Gold Leaf
O:ii sultry d:iy lust suimner, when people orept about on the sbady sidos of the su-M-ts, au l the soda water and lemonade mun were the only happy looking persons one met, we saw a ragged little leiluw siiting 011 the sidowalk, in the full blaze of tho sun, watohing intently something whioh was going on down in the basement of a great building. " Whnt doos he seo down thcro ? " I won lorod. " Tliat is whero thcy maleo gold leaf," said my companion. " Let us go and find out how thoy do it." " Will they let usin ? " I asked, doubt fully, as wo descended tho stairs and peered into the room. Thero was no sign to say " No Admittance ; " but a very ploasant young man, who mot ns at the door, said it quite plainly all over lns face, though he dil not speuk a word. The Little Corporal is a priviloged oharaoter, and when wo explained uur errand, tho propriofcor oourtcuuslv told us ail about the procoss of making gold leaf, such as is usod in all the gilding, lettering, ete. First they molt theeoin; but that is not pure enough, so they take trom it the Loaving it about 11 oarats fine. Then itis rolled out into a flexible ribbon about un inoh in width, not briglit, as you might fancy, but stained and blackened by tho heat and charcoal. Tho workman cuts off a bit ot' this ribbon an incli in length, and places itin the center of a niold about tivo inches square, ra ld of leaVes of a peculiar kind of tissue paper, p] iced one apon the other. This paper is obtained from Europe, and is manufacturad from tho inner skin of the intestinos of oxen, requiring fivo hundred oxen to make enough i'or ono muid, which is valued at sixty dollars. The workman l-iys his niold, with the inch of gold ribbon in center, upon a m, and proceeds to pouml it with a liainmH weighing about. se ves pounds, until it gradually üattons and spreads out to the size of the mjld, that is, about tour iuehes square. As soon as the gold bogins to poep out of the edges, the workman opsns his mold, outa the gold into four pieces with a tooi mueh like a pair of tinv, woodon sled runnen, and thou eaoh ot the four pioces is again boaten, and again divided, until from tho original inoh ot' gold ribbon, which is exaotly of the weigat of a gold dollar, ono hundmd leavea are madeThese are put betweon leavos of tissue paper, and made into little books, nuiv tbr use, selliug at about one and one-half oen tê per leaf. It is delicate stuif, umi tho workman cannot touoh it with his fingere, but lifts it oarefully with some curious little piucors, or smooths it with his breath. The ordinary procoss of lettoring or ornting in gold is to brush over the design with shcllao, lay on the gold leaf, and thpn, with a bit of cotton, wipo oif what does not adherfi. These bits of cotton, with thoir load of powdered gold, usod to be thrown away ; but now they aresaved, and a way has been found to arathcr up every partiële of tho procious
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Subjects
Old News
Michigan Argus