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If you + don't derive profits, no royalty is due. Royalties are + payable to "Project Gutenberg Association/Carnegie-Mellon + University" within the 60 days following each + date you prepare (or were legally required to prepare) + your annual (or equivalent periodic) tax return. + +WHAT IF YOU *WANT* TO SEND MONEY EVEN IF YOU DON'T HAVE TO? +The Project gratefully accepts contributions in money, time, +scanning machines, OCR software, public domain etexts, royalty +free copyright licenses, and every other sort of contribution +you can think of. Money should be paid to "Project Gutenberg +Association / Carnegie-Mellon University". + +*END*THE SMALL PRINT! FOR PUBLIC DOMAIN ETEXTS*Ver.04.29.93*END* + + + + + +Scanned by Charles Keller with OmniPage Professional OCR software + + + + + +Forty Centuries of Ink by David N. Carvalho. + + +FORTY CENTURIES OF INK + +OR + +A CHRONOLOGICAL NARRATIVE CONCERNING +INK AND ITS BACKGROUNDS + +INTRODUCING 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 + + + + +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 +II. ANTIQUITY OF INK +III. CLASSICAL INK AND ITS EXODUS +IV. CLASSICAL INK AND ITS EXODUS (Continued) +V. REVIVAL OF INK +VI. INK OF THE WEST +VII. EARLY MEDIAEVAL INK +VIII. MEDIAEVAL INK +IX. END OF MEDIAEVAL INK +X. RENAISSANCE INK +XI. ANCIENT INK TREATISES +XII. STUDY OF INK +XIII. STUDY OF INK +XIV. CLASSIFICATIONS OF INK +XV. OFFICIAL AND LEGAL INK +XVI. ENDURING INK +XVII. INK PHENOMENA +XVIII. INK CHEMISTRY +XIX. FRAUDULENT INK BACKGROUNDS +XX. FUGITIVE INK. +XXI. ANCIENT AND MODERN INK RECEIPTS +XXII. INK INDUSTRY. +XXIII. CHEMICO-LEGAL INK +XXIV. CHEMICO-LEGAL INK (Continued) +XXV. INK UTENSILS OF ANTIQUITY +XXVI. INK UTENSILS (Quill PEN v. Steel Pen) +XXVII. SUBSTITUTES FOR INK UTENSILS ("Lead" and other Pencils) +XXVIII. ANCIENT INK BACKGROUNDS (The Origin of Papyrus) +XXIX. ANCIENT INK BACKGROUNDS (Parchment and Vellum) +XXX. MODERN INK BACKGROUNDS (True Paper) +XXXI. MODERN INK BACKGROUNDS (Wood Paper and Safety Paper) +XXXII. CURIOSA (Ink and other Writing Materials) + + + + +FORTY CENTURIES OF INK + + + +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 deyo, 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 L35 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 +Phoenicians, 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 Phoenician 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 +Caesar, 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 aegypt, +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 Termi- +nalia, 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 Eyptians +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 ENCYCLOPaeDIA 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 +Palaeography," 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 Phoenician 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 Phoenicians, 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 Phoenicians +and the Egyptians as being the inventors of the +foremost of all the arts. "For, in Phoenicia, 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 +Phoenicia, 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 Encyclopaedia 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 containinlu the works of Hesiod, +deposited in the temple of the Muses, in Boeotia; +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, aere 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 Caesar 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 Nablus 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 Phoenician 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 Phoenicians 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 Caesar'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 misfortune 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 bullae or weights were fixed. +The books when rolled up, were bound up with these +umbilici, and were generally kept in cylindrical boxes +or capsae, a term from which the Mediaeval "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 bullae. + +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 Caesar, +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 "capsae" 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 +subsequeut 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 +years BEFORE 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 Caesar 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 regale 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 Althaea 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 iningled 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 aeneas 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 Phoenicia 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 Phoenician 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 Phoenician. 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 Phoenicians 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 Caesar 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 naivete 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 aeschylus, 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 +deyo. + +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 Charlemigne 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 +Demnark, (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 Rain- +Deer and Elks were often 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 Saemund, +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 Caesar'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 MEDIAEVAL 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 mediaeval 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 deyo 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 deyo identical with alchiber? + +2. Of what ingredient should the Talmudic deyo +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 deyo and alchiber were not identical; +and for the reasons that the Talmud declares deyo to +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 deyo, 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 (deyo). + +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 oeno-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. + +MEDIAEVAL 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 mediaeval 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 MEDIAEVAL 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 +mediaeval 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. + +Mediaeval 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 MEDIAEVAL +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 knowa 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 Calligraphiae." + +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 log- +wood 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, +Bottger, Riffault, Precht, Nicholes, 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--RESUME 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 degrees (distilled water being 1000 degrees)." +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 degrees." 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 degrees." + +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 +Carre, 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 WITHOUT blotting, 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 ANY gloss 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 +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 over- +plus 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. + +Concentrated Hydrochloric Acid Red-yellow Red +Dilute " " Reddish Yellow-Brown + +Concentrated and dilute Nitric Acid Red Red-Yellow + " Sulphuric Acid . . Black Dark Purple +Dilute " " Red Brown Purple +Potassium Chromate . . . . Black +Stannous Chloride Violet Yellow +Tartaric Acid . . . . . Gray-Brown Yellow +Sulphate of Copper . . . . Dark Gray +Tannin . . . . . . Yellow-Red Yellow +Potash Dark Red Yellow +Potassium Permanganate Light-Brown Yellow + " Iodide . . . . . Red-Yellow +Pyrogallic Acid . . . . Yellow-Brown Yellow +Chrome-yellow . . . . . Dark Violet +Sodium (Salt) Violet Red +Sulphate of Iron Gray to Black +Alum . . . . . . . Violet Red,Brown. Faint Red + + BRAZIL WOOD. MADDER. + +Concentrated Hydrochloric Acid Light Red Pale Yellow +Dilute " " Light Red Pale Yellow + +Concentrated and dilute Nitric Acid Dark Purple Pale Yellow + " Sulphuric Acid . . Red Pale Yellow +Dilute " " Purple Pale Yellow +Potassium Chromate . . . . - - +Stannous Chloride Light Red Light Red +Tartaric Acid . . . . . Red Yellow Pale Yellow +Sulphate of Copper . . . . - - +Tannin . . . . . . No Change Pale Yellow +Potash Crimson Light Red +Potassium Permanganate - - +Iodide . . . . . - - +Pyrogallic Acid . . . . - - +Chrome-yellow . . . . . - - +Sodium (Salt) - Red +Sulphate of Iron Dark Violet - +Alum . . . . . . . - Faint Red + + +CHAPTER 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 Medical, 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 degrees 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. + +Springmuhl 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 encyclopaedias, 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 mariae, 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 degrees 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 powder, 8 ounces. +Logwood chips, 4 " +Sulphate of iron, 4 " +Powdered gum-arabic, 3 " +Sulphate of copper, 1 " +Crystallized sugar, 1 " + +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 indigo .......... 1 fluid ounce. + Water, .............................. 6 " " + Loaf Sugar,.......................... 1 ounce, troy. + Strong mucilage of gum-arabic + 2 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 nutgalls, 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 +fregy 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, Bottger, 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 degrees 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. + +Adriana +Allfield +Anderson +Antoine +Arnaudon +Arnold +Artus +Ballade +Ballande +Barnes +Bart +Bartram +Beaur +Behrens +Belmondi +Berzelius +Bizanger +Blackwood +Blair +Bolley +Bonney +Bossin +Boswell +Bottger +Boutenguy +Braconnot +Brande +Bufeu +Bufton +Bure +Carter +Caw +Cellier +Champion +Chaptal +Chevallier +Clarke +Close +Cochrane +Collin +Cooke +Coupier and Collins +Coxe +Crock +Cross +Darcet +Davids +Davis +Delunel +Delarve +Delang +Derheims +Dize +Draper +Druck +Duhalde +Dumas +Dumovlen +Dunand +Dunlap +Ellis +Eisner +Faber +Faucher +Faux +Featherstone +Fesneau +Fontenelle +Ford +Fourmentin +Freeman +Fuchs +Gaffard +Gastaldi +Geissler +Geoffroy +Gebel +Goold +Goupeir +Grasse +Green +Guesneville +Gullier +Guyon +Guyot +Haenles +Hager +Haldat +Hanle +Hare +Harrison +Hausman +Heeren +Henry +Herepath +Hevrant +Higgins +Hogy +Hunt +Hyde +Jahn +James +Joy +Karmarsch +Kasleteyer +Kindt +Klaproth +Kloen +Knaffl +Knecht +Lanaux +Lanet +Larenaudiere +Lemancy +Lenormand +Leonhardi +Lewis +Ley Kauf +Link +Lipowitz +Lorme +Luhring +Lyons +MacCullogh +Mackensic +Mathieu +Maurin +Maynard and Noyes +Melville +Mendes +Meremee +Merget +Minet +Moller +Moore +Mordan +Moser +Morrell +Mozard +Murray +Nash +Nissen +Ohme +Ott +Paul +Payen +Perry +Peltz +Petibeau +Platzer +Plissey +Pomeroy +Poncelet +Prollius +Proust +Pusher +Rapp +Reade +Redwood +Reid +Remigi +Reinmann +Rheinfeld +Ribaucourt +Ricker +Roder +Ruhr +Runge +Sanford +Schaffgotoch +Schleckum +Schmidt +Schoffern +Scott +Seldrake +Selmi +Simon +Souberin +Souirssean +Stafford +Stark +Stein +Stephens +Stevens +Syuckerbuyk +Swan +Tabuy +Tarling +Thacker +Thomas +Thumann +Todd +Tomkins +Trialle +Triest +Trommsdorff +Underwood +Vallet +Van Moos +Vogel +Wagner +Walkden +Wallach +Waterlous +Windsor and Newton +Winternitz +Woodmansee +Worthington + + + + +CHAPTER 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 chem. +istry 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. (Societe Generale 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 ABBE, 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 mediaeval +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 cambriae +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 <gr kefas>, 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 pose' (That is well). 'Temou chu' (Rest in +peace), we replied; and, after politely putting out +our tongues, withdrew." Abbe 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 diamond were imbedded. +Metallic points were also cemented to the +shell nibs. + +Doughty, about 1825, made gold pens with ruby +points. + +Gold pens with rhodium or iridium points 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 MEDIAEVAL 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 degrees; 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 L40,000 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 +mediaeval 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 +ATHENaeUM--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 Athenaeum: + +"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 CYCLOPaeDIA--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 litteraire 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-Au- +gustanus, 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 Palaeography," 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 +Cyclopaedia" 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 mediaeval 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 algae and lichens, +the class of thallogens (Lindley), the algae 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 +algae 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 +Penicilium glaucum. 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 Nuys, 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--PHoeNICIA, "LAND OF THE PURPLE-DYE" +--LINES, ADDRESSED TO THE PHoeNICIAN--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 "Phoenicia" means literally "the +land of the purple dye," and to the Phoenicians is +attributed the invention of the art of writing. + +TO THE PHOENICIAN. + + "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 L20, 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 toeniotica--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 potassiurin. Brown. + Gold in nitrohydroChloric acid. Tin in same acid. Purple. + Nut-galls. Sulphate of iron. Black. + Dilute sulphuric acid. Heat. Black. + Cobalt in dilute Heat. Green. + nitrohydrochloric acid. + Lemon juice. Heat. Brown. + Oxide of copper in Heat. Blue. + acetic acid and salt + Nitrate of bismuth. Infusions of Nutgalls. Brown. + Common starch. Iodine in alcohol. Purple. + Colorless iodine. Chloride of lime. Brown. + Phenolphtalin. Alkaline solution. Red. + Vanadium. Pyrogallic acid. Purple. + + +The Patent Office at Washington, D. C., 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 vitae, 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 quick- +lime 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 vitae, 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 vitae, 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 quick- +lime being filled with the sulphurs of arsenick becomes +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. Quick- +lime 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 quick- +lime 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 +animalcutae;" 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 Caesar 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 Koran, in the Cufi 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 Cufi 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 +Jami, ben Ahmed of the village of Jam, 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 compositious 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, Jehangir +and his son Shajehan." + +"No. 5. 'A Diwan i Shahi.' A Diwan or Collection +Odes by Shahi,' transcribed by the famous +penman Mir Ali, in Bokar<a1., A. D. 1534. (A. H. 940.) + +"The author of these poems, Mamlic Arnir +Shahi, the son of Malic Jemaluddin Firozkohi, a +nobleman of high rank and fortune as well as great +literary attainments, was born in Sebzwar, A. H. +786. He passed a part of his life at the courts of +Baisankar (the son of Shahrukh Mirza, and grandson +of Tamerlane) and of his son Abul Kasim +Baber, 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 +Baber, A. H. 856, and was buried in the suburbs +of his native city, Sebzwar, 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 Shah Jehan; 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 Bhutan, 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 Bhutan and +Neipal 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 Bhutan 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 Baber 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 Korans, 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 belleart 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. + + + + + +End of Project Gutenberg's Etext of Forty Centuries of Ink, by Carvalho + diff --git a/1483.zip b/1483.zip Binary files differnew file mode 100644 index 0000000..61c186e --- /dev/null +++ b/1483.zip diff --git a/LICENSE.txt b/LICENSE.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000..6312041 --- /dev/null +++ b/LICENSE.txt @@ -0,0 +1,11 @@ +This eBook, including all associated images, markup, improvements, +metadata, and any other content or labor, has been confirmed to be +in the PUBLIC DOMAIN IN THE UNITED STATES. + +Procedures for determining public domain status are described in +the "Copyright How-To" at https://www.gutenberg.org. + +No investigation has been made concerning possible copyrights in +jurisdictions other than the United States. 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