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by Joseph W. Zaehnsdorf
3rd Edition Published in London 1897
transparent, although when laid on any object it is of sufficient thickness to hide the
surface underneath. It has been estimated that the thickness of the gold leaf is only
1/280000 of an inch.
To gild the edges, the book should be put into the press straight and on a level with
the cheeks of the press between cutting boards, the boards of the book being thrown
back. The press should be screwed up very tightly, and any projection of the cutting
boards should be taken away with a chisel. If the paper is unsized or at all spongy, the
moisture will sink through as in blotting paper. The edge should be scraped quite flat and
perfectly even, care being taken to scrape every part equally, or one part of the edge will
be hollow or perhaps one side scraped down, and this will make one square larger than
the other. When scraped quite smoothly and evenly, a mixture of black lead and thin
glaire water is painted over the edge, and with a hard brush it is well brushed until dry.
The gold should now be cut on the gold cushion. Lift a leaf out of the book with the
gold knife, lay it on the gold cushion, and breathe gently on the centre of the leaf to lay it
flat; it can then be cut with perfect ease to any size. The edge is now to be glaired
evenly, and the gold taken up with a piece of paper previously greased by drawing it over
the head. The gold is then gently laid on the edge, which has been previously glaired.
The whole edge or end being done, it is allowed to get perfectly dry, which will occupy
some two hours.
Before using the burnisher on the gold itself, some gilders lay a piece of fine paper on
the gold and gently flatten it with a burnisher. Books are often treated in this manner,
they then become “dull gilt.” When intended to be bright, a waxed cloth should be gently
rubbed over the surface two or three times before using the burnisher. The beauty of
burnishing depends upon the edge presenting a solid and uniform metallic surface,
without any marks of the bunisher. The manner of burnishing is to hold a flat burnisher,
where the surface is flat, firmly in the right hand with the end of the heandle on the
shoulder, to get better leverage.
finished, the foredge is to be proceeded with, by making it perfectly flat. It is better to tie the book, to prevent it
slipping back. The foredge is to be gilt exactly in the same manner as the ends; it will of course return to its proper
round when released from the press. This is done will books in the ordinary way, but if the book is to have an extra
edge, it is done “solid” or “in the round.” For this way the book must be put in the press with its proper round,
without flattening it, and scraped in that position with scrapers corresponding with the rounding. The greatest care
must be taken in this kind of scraping that the sides are not scraped away, or the squares will be made either too
large or lop-sided.
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