 7,
36, 40
" vitriolic 6, 36,
37, 63, 74, 82
IRELAND, confessions of
304, 305
Irish monks 68
" writing 68, 69,
70, 71, 326
Iron, carburet of (see
Black-lead).
" rust 175
" sulphate 42, 82,
128, 132, 166, 173
" vessels 75
IRVINE, investigator of
130, 170
ISAIAH, the prophet 276
ISADORE, ancient author
256
Isinglass 2, 82, 161,
166, 189
Island, ancient name
for 65, 68
Israel, children of
13,19
Italy, some references
to 42, 75, 85, 91, 92, 267
IVERS, PETER, penman
108
JAHN, modern ink
pioneer 207
JAMESON, on safety
paper 319
JAMETEL, MAURICE,
author of 130
Janthina prolongata,
source of the 10
JARMAN, JOHN, author
and penman 110
Japanese paper 296, 297
" writings 23, 252
JOB, citations from
book of 21, 42
JOHNS, MARY, authoress
and pen woman 111
JOHNSON, DANIEL, penman
326
" JOHN, author and
penman 108
" on safety paper
316
JOSEPH 12, 13
JOSEPHUS, observations
of 11, 21
JOSHUA 9
Joy, modern ink pioneer
208
Juncas, material for
ancient pens 251
Jury verdicts, affected
by 218
Kalkanthum (see
Chalkanthum)
KEER V. SOUTHWICK, case
of 244
KELLAM, DAVID L., case
of 233,234
KENNETT, anecdote by
14, 15
KEPPAX, WILLIAM, penman
110
Kermez, ancient name
for 7, 187
KINDT, investigator of
130, 207
KNIGHT, CHARLES, author
of 291
KNIGHT, PROFESSOR,
observations by 13, 248, 273, 276
KOOP, MATHIUS, author
of 306
KUNCKEL, author of 105
LA CROIX, PAUL, on the
Dark Ages 54, 55
LA MOINE, author 266
Lamp-black 2, 36, 63,
74, 76, 77, 86, 136, 158
LANE, author and penman
110
LANGTON, JOHN, author
and penman 110
LASSIAGNE, observations
of 177
Latin ink writing 326
" letters 18
" manuscripts 92,
93
Latium 18
LAWLESS-FLEMING, case
of 244
Lead pencil (see
Pencil).
Leaf (leaves) 32, 39,
274
LECKEY, author and
penman 111
Lees of wine 63, 75,
76, 82
LEGG, HENRY, author and
penman 109
Legislation on ink 137,
148, 149, 150, 151, 152
LEHNER, PROFESSOR,
author of 152
LELAND, English
antiquarian 99
Lemon juice 174
LEMORT, Dutch author
105
Lens, proper size of a
166
LEONHARDI, ink pioneer
125, 207
LEPOWITZ, investigator
of 130, 207
LEWIS, PROFESSOR
WILLIAM 115, 207
Libraries 26, 27, 28,
29, 30, 33, 34, 45, 46, 47, 48, 60, 63, 71, 92,94,97, 282, 288, 298, 299, 325
LIEBERMAN, discoverer
of 185
Linen paper 83, 166,
206, 284, 301
Livinia, ancient name
for paper 275
LLOYD, EDWARD, author
and penman 112
"Loading" in
ink 133
LOEWENBURG, on safety
paper 318
Logwood 115, 133, 134,
158, 173, 175, 186, 187, 192, 190
London, an ink center
207
"London Athenæum,"
citations from 277, 278, 279
Lost art, dyeing
thought to be a 2
Lotus tree (see Acacia
tree).
LOUBATERIES, on safety
paper 317
LUCAR, ELIZABETH,
authoress and writer 106,107
LYDDY, case of 244
LYONS, modern ink
pioneer 208
Madder 7, 8, 133, 159,
173, 174, 186
MAI, ANGELO 288
MAIMONIDES 73
MAITLAND, observation
of 94, 95
MELEPEYER, author of
125, 193
MANDAN, FALCONER 68, 69,
70, 71, 84, 285, 286, 287
Manufacturers, names of
ink 215, 216
Manuscripts, some
references to ancient 14, 25, 30, 35, 36, 38, 39, 40, 42, 45, 46, 52, 53, 58,
59, 60, 61, 68, 80, 91, 92, 126, 156, 275, 280, 284, 299, 300, 324, 325, 328,
330, 338, 340, 341, 342, 343, 344, 345, 346
Manuscripts, some
existing fragments of ancient 47, 48 49, 50, 51, 278, 279
MARCELLINUS,
observations by 38
MARKOE, PROFESSOR,
conclusions by 146, 149
MARTIAL, on books 41,
58, 59
MARTIN, GENERAL WALTER
347
Martinique, eruption in
38
Massachusetts, first
ink legislation in 137, 148, 149, 211, 213
MASSEY, WILLIAM, author
of 17, 112
MATEROT, French penman
113
MATHEWS, PROFESSOR J.
MERRETT, editor of 154
MAURIN, modern ink
pioneer 207
MAURITIUS (Abbè de
Cluni) 300
MAYNARD and NOYES,
modern ink pioneers 208, 212
MCGILL, CHANCELLOR, of
New Jersey 224, 227, 228
Me, Chinese word for 3
Mechanical wood pulp
310
Mediterranean, the 9,
10, 273, 275
MEERMAN, author of 301
MELLIS, JOHN, author
and penman 107
Mentz Bible 303
MENZIES, on safety
paper 319
Mercuric chloride for
173
MERRET, CHRISTOPHER,
author of 104
Metallic lead 267
Mexican writing 23,
267, 277
Microscope 74, 218,
220, 224, 275, 300
MIDDLETON, on safety
paper 318
Milan, library of 325
MILLER, observations of
252
Milinum, an ancient
color 10
MILNS, WILLIAM, author
and penman 112
Miniscule writing 69,
70
Minium, ancient color
6, 11
MIR ALI, famous penman
344
Missals 92, 97
Missionaries, the Latin
67
Modern ink, when first
introduced 83
Modern paper (wood
pulp) 309
MOHAMMED HUSSEIN,
penman 343
Monasteries 55, 68, 71,
99
Monastic libraries 94,
97, 99
Monks, the 47, 62, 66,
68, 78, 79, 94, 95, 286, 287
MONROE, THOS. J.,
contested will of 219, 220, 221, 222
MOORE, modern ink
pioneer 208
Moors, the 85, 298,
299, 300
MORDAN, ink pioneer and
pen maker 207, 259
MORE, ROBERT, author
and penman 109, 327
MORRELL, ink pioneer
207
MORRIS, RICHARD, penman
211
Mosaic ceremonies,
color for 3
MOSES, the law giver
19, 20, 284
Moss, on safety paper
317
MOUNTFAUCON 80
Mt. Pelee 38
Mt. Sinai 19
Mt. Vesuvius 37, 38
Mummies 7, 159, 312,
332
MUNSELL, author of 295
Murex, color-producing
shell-fish 8
MURRAY, modern ink
pioneer 208
Musk 2
Myrobolam ink 11, 80,
130, 158
Myrobolams 10, 11
Nàblus copy of the
Pentatuech 23
Narbonne 10
NERI, ANTONIO, author
of 104
New Granada, ink plant
of 158, 198
New York Dredging Co.,
case of 244
" "
Legislature (1894) 149
" " State Bar
Association 154
New Testament, the 12,
71, 86, 285
NEWTON, SIR ISAAC 17
NICHOLAS, ABRAHAM,
author and penman 110
NICHOLES, investigator
of 130
NICHOLSON, discoverer
of 185
NICOLSON, WILLIAM,
Archdeacon of 64, 65, 66, 67
Nigrosine 134, 185, 210
Nile, mud of the 32
Nile, on the 252
NISSAN, on safety paper
318
NORMAN, PETER, penman
111
NOWLAN, on safety paper
319
Nubia 324
Numerals 24, 93, 241
Nummi, ancient money 9
Nut-galls 11, 42, 74,
82, 166, 323, 324
Oak trees 323
Official paper 309
" ink 126, 213
Oil, lamp black from 2
OLDFIELD, JOHN, penman
111
OLIER, on safety paper
318
OLLYFFE, THOMAS, author
and penman 110
Orchil 133, 158, 173,
174, 185
Oriental manuscripts
92, 93, 342
Output of modern ink
212
OUSLEY, SIR WM. GORE,
antiquarian and 342
OVERBIQUE, penman 113
OVID 35, 36, 135, 283
Oxalic acid 97
Oxygen, ink affected by
the 164, 165
Pagan writings 42, 55
Paintings of writing
utensils 13, 34
Palasgian writing 23
PALGRAVE, observations
of 67
Palimpsests 68, 86,
288, 338
Palestine 73
PALMER, GENERAL,
Secretary of State 149
Paper 67, 83, 84, 86,
87, 88, 164, 166, 273, 295, 296, 297, 301
Paper manufactured in
England 306
" " "
the United States 306
" safety (see
Safety paper).
" tests for
absorbing quantities of 314
" " "
direction of grain of 314
" " "
ground wood 314, 315
" " "
ink resisting quantities 314
" " "
sizing of 313,314
" " the
aniline-sulphate 316
Papura, ancient color
of the 8
Papyrito River 324
Papyrus 11, 32,34, 39,
68, 74, 85, 86, 246, 253, 273, 274, 275, 280, 282, 290, 323, 326, 329
Parchment 33, 67, 86,
93, 97, 206, 273, 275, 282, 283, 288, 289, 290, 293, 299
PARDIE, JOHN, author
and penman 108
Paretonium, ancient
color of 10
Paris, an ink center
207
PARISAL, his estimation
of 330, 331
Parliament, prohibition
of 187
" legalizes the
187
PARKES, on the
Borrowdale mine 262
Patent office, use of
ink by the 331
PAUL, modern ink maker
208
PEDDINGTON,
investigations of 121
Pelagium, ancient color
of 9, 10
Pencil,
"black-lead" 261-271
" brush 251
" erased writing
of 182
" red chalk 267
"Penny Encyclopædia,"
citations from 293, 294
PENNY, PROFESSOR, on
solubility of tannin 121
Pens, ancient 13, 22,
62, 246, 251, 260
" diamond pointed
250, 257
" fountain 259
" gold 259, 326
" horn 257
" movement 97
" rack, ancient 13
" ruby pointed 257
" steel 257
" " effect on
198
" stylographic 259
" tortoise shell
257
Pentatuech 23, 284
PERET, AUGUSTA, author
of 153
Pergamus library 28,
45, 282
PERKINS, case of 244
PERKINS, discoverer of
184, 198
Permanent ink 147, 200,
201, 202, 330
PERLENCH, AMBROSIUS,
penman 113
PERRY, pen maker 258
Persia, some references
to 4, 16, 18, 26, 27, 87, 247, 252, 340, 342, 346
Persian berries 175
PERSIUS, translation of
lines of 333
PETTUS, SIR JOHN 265,
266, 267
Phœnicians 9, 18, 27,
323, 324
PHELAN V. PRESS
PUBLISHING CO 244
Phenolphtalein test
solution 168
Phenomena, ink 97, 101,
115, 168, 170, 171, 172, 175, 208
Philosophical Magazine,
citation from 332
Phloroglucin test for
315
Photography and color
screens 347
" " court
exhibits 222-230
" "
transmitted light 167
PHRYSIUS, penman 113
PICKHARDT, CARL, first
importer of 227
PICOLIMINI, author 61
Picric acid 175
"Pictorial
Bible," citation from the 3
Picture writing 18
PIESSE, M., his method
for removing 172
PINKERTONS, the famous
240, 241, 242
Platinum for ink 136
PLATO, on importance of
writing 25
PLINY, the elder 274
PLINY, the younger 6,
7, 8, 9, 10, 34, 36, 76, 135, 158, 255, 266, 273, 274, 276, 329
Plumbago (see
Graphite).
PLUTARCH, works of 61
Poem on the Dark Ages 43,
44
Pomegranate 63, 75, 77,
80, 81, 196, 197
POMEROY, modern ink
maker 208
Pompeii 32, 37, 38, 39
POPE LEO X 51
" MARTIN 60
" NICHOLAS V 92
" PIUS II 46
" PIUS IX 309
PORTA, JOHN BAPTISTA,
author of 101, 102, 103
Portugal 186
Potassium, bichromate
of 135, 173
" cyanide of 175
" ferro-cyanide of
169, 172
" permanganate of
172
" sulpho-cyanide
of 338
" yellow-chromate
of 133, 187
Potato to clean pens
330
Pot-paper (see Water
marks).
Pounce box 339
POWELL, EDWARD, penman 112
PRECHT, investigator of
130
Prices of ancient
colors and 8, 9, 10
" " "
MSS 92
PRIESTLY, DR., author
258
Primitive ink 2
Printed paper 309
Printing 55, 57, 58, 96
Prisse papyrus 324
Prussian blue 134, 158,
173
Psalmanazer, history of
57
PTOLEMY, EPIPHANES 251
" LAGUS 274
PTOLEMY, PHILADELPHUS
27, 61, 282, 325, 326
" SOTER 27
PURCELLI, author 280,
325
Purple 3, 9, 40, 95
PYTHAGORUS 26
Pyrites, for ink 62
Quill pens 62, 253,
254, 256, 257, 327, 328
Rags for paper 299,
301, 307, 308
"Raising,"
check 168
RALEIGH, SIR WALTER 250
Raman, ancient emblem
for 81
RANSOM, HON. RASTUS S.
219-222
Raven-black ink 211
RAVEN, WILLIAM, author
and penman 108
RAYNOR, JOHN, author
and penman 109
Receipts for ink
188-204
Record inks 138-149,
155-162, 166, 213
Red aniline 174
" ink 40, 133, 174
" pencils 267, 269
" ochre 6
Reed pens 13, 246, 251,
252, 253, 256
Reformation, the 97
Renaissance, the 55
Restoration of ink 164,
169
REUMER, on use of wood
for 306, 309
RIBAUCOURT, ink pioneer
193, 207
Rice paper 135
RICHARD, DANIEL, author
and penman 108
RICHARDS, WILLIAM,
author and penman 110
RICHARDSON, on the
misleading historians 15, 16
RIFFAULT, investigator
of 130
RINEARD v. BOWERS, case
of 244
Ritualistic ink 2,36,37
RITTENHOUSE, WILLIAM,
first American 306
ROBERTSON, methods of
170
ROLLIN’S "Ancient
History" 27-30
Rolls, bark (see Bark
rolls).
Rolls for the ancient
records 274, 275, 283, 289, 329
Romans, the ancient 4,
18, 34, 42, 59, 61, 66, 93, 256, 275, 283
Rome 40, 43, 55, 83,
274
Ross, on safety paper
317
ROSSELINI, on paper and
ink 11
Rosetta stone 250, 251
ROUSSET, on ancient
pigments and 6
Royal library of Paris
299, 324
" society of
England 115, 116
Rubric 95
RUNGE, ink pioneer 184,
187, 207
Rush leaves for paper
32
Russia, ancient
documents of 328
Rutilius, poem by 42
RYOLD, case of 244
Safety ink 136, 321
" paper 315-321,
347
Saffron 6, 174
SALMON, author of 105
Salsugo 136
Salts of iron (see Iron
sulphate).
Samaritan alphabetic
writing 18, 325
" Pentatucch 23
Sand-box 18
" green for
teaching 18
SANFORD, modern ink
maker 208
San Quetin prison 240
Saracens 29, 45, 85
SATHERWAITE, WILLIAM,
ink receipt of 193
Scapi (ancient rolls)
32, 34
Scarlet color 4, 7
Scandinavian books 67
SCHEFFER early pen
maker 259
SCHLUMBERGER, on safety
paper 319, 320
SCHLUTTIG and NUEMANN
130
SCHMIDT, ink pioneer
207
SCHOOLEY, case of 244
Schools, ancient 26
SCHRIEBER, on safety
paper 316
Scotland 68
SCOUTTETEN, on safety
paper 316
Scribes, ancient 12,
13, 14, 19, 34, 68, 96
Scriptoriums
(scriptoria) 68, 95
Scrolls 273, 280
Sealing, ancient custom
of 21
" wax 329
SEAMER, JAMES, author
and penman 108
Secreta 62, 75, 78, 82,
83, 90, 103
Secret ink 40, 103,
132, 135, 136, 331-338
SEDDEN, JOHN, author
and penman 109
SENECA, on books 28, 41
Senegal, gum of 196
Sepia 5, 75
Sepher, Hebrew word for
249
SETHOSIS, first Pharoah
of 12
SEYS, on safety paper
317
SHELLEY, GEORGE, author
and penman 109
Shell-fish colors 8
Shakespearean forgeries
304, 305
SHORTLAND, JOHN, author
and penman 110
Signet 20
Sign of the cross 19,
67
Silk paper 296
SILLERY, penman 113
Silver ink 11, 40, 135
" style 267
SILVESTRE, on writing
17
SIMONIDES, 18
" CONSTANTINE,
forger 287
Sinai (see Mt. Sinai).
Sinaitic codex 285,
286, 287
Skins 6, 22, 33, 246,
273, 283, 284
SMITH, EDWARD, author
and penman 109
SMITH’S "Bible
Dictionary" 23
SMYTHERS, peninan 113
SNELL, CHARLES, author
and penman 109
SNOW, RALPH, author and
penman 110
Soap and water for
erasing 173
Society of Arts 120,
122, 311
Soda process, for
making 310
Sour galls 82
South American
products, some 158, 187
SPARRE, on safety paper
317
Spain 73, 83, 85
Spanish ink 91
" licorice 189
SPRINGMÜTHL, discoverer
of 185
STAFFORD, modern ink
pioneer 207, 211, 212
STARK, DR. JAMES 122,
123, 124, 159, 160, 207
State Bar Association
of N. Y 154
Staves 32,67
ST. BROVVERUS, ancient
author 256
STEARNS, modern ink
pioneer 208
Steel pen (see Pens).
" " ink 209,
210
STEPHENS, ink pioneer
207
STEVENSON, on safety
paper 316
STILECHO 42
ST. JEROME 41,42,288
STONES, on safety paper
346
St. Petersburg 287
STROTHER, ULMAN, paper
maker 306
STOREY, case of 244
STORY, PETER, author
and penman 108
Stylographic ink 330
" pen 259
Stylus 22, 35, 40, 182,
246, 247, 266, 268, 342
Substitutes for
"Indian" ink 36
SUETONIUS, on book
forms 33
Sugar in ink 129, 130,
134
Sulphite process, for
making 310, 311, 316
Sumac 158
Sunlight for ink 77,
147
SWAN, HON. ROBERT T.
137-149, 157
SWIFT, DEAN, lines on
ink 341
Symbols, ancient color
3, 4
Sympathetic ink (see
Secret ink).
SYMS, on safety paper
319
Syrians 18
TAAUT or THOTH 18, 25
Table books 20, 21
Tablets 12, 22, 249
Tallies for keeping accounts
326
Talmud 73, 74
Tannin, 74, 115, 128,
133, 161, 169
" more soluble in
cold water than 121
Tanning 80
Tanno-gallate of iron
ink 45, 72, 82, 83, 121, 131, 154, 155, 156, 158, 159, 160, 163, 165, 168, 172
Tarantine purple 10
TARLING, ink pioneer
207
Tartar-emetic
(tartarated antimony) 173
Tawny colored inks 80
TAYLOR, ISAAC 52, 53
Tekeleth, Hebrew word
for 5
TEN COMMANDMENTS 20
THACKER, ink pioneer
207
THAMUS, colloquy with
25
Thebes 13
THEOPHILUS, Italian
monk 78, 79, 80
THEOPHRASTUS 32, 273
THOMAS, modern ink
pioneer 208
THOMPSON, EDWARD MAUNDE
289
THOMSON (Lord Kelvin)
130, 170
THORLESS v. NERNST,
case of 244
Thorn tree 78, 79, 80,
81
TIGERE, on safety paper
316
TIGHE will contest 234,
235, 236
Time affects ink 165,
166, 167
Tin, muriate of 174
Tinctures as ink 5, 115
TISCHENDORF, editor of
Greek Bible 285
Title page, ancient
place for the 341
TITUS, EMPEROR 38
TODD, modern ink
pioneer 208
Tortoise-shell pens 257
Trade names for ink 214
Tragacanth, gum 266
TRAILLE, investigator
of 130, 207
Transmitted light in
photography 167
TREADWAY, TIMOTHY,
penman 111
Treatises 65
TREFETHEN, case of 244
TRIEST, modern ink
pioneer 207
True paper (see Linen
paper).
Turmeric 175
TURNER, PROFESSOR
EDWARD 114
Tyrian purple 10, 56
Tyrians, the 8
Umbilici for
manuscripts 32
Uncial letters 40, 256
UNDERWOOD, JOHN, ink
pioneer 207
United States currency
315, 316
" " ink used
in 101
" " patent
office 331
" " treasury
department 137, 149
University of Pennsylvania
340
UNVERDORBEN, discoverer
of 184
URE, author and
investigator of 130, 207, 264
VALLE, PIETRO DELLA 23
Vanadium 133, 158, 210
VAN MOOS, ink pioneer
207
VAN NÜYS, on safety
paper 319
VAN DEN VELDE, author
and penman 112
Vapor of iodine for 177-182
VARRO 41, 274
Vatican library 47, 51,
92, 288, 309
VAUGH, SAMUEL, penman
111
Vegetable dyes, ancient
8
" gums 165
Vehicles, ink 135, 161,
165, 166
Vellum 33, 67, 68, 85,
88, 93, 97, 206, 246, 283, 288, 291, 293
Vermilion ink 6, 7, 36,
40
Vespaciano 93
VICUM, JOHANN FRED’R,
author and penman 112
Vienna, an ink center
207
VIGNON, penman 113
VINCENTINO, LUDIVICO,
author and penman 112
Vinegar in ink 86
Violet aniline 173, 174
Violet iodine 173, 174
VIRGIN MARY 4, 5
Vitriol 36, 63, 74, 82,
103
Vitriolic ink 6, 36,
37, 63, 74, 82
Volumena (see Scrolls).
Volumens (rolls) 26
Wad (see Graphite).
Wafers, introduction of
340
WALKDEN, modern ink
pioneer 208
WALLACH, modern ink
pioneer 208
WALSHINGHAM, SIR
FRANCIS 326
WARTON, citation from
292
Wasp, the 323
Water-glass 124
WATERLOOS, ink pioneer
207
Water-marks in paper
302, 305, 315
WATSON, THOMAS, author
and penman 108
WATTENBACH, author and
savant 127
Wax, sealing 329
" shoemakers 328
" tablets 22, 325,
326
WEBB, BENJAMIN, penman
112
WEBSTER, WILLIAM,
penman 110
WEIS, on safety paper
320
Weld 6, 175
West Indies 187
WESTON, ELIZABETH JANE,
pen woman 107
WESTON, THOMAS, author
and penman 108
WHEATCRAFT, WILLIAM G.,
author and penman 112
WHILTON, BRIGHT, penman
111
White, symbol of 4
WHITEHEAD, poetical
lines by 5
White-lead 6
WIGIN, ELEAZER, author
and penman 109
WILLIAMS, CALEB, author
and penman 108
WILLIAMSON, PEREGRINE
258
Wine 63, 75, 76, 102
WISE, inventor of steel
pens 257
WISLAR, investigator of
130, 170
Wood-pulp for paper
306, 309, 310, 323
WOODHAM, CHARLES,
author and penman 111
WOODMANSEE, modern ink
pioneer 208
WOODS, case of 244
WORTHINGTON, modern ink
pioneer 208
Write, origin of word
67
Writing, Art of 12, 13,
14, 17, 18, 19, 23, 24, 25, 40, 48, 61, 62, 64, 65, 66, 67, 68, 69, 70, 71, 95,
131, 323
" " Hebrew
script 22
" instruments of
antiquity 21, 245 to 266
" materials 61, 62
WIJ-WONG, Chinese
Emperor 3
Yeast for ink 74, 75
Yellow ink 95, 174
YOUNG, DR.THOMAS 251
ZINAN, discoverer of
181
ZONARAS, ancient writer
324
THE END.