The book edge gilder's gold cushion, illustrated by Fig. 66, resembles that used by the painter and decorator, and consists of a flat board measuring about 1 ft. by 9 in. or so, with two or three thicknesses of flannel or printers' press blanket laid flat upon it, and then covered with a piece of calf skin, flesh or rough side upwards, nailed down to the edges of the board. .

To make a gold cushion, take a piece of wood, size immaterial 12 in. by 6 in. by 1 in. does very well and lay upon it several sheets of blotting paper, the bottom one the same size as the wood, the next a shade smaller, the next smaller stilI, and so on until enough is laid on, and then cover with a piece of calf, the rough side up, and fasten it on by nailing it all round the edge. A slip of stout vellum is generally placed along the edge outside the leather, and nailed through with brass nails with big convex heads, such as upholsterers use for brass nailing chairs. Decorators and gilders generally protect the cushion with a screen of stout vellum a few inches high, but as the finisher does his work indoors a screen is hardly necessary; it is, however, shown in the illustration (Fig. 66). Gold cushions can be purchased of any artists' colourman, and of many oilmen. The knife is about the shape of a palette knife (see Figs. 67 and 68),

with a somewhat rough (but not too rough) cutting edge. The tip (Fig. 69) is similar to that used by the decorator and gilder, and consists of a few hairs of sable secured in a cardboard handle. It is used for lifting the gold leaf, but many finishers prefer a bit of cotton wool or wadding, rendered slightly greasy by being passed across the forehead.

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