Gold leaf is used in all the principal ornamentation, and blind tooling is only auxiliary to the gilding. But another style of finishing, often found in ancient books, was revived some few years ago, and is now very popular for religious books, and is used for secular ones. This style is known as "antique," or sometimes monastic," and consists entirely of blind tooling except the lettering; and as a rule, in this description of work, the edges are either unburnished red or gilt, or gilt upon red. The boards used are thick, and generally have beveled edges.

The tools for this work are of the usual kind, but the patterns are generally bolder and heavier in appearance than those used for gold. On the sides heavy rolls and line work, produced by such sets of tools as shown at Fig. 134 (last chapter), are most effective.

Although it may not appear at first sight to require such nicety as gilding, the novice will speedily find that quite as much care and dexterity are needed to produce effective decoration. Everything must be worked straight and true, and the depth of impression given to the various tools must be the same. The color of the tooling (which should be a dark mellow brown) should be uniform over the work.

Before commencing work, the back of the book is damped with a sponge and clean water, which latter is then well worked" into the grain of the leather with a small, clean, hard brush.

In executing antique work, the tools are heated, and each one worked several times in its place on the damp leather; this singes the leather until it is darkened. A steady hand and great care are required to ensure that the tool always falls exactly in the same place, and is not doubled or slurred at the edges.

This kind of work is only employed on morocco and calf. Brown, olive, and slate-color are the colors best adapted, particularly the first. The book is screwed up in the finishing-press, having had its back marked off. The pallet is then heated and worked steadily across the back, the motion being given by the wrist only. This must be done several times, and, as the leather dries, the heat of

the pallet must be raised, which will usually gradually darken the lines and produce the deep tints required. Occasionally, it will be found necessary to damp the part of the book operated on several times before the necessary depth of color can be obtained. The pallet must be held very steadily, and worked across the back quite straight. The gloss has next to be given to the blind tooling. This is done by making the pallet rather hot; it is then rubbed upon a piece of greasy leather and again worked backwards and forwards in the impressions previously made. This is technically termed "jiggering."

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