A MANUAL OF
Mending and Repairing
WITH DIAGRAMS
BY
Charles Godfrey Leland
——
NEW YORK
DODD, MEAD AND COMPANY
1896

Copyright, 1896,
By DODD, MEAD AND COMPANY.

BURR PRINTING HOUSE, FRANKFORT AND JACOB STS., N. Y.

INTRODUCTION

The author of this work modestly trusts that all who read it with care will admit that in it he has distinctly shown that mending or repairing, which has hitherto been regarded as a mere adjunct to other arts, is really an art by itself, if not a science, since it is based on chemical and other principles, which admit of extensive application and general combination. It has its laws—a fact which has never been hinted at by any writer, since all recipes for restoration in existence are each singly inventions made to suit certain cases. This work has been conceived on a different principle.

A thorough knowledge of this art of repairing, mending, or restoring various objects is of very great value, since there is no household in which it is not often called into requisition. In the kitchen or drawing-room, in the library and nursery, there are daily breakages, of which a large and needless proportion are losses, simply because such a man as a general mender, who is accomplished in all branches of the art, does not exist. And, what is more, it is equally true that no one has ever realised to what a vast extent mending and saving may be carried, with a little expenditure of time, practice, and money, by any intelligent person who will devote serious attention to it. Within a comparatively few years discoveries in science or in nature have enlarged the ability of the mender to an extraordinary extent—I need only mention the applications now made with silicate of soda, celluloid, gutta percha, and glycerine to confirm what I say—so largely, indeed, that only the accomplished technologist and chemist is really aware of what can be done in general repairing compared to what was possible only a few years ago. I believe that there are few thoroughly practical persons (and, I may add, few who take an interest in art in any form, or even in books) who will read this work without deep interest, and without acquiring information of such value that in comparison to it the cost of the book will seem a trifle.

Though mending or restoring is a subject which in some form comes home to and concerns everybody, and which it is assuredly everybody’s interest to understand, this is, I believe, the first book in which its application to a great variety of wants has been made, and that in such a clearly co-ordinated manner, and according to such a simple principle, that whoever reads it can have no difficulty in mending any object, even though it be not described here. In all works of the kind which I have seen the recipes for repairing have been given simply according to their subjects, without any view to general principles of application, and a great proportion of these were in turn simply copied from old books of miscellaneous “receipts,” or newspapers in which every so-called new discovery is announced as infallible, or as if it had been tried and tested to perfection. That I have not recklessly accumulated in this fashion all kinds of recipes to fill my pages will appear very plainly to every chemist or technologist, who will perceive that, proceeding from a comprehensive table of generally recognised and long-tested bases of cements, I have given deductions and combinations scientifically agreeing with their laws and with experiment. The true object of giving a great number of recipes has not been solely or simply to supply the house-keeper or mechanic with instructions for certain repairs, but also to suggest to the technologist and inventor new ideas and applications. Thus, when we know that given proportions of zinc in powder, silicate of soda, and chalk form a strong cement, resembling zinc, it is as well to suggest that this may be varied by employing other metals and substances, such as bronze-powders and mineral oxides, to be always preceded by a little experiment. I venture to say that any intelligent person who masters this work can, on this hint, make for himself innumerable inventions; and I am sure that there is not the editor of a single technological journal who will not testify to the fact that every year a great many patents are taken out and fortunes made from recipes which are neither so scientifically combined nor practically useful as those which I here give. That there are fortunes still to be made is abundantly proved by the fact that there are very few people, comparatively speaking, who know where to get or how to make waterproof glue, or how to mend with it, neatly and durably, shoes, umbrellas, and many rents in garments; how to unite a broken strap; mend, by felting, torn hats; rehabilitate perfectly worm-eaten and torn-away paper; restore decayed broken wood; or mend, in fact, anything except with common glue or mucilage—both of which soon give way and crack or melt. So long as such general ignorance prevails, just so long there will be an opportunity for the inventor to make and sell cements, and for the repairer to find employment.

I call special attention to the fact that this book contains no merely traditional, untested recipes which have been simply transferred from one Housekeeper’s Manual to another for generations. Where I have not been guided by my own personal experience—which is, I venture to say, not very limited—I have either followed truly scientific works, such as the three hundred volumes of the Chemical-Technical Library of A. Hartleben; or, when citing from older authors, have invariably given recipes which agree with the principles advanced by modern analysts and inventors. And though not a professor of chemistry, yet, as I studied it and natural philosophy in my youth under Leopold Gmelin, L. Passelt, and Professor Joseph Henry, I trust that I have been sufficiently qualified to avoid errors in what I have written. In short, that I have not recklessly accumulated every recipe which I could find, and that what I give are really trustworthy, will appear plainly to the chemist or technologist, who will perceive that, proceeding from a given table of generally recognised and long-tested bases of cements, &c., I have then given deductions and combinations scientifically agreeing with their laws and with experiment. My book is not a pièce de manufacture, or of hack-work, but one which is the result of many years of practical experience in the minor arts and industries, on which subject alone I have published twenty-two works, without including pamphlets, lectures, and at least one hundred letters or articles in leading magazines and newspapers. There is, in short, very little mending or making described in this book which I have not at one time or other personally effected, having had all my life a passion for mending and restoring all kinds of objects, and that scientifically and thoroughly.

As I have observed, there is in every household continual breakage of many kinds—“or of the rending which cries for mending”—it is a matter of some importance that some one in the family should pay special attention to such matters. How often have I seen very valuable objects stuck together—anyhow and clumsily—with putty, wafers, sealing-wax, glue, flour-paste, or anything which will “hold” for a time, when a perfect cure might have just as well been effected had the proper recipe been taken to the first chemist. This is equally true as regards taking ink or stains out of garments, or repairing the latter perfectly, or mending shoes or indiarubber cloth, or felting worn hats and many other articles, all of which are treated of in this work.

It is true that everybody is not naturally ingenious, or clever, or gifted, but all may become skilful menders if they will duly consider the subject (which requires no hard study) and experiment on it a little. And here I would seriously address a few words to all who are interested in education. There is a certain faculty which may be called constructiveness, which is nearly allied to invention, and which is a marvellous developer in all children of quickness of perception, thought, or intellect. It is the art of using the fingers to make or manipulate, in any way; it exists in every human being, and it may be brought out to an extraordinary degree in the young, as has been fully tested and proved. Now, if we take two children of the same age, sex, and capacity, both going to the same school and pursuing the same studies, and if one of the two devotes from two to four hours a week to an industrial art class (i.e., studying simple original design, easy wood-carving, repoussé, embroidery, &c.), it will be found—as it has been by very extensive experiment—that the latter child will at the end of the year excel the former in all branches of learning; that is to say, in arithmetic or geography, so greatly does ingenuity proceed from the fingers to the brain. Now, mending is so nearly allied to all the minor or mechanical arts, it enters into them so closely, that it in a manner belongs to and is an introduction to them all. Like them, it stimulates invention or ingenuity, and is perhaps of far greater practical utility or direct use. Boys and girls learn very willingly how to mend, and, from a long experience in teaching them, I should say that a class with experiments and practical instruction in what is given in this book should take precedence of all carpentry, metal-work, joining, leather-work, or any other branches whatever. For it is easier than any of them, and it is of far more general utility, as the following pages clearly show. Such teaching would cost next to nothing for outfit, and would be the best introduction to technical education of all kinds.

There is an immense amount of breakage in this world, yet, as a French writer on the subject observes, there are more great artists than good menders; the latter being so extremely rare that proofs of it are seen in bungling restorations in every museum in Europe, and in the almost impossibility of finding (out of Italy) men who can perfectly mend first-class ceramic ware. We see this ignorance in reproductions of delicate ivory ware coarsely cast in gypsum, and in a vast rejection and destruction of antiquities in wood, stone, or ceramic ware, simply because they are most ignorantly supposed to be beyond repair when they might, with proper knowledge, be very easily and cheaply restored, to great profit. And if the reader will visit the “dead rooms” of any museum in Europe and then study this book, he will find ample confirmation of what I say.

And here I would mention that every collector or owner of any kind of works of art, of bric-à-brac, or curiosities, who will master the art of mending, can find an illimitable field for picking up bargains in almost every shop of antiquities in Europe, especially in the smaller or humbler kind. For it is very far from being true that these dealers know “how to mend everything;” on the contrary, I have often found them very ignorant indeed of mending, and have frequently instructed them in it. Thus I now have before me a “Holy Family” of the early sixteenth century, bas-relief in stamped leather, twelve inches by eight, for which I paid two francs, but which I might have had for one, it being utterly dilapidated, and apparently of no value. In two or three hours I restored it perfectly, and it would now sell for perhaps a hundred francs. By it hangs a “Madonna and Child,” painted on a panel, gold ground, fourteenth century, which, including a very broad and remarkable old frame, I purchased both for twelve francs. The panel was warped like a sabre, , the colour and gesso ground badly scaled away in many places. It was split in two pieces; in short, it appeared to be nearly worthless. Now it is in very good condition, and would be an ornament to any gallery. As regards repairing ceramic ware or china, glass, and porcelain, art has of late years made remarkable advances, this kind of mending being the most in requisition. As for old carved wood, no matter how badly broken it may be, eaten away by worms, or rotten, or even wanting large pieces, so long as its original form is evident, it can be very easily repaired or restored to all its original beauty and integrity, as I shall fully explain. In this alone there is a vast field for investment or money-making, because there are annually destroyed almost everywhere quantities of old wood-carvings; for, being badly worm-eaten, they are ignorantly supposed to be irreparable. The same may be said of ancient carved ivories, which are ready to drop at a touch into dust, as were those from Nineveh in the British Museum, yet which are now firm and clear. It is also true of the bindings of old books, many of marvellous beauty, whether of stamped leather, parchment, or carved. Even more interesting and curious is the repairing or restoring worm-eaten manuscripts or papers of any kind, or parchment, the easy process of filling the holes not being known to many bibliophiles. This art is becoming known in Germany, where it is not unusual to buy an old book for a mark, rebind it in hard old parchment, repair it generally for two or three, and then sell it, according to the subject, for several hundred or thousand per cent. profit.

It is greatly to be regretted that it is so little known, especially in England, that to repair a few holes or restore a little broken, crumbling carving it is not absolutely necessary to tear down an entire Gothic church and build a new one, as is so very generally the case. There is no stone-work, however dilapidated it may be, which cannot be mended very perfectly, and that in almost all cases with a material which sets even harder than the original, as was perfectly shown at the Paris Exhibition of 1889. Dilapidated stone carved work, of all ages and kinds, which could be perfectly restored to a degree which even very few artists suspect, abounds in Italy, where it can be purchased for a song. The song, it is true, is generally sung to a small silver accompaniment, but the purchaser may make it golden for himself. For very few know how to restore a knocked-off nose so that the line of juncture be not visible; yet even this is possible, as I shall show. And I may here remark that in all the first galleries and museums of Europe, without one exception, there is abundant evidence to prove that, of all the arts, the one of repairing and restoring is the one least understood and most strangely neglected.

There is hardly a village so small that one man or woman could not make in it or eke out a living by repairing different objects. In towns and cities the demand for such work is much greater, for there ladies break expensive fans and jewellery, and children their dolls and toys, for mending of which the “rehabilitators” require “much moneys,” especially in the United States, where prices for anything out of the way are appalling.

I would therefore beg all people who are gifted with some small allowance of “ingenuity,” tact, art, or common-sense to consider that Mending or Restoring is a calling very easily learned by a little practice, and one by which a living can be made, even in its humblest branches, as is shown by the umbrella-menders and chair-caners in the streets. But common-sense teaches that any one who shall have mastered all that is explicitly set forth in this book ought certainly to be able to gain money, even largely; for, as I said, the opportunities of purchasing dilapidated works of art, mending and selling them, are innumerable, and Restoration is as yet everywhere in its mere rudiments and very little practised. That which might be a very great general industry of vast utility, employing many thousands now idle, only exists in a hap-hazard, casual way, as dependent on other kinds of work. But to me it appears as a great art by itself, dependent on certain principles of general application. And when we consider what is generally wasted for want of proper knowledge of this great art, it seems to me to be but rational that if we had in London a school for teaching mending and restoring in all its branches as a trade, with a museum to show the public, probably to its great astonishment, what marvels can be wrought by renewing what is old, it would be of great service to the country at large. A very little reflection will convince the least visionary or most practical reader that what is wasted or annually destroyed of valuable old works, which cannot be replaced, because they are no longer manufactured, if restored, would form the basis of a great national industry. It has not as yet, however, entered into the head of any one to conceive this, simply because no one has ever been educated as a general restorer, but only in a secondary, supplementary, small way as a specialist, generally as a botcher. And I maintain, from no inconsiderable knowledge of the subject, that the best menders and restorers by far are those who understand the most branches of their calling. The reason for this is plain; it is because a repairer, when he comes to some unforeseen difficulty—for example, in mending china—and finds the cements used are not exactly applicable, he will, if sensible, think of some other adhesive used in other kinds of work, or other combinations or appliances.

I go so far as to say that an exhibition of specimens showing all that can be done in mending and restoration in ceramic art, leather, carved stone, books, carved and wrought wood, castings, metal, furniture, fans, and toys, would probably serve as sufficient beginning to establish classes and a school. The objects should, when possible, be accompanied by a duplicate or photograph showing the condition they were in before restoration, on the principle of the picture-cleaners, who amaze the public with such startling contrasts of dirt and splendour.

How this can all be done will be found in this book, which I venture to suggest will often be found useful in every family, or wherever “things” are broken and worn. For the collector of curiosities who would willingly pick up bargains, I seriously and earnestly commend it as a vade mecum by means of which he may literally make money in any shop. For, as I have already said, strange as it may seem, the small dealers in bric-à-brac are generally very ignorant of all the curious secrets of restoration, or else they have no time or means to attend to such work. Again, if the collector has learned what I here teach, he will often detect restoration allied to forgery in expensive antiques, guaranteed to be perfect. It has been well observed by M. Ris-Paquot, in his valuable work, L’Art de restaurer soi-même les Faïences et Porcelaines, that it often happens, most unfortunately, that precious relics whose value is immense, such as the Italian faïences and those of Palissy or Henri II., come to collections in such a condition, so pitifully injured, that de visu we cannot buy them because we know of nobody who can actually restore them, and because this delicate work requires so much special knowledge. Add to this, that their great value and rarity disincline us to trust to the first-comer, or general workman, treasures which he might utterly ruin by clumsiness or ignorance.

I may add that I seldom walk out in Florence without seeing old worn faïences for sale for a mere trifle which with a little retouching, gilding, and firing could be made quite valuable. In such instances there need be no complaint of destroying the venerable effect and value of antiquity. In them antique material may be legitimately employed as a basis for newer work, especially when it is broken away, worn down to the core, or full of holes. Now, with what this book teaches in his mind, the artist or tourist will very soon realise, if he be at all ingenious, or can avail himself of the aid of some friend who has even a very slight knowledge of art, that he can at a slight outlay purchase objects which will become very valuable when afterwards restored at home.

As I can imagine no head of a family, and no dealer in miscellaneous works of art or any small wares, no provider of furniture or furnisher, to whom this work will not be a most acceptable gift, so I am very confident that every traveller who has trunks to mend or broken straps to join, and every emigrant roughing it in the forests or the bush of Australia or Canada, may learn from it many useful devices, and the fact that with nothing more than a small tin of liquid glue and another of indiarubber he can effect more than could be imagined by any one who has not studied the subject. On this I speak not without experience, having found that, both as a soldier and a traveller in the Wild West of America, my knowledge of mending was of great use to my friends as well as myself. A perusal of the Index of what is here given will satisfy the reader that this manual is in fact a vade mecum for almost all sorts and conditions of men and women, and that there are none who would not be thankful for it.

A friend adds to these remarks the suggestion that this work may properly be included among the presents to a bride as an aid to housekeeping; and it will probably be admitted that it would prove quite as useful as many of the gifts which are usually bestowed on such occasions.

I have truly said that, while breaking and decay are universal, there are literally nowhere any generally accomplished repairers—that is to say, experts who know and can practise even what is set forth in this book. Certain menders of broken china there are, of whom the great authority on fictile restoration, Ris-Pasquot, declares that none can be trusted with anything valuable. There are so few needle-women who can sew up a rent perfectly that a lady “to the manor born” paid in Rome two pounds, or fifty lire, for being taught the stitch, described in this book, by which it can be done. That it was a great secret to an expert and accomplished needle-woman proves that it cannot be generally known. A house-furnisher in London doing a large business once explained to me with manifest pride how he had, by dint of persuasion and treating, obtained from another what is really one of the simplest recipes for restoring a brown stain. All of this being true, it is apparent enough that any accomplished mender and restorer, lady or gentleman, can hardly fail to make a living by the art; and I sincerely believe that it is the simple truth that it is set forth in the following pages so fully and clearly that any one who will make the experiment can learn from it how to make a living. This is effectively, in all its fulness, a new art and a new calling, and it is time that it were established.

It is a great mistake to suppose that manufacturers are necessarily good menders of what they make. I have found, as have my readers, that it is not the great watchmaker who oversees the production of thousands of watches to whom a watch can be most safely trusted for rehabilitation. For, in nine cases out of ten, it is some extremely humble brother of the craft, who does nothing but mend in a small shop, who restores your chronometer most admirably. The same is true as regards trunks anywhere out of England, since in Germany and France anything of the kind is invariably botched with incredible want of skill. This runs through most trades; for which reason I believe that a really well-accomplished general mender, earnestly devoted to the calling in every detail and resolved to be perfect in it, could ere long repair better than most manufacturers, since the latter, in these days, all work by machinery or by vast subdivision of labour, and not, so to speak, by hand. But all repairing must be by hand. We can make every detail of a watch or of a gun by machinery, but the machine cannot mend it when broken, much less a clock or a pistol!

The value of this book will appear to any one who knows how little really good repairing there is in Europe. Since writing the foregoing pages I have gone through the galleries of the Vatican and many other museums, and been amazed at the coarse, ignorant, and bungling manner in which the great majority of antique statues and other objects of immense value have been mended up. There is in most cases no pretence whatever to conceal the lines of repair, and when this has been attempted it has failed through ignorance of recipes and instructions which may be found in this work.

A MANUAL OF
MENDING AND REPAIRING

MATERIALS USED IN MENDING

“There are full many admirable and practical recipes (Hausmitteln), which are often known only in certain families.”—Die Natürliche Magie. By Johann C. Wiegleb, 1782.

The art of mending or of repairing may be broadly stated as being effected, firstly, by mechanical processes, such as those employed by carpenters in nailing and joining, in embroidery with the needle, and in metal-work with clumps, or soldering; and, secondly, by chemical means. The latter consist of cements and adhesives, which are, however, effectively the same thing. This glue, or gum, is an adhesive or sticker; that is, a simple substance which causes two objects to adhere. The same, when combined with powder of chalk or glass, would be a Cement. This latter term is again applied somewhat generally and loosely by many, not only to all adhesives, but also more correctly to all soft substances which harden, such as Portland cement, mortar, and putty, and which are often used by themselves to form objects, such as “bricks” and castings; but these latter, having also the quality of acting as adhesives or stickers, are naturally regarded as being the same.

As will be speedily observed in the great number of recipes for mending which will be given in this book, there are many which occur frequently in different combinations; therefore it will be advisable and indispensable for those who wish to master mending as an art to indicate these as a basis.

As Sigmund Lehner has observed in his valuable work on Die Kitte- und Klebemittel, there have been such vast numbers of recipes published of late years for adhesives in various technological works, that the combination of the usual materials depends almost on the judgment of the experimenter, and every practical operator will soon learn to make inventions of his own. These materials, according to Stohmann, may be classified as follows:—

Lehner extends the list as follows into adhesives, or cements:—

Oils are divided into those (such as olive) which never become hard, and the linseed, which in time dries into a substance like gum. The latter combined with a great variety of mineral substances, such as plumbago, calcined lime, magnesia, chalk, red oxide of iron, soapstone, or with varnishes, forms insoluble “soaps,” which, as cements, resist water. They require a long time to set or become hard.

Resins and Gums include a great number of substances, such as resin or hard pitch, which is distilled from pine-trees; shellac, mastic, elemi, copal, kauri gum, amber, gum arabic, dextrine made from flour, the gum of the peach and cherry, and of many other trees. To these may be added frankincense and tragacanth, which is less an adhesive than a stiffener and dresser. Gums are generally rather brittle; this is remedied by combination with oily substances, volatile oils, or caoutchouc. With these gums Lehner includes asphaltum. The defect of such adhesives is, as he also remarks, that they will not resist high temperatures. This, however, will apply to most objects.

Varnish.—This belongs properly to the gums, but is technically regarded as a separate material. It is gum in solution in turpentine or spirits. For details vide Die Fabrikation der Copal- Terpentinöl und Spiritus-Lacke, by L. E. Andés; Leipzig, price 5 m. 40 pf.

Caoutchouc and Gutta-Percha are gums which when hard are still elastic, and resist the action of water. I have read that a perfect imitation or substitute for them has been made of turpentine, but have not seen it, though I have met with glue made with oil and turpentine, which very much resembled them in elasticity or flexibility. Reduced to a liquid form with ether, benzine, &c., these gums can be kept in a liquid state for a long time, and then hardened in any form by exposure to the air. They enter into a very great variety of cements, such as are meant to be tough or waterproof. Indiarubber is, on the whole, the best, and gutta-percha the cheapest, for cements.

Glue.—This is made, by boiling, from horns and bones; it is essentially the same as gelatine. It is the most generally known of all adhesives, and may be modified by certain admixtures to suit almost any substance. It has the peculiarity that it must always be boiled in a balneum mariæ, or in a kettle in hot water in another kettle. Its strength is vastly increased by admixture with nitric acid or strong vinegar. On the subject of glue in all its relations, the reader may consult Die Leim- und Gelatine-Fabrikation, or “The Manufacture of Glue and Gelatine,” by F. Dawidowsky; Vienna, price 3s.

Flour-Paste and Starch-Paste.—These mixtures, though generally used for weak work, such as to make papers adhere, can be very much strengthened by admixture with glue and gums. Combined with certain substances, such as paper, mineral powders, and alum, they, when submitted to pressure, become intensely hard, and resist not only water but heat, when not excessive. Also combined with varnishes they are decided resistants. Lehner speaks of them as if they were perishable in any condition.

Sturgeon’s Bladder.—With this the bladders of several kinds of fish are classed. Cut in small pieces and dissolved in spirits it makes a very strong adhesive, which is mixed with many others.

Lime is the most extensively used cement in the world. Combined with water it forms mortar. It is united with many substances, such as caseine or cheese, the white of eggs, and silicate of soda, to make powerful minor cements. On the subject of lime the practical technologist should consult Kalk und Luftmortel, by Dr. Herrmann Zwick; Vienna, A. Hartleben, price 3s., in which all details of the subject are given in full.

Eggs.—The yolk, and more particularly the white, of eggs is sometimes used as an adhesive, and it enters into many very excellent cements. For details as to the chemistry and technology of this material consult Die Fabrikationen von Albumin- und Eierkonserven (A Full Account of the Characteristics of all Egg Substances, the Fabrication of Egg, and Blood Albumen, &c.), by Karl Ruprecht; Vienna, A. Hartleben, price 2s. 3d.

Neutral Substances, or Binding Materials.—Almost any substance not easily soluble in water, and many which are, from common dust or earth, or clay, sand, chalk, powdered egg-shells, sawdust, shell-powder, &c., when combined with certain adhesives, form cements. This is sometimes due to chemical combination, but more frequently to mechanical union. In the latter case the adhesive clinging to every separate grain has the more points of adhesion, just as a man by clinging with both hands to two posts is harder to remove than if he held by one.

Caseine or Cheese.—This in several forms, but chiefly of curd in combination with several substances, but mostly with lime or borax, forms a very valuable cement. It is also combined with strong lye and silicate of soda. It must not, however, be too much depended on as a resistant to water or heat.

Blood, generally of oxen or cows, combined with lime, alum, and coal ashes, forms a solid and durable cement.

Glycerine forms the basis, with plumbago, &c., of several cements. Like oil, it renders glue flexible and partly waterproof. For chemical details on this subject, vide Das Glycerin, by J. W. Koppe, Leipzig.

Gypsum is combined with many substances to form cements, some of them of great and peculiar value.

Iron pulverised is the basis of a great number of very durable and strongly resistant cements.

Alum may be included among the bases, as it is very important in several compositions, forming a powerful chemical aid. It is excellent as aiding resistance to both moisture and heat. For an exhaustive work on alum consult Die Fabrikation des Alauns, &c., by Frederic Junemann, which should be carefully studied by all who work in cements.

There is a very great number of “indifferent” or minor aids to these, such as sugar, milk, honey, spirits of wine, water, ochre, galbanum, tannin, ammonia, feldspar, plumbago, sulphur, vinegar, salt, zinc (white), umber, bismuth, tin, cadmium, clay, ashes, &c., which are essential in certain combinations.

Dextrine, the gum of flour or starch, or Leiokom, much resembles gum-arabic, but is more brittle. Its adhesiveness depends somewhat on the manner in which it is dissolved. “It is,” says Lehner, “prepared by heating starch which has been moistened with nitric acid; also by warming paste with very much diluted sulphuric acid.”

Wax, including that of bees as well as paraffine, is used in repairs, and forms a part of several cements. On this subject consult Das Wachs, or “Wax and its Technical Applications,” by Ludwig Sedna; Leipzig, 2s. 6d.

Silicate of Soda, or Liquid Glass.—This is generally sold in the form of a very dense liquid. It is prepared by mixing quartz or flint sand with soda, or more rarely with potash. “It is,” says Lehner, “a glass which is distinguished from other glasses by being easily soluble in water. It is believed to be a very modern invention; but I have seen Venetian glasses of the fifteenth century which appeared to be painted with it, or something very similar; and I have found decided indications of a knowledge of it in two writers of the sixteenth century, Wolfgang Hildebrand and Van Helmont. According to Wagner, there are three kinds of liquid glass. By itself liquid glass can only be used for mending glass; but when combined with other substances, such as cement, calcined lime, or clay, or glass, in powder, it forms a body as hard as stone, or a double silicate, which is strongly resistant to chemical influences.” It occupies the first position as an adhesive for glass, nor is it surpassed as a cement in solid form. On this subject vide Wasserglas und Infusorienerde, &c., by Hermann Krätzer; Vienna, 3s.

Natural Cement, or Hydraulic Lime.—This is familiarly known to all readers as Portland cement, but it is found of different qualities in many countries, and is also made artificially. Certain mineral substances have the quality when powdered and combined with water of setting hard as stone; hence the name hydraulic. I have seen at Budapest articles of Portland cement made in Hungary which equalled in appearance fine black slate or marble, and, while much less brittle, were indeed in every respect more durable and resistant to exposure. These artificial cements can be largely incorporated with indifferent substances, such as sand; they, however, require intense baking, and may in consequence be regarded as a kind of fictile ware.

Portland cement is very thoroughly treated in Hydraulischer Kalk und Portland Cement (in all their relations), by Dr. H. Zwick.

Tragacanth, though called a gum, is properly nothing of the kind, not being a true adhesive. It is the product of the Astragalus verus, a tree found in Asia. It swells out in water, and softens, but without dissolving. It is more of a glaze than a paste; hence it is used extensively by confectioners, bookbinders, or to stiffen laces. It enters, however, into the composition of several cements.

Bread may be classed as a material by itself, as it derives certain peculiar virtues from the yeast which causes its fermentation. With certain combinations it becomes wax-like, or hard, and may be used to advantage in many repairs as well as for modelling. It has the great advantage of being easily worked and always at hand.

Celluloid is treated of in this work under the head of Artificial Ivory. It is made from gun-cotton and camphor. For full information on this subject consult Das Celluloid, or “Celluloid, its Raw Materials, Manufacture, Peculiarities, and Technical Applications, &c.,” by Dr. Fr. Böckmann, Vienna and Leipzig.

Potatoes, peeled and mashed, and kept for thirty-six hours in a mixture of eight parts of sulphuric acid to a hundred of water, and then dried and pressed, form a white, hard substance very much like ivory, or, as one may say, like white boxwood. Lehner expresses his doubt as to whether artificial meerschaum pipes were ever made of this substance, but I have seen them, and can testify that they looked like meerschaum, and certainly were much harder than bruyere, or briar-wood. Whether they will “colour” I cannot say.

The principle by which potatoes, paper, and many other substances can be hardened like parchment or horn is curious. Potatoes consist of about seventy per cent. water and twenty-five per cent. of starch, the remainder being salts and cellulose, which forms cells surrounded by the grains of starch. “When such a substance is for some time brought into contact with diluted sulphuric acid, that which results is simply a contraction of the cells” (i.e., a hardening), “or a kind of parchmenting.” Thus soft paper is converted into parchment.

It is evident that chemistry is as yet in its infancy as regards the conversion of cellulose by acid into hard substances. Since cotton, paper, and potatoes all produce by this process different substances, it is probable that hundreds of organic, or at least vegetable, substances will all yield new forms.

There is a marked difference between paste made of starch or flour, each having its peculiar merits. The former is principally prepared from potatoes. To prepare the cement we mix it with a very little water, stirring it very thoroughly till it assumes a bluish appearance. A little more hot water is then added, and the mass left till an opal-like tinge indicates that it has formed. To this then add hot water ad libitum. As it is almost colourless in very thin coats, it is largely used to glaze and give body or weight to, and often to simply falsify, woven fabrics, which by its aid seem heavier. To increase this weight white lead and other substances are used.

To make the best flour-paste, flour should be kneaded in a bag under water till all the starch is washed away. What remains is a substance closely allied to caseine, or the white of egg. Combined with lime it forms a hard cement. A very slight admixture of carbolic acid (also oil of cloves) will keep paste from souring or decay. This acid has the property of destroying the growth of the minute vegetation which constitutes fermentation, just as other strong scents or perfumes are supposed to disinfect rooms, &c.

A very great number of other ingredients, such as the oxides of lead or zinc, manganese, baryta, sulphur, sal ammoniac, flint-sand, clay, salt, ochre, varnish, galbanum, or frankincense, enter into certain recipes, but those already given may be regarded as constituting by far the principal portion of all cements in ordinary use.

MENDING BROKEN CHINA, PORCELAIN, CROCKERY, MAJOLICA, TERRA-COTTA, BRICK AND TILE WORK.

Fictile or Ceramic ware embraces, roughly speaking, all that is made of clay, or mineral bases or materials, and which is subsequently baked to give it hardness. The better the material and the more intense the heat, or the greater the number of bakings to which most kinds are subjected, the harder and more lasting will they be. The old china ware which preceded porcelain, a great many specimens of old Roman vessels, and, for a more modern example, old Italian majolica and Hungarian wine-pitchers, made all within a century, are as hard as stone. They chip a great deal before they break, just as agate might do.

Terra-cotta is simply earth or clay “baked.” In most of the examples known as terra-cotta, earth predominates. Pure fine clay well fired is superior to what is generally called terra-cotta. Neither can we really class with it articles made of superior Portland cement, of which, as I have said, I have seen many made at Budapest which were like the finest hard slate.

Many writers confuse majolica with faïence; others regard the latter as what we should call crockery, or such ware as ranges between glazed terra-cotta and porcelain.

Majolica consists generally of terra-cotta covered with a glaze. A glaze is a fusible substance, we may say a kind of glass, mixed with colouring matter, which is at the same time a protection and an ornament. Enamel is glass in fine powder melted, used generally on metal or by itself. The base of the paint is a substance fusible by heat which is mixed with colours also fusible. Therefore when the painting is submitted to heat it melts, adheres, and is permanent. Glazing, enamelling, and china painting are essentially the same.

Terra-cotta is not difficult to mend. I can best illustrate this by an example. A friend once gave me a terra-cotta vase from the Pyramid of Cholula, in Mexico. These are supposed to be of very great antiquity. This contained a fragment of pottery, probably a sacred relic of ruder style, and I suppose of far earlier times. The vase, however, had been broken to fragments, and the owner was about to throw it away as worthless. I begged it of him. Firstly, I put the principal pieces together, using, to make them adhere, glue with nitric acid. For finer work I should have used Turkish cement or the best gum-mastic dissolved in spirit or fish glue. Piece by piece with care I reconstructed the whole.

There was wanting, however, one piece about three inches square. I pasted with great care a piece of paper inside the vase for a back, and then poured on it plaster of Paris liquefied with water. To make this set hard, the plaster or gesso should be made with burnt alum-water and dissolved gum-arabic. This exactly supplied the missing piece.

When it was finished, I filled in all the broken edges and other cavities with the plaster-paste, which set even harder than the terra-cotta. The outer colour of the vase was of reddish rusty black. I painted the whole over with a corresponding colour; that is to say, I rubbed it in by thumb, which is very different from mere painting. By cementing and rubbing I so restored the whole that the repair was hardly perceptible. This process is carried to great perfection in Italy with broken Etruscan ware.

I may here remark as regards rubbing in oil or water colours, that it is little known or practised, but it is of great value in restoration when we wish to produce certain curious antique-looking effects. I once knew in Rome an artist who had bought for a trifle an old carved baule or chest. By rubbing in with care on it Naples yellow and brown shades, and subsequent friction, he had made it look strangely like old ivory. Mere painting, however skilfully performed, would not have given it its antique ivory look. The same artist had purchased one or two common, large, yellowish terra-cotta wine-jars. He drew on them classical figures, cut out the outlines a little with chisel and file, and smoothing the figures with sandpaper, also ivoried the whole by rubbing in colour. This was but a few hours’ work, yet the effect was startling. What had cost but a few francs would have sold for hundreds. I should add that with the aid of fine retouching flexible varnish this process could be very much facilitated. Any one who can draw or paint at all can try this experiment on any old piece of wood-carving, or on a common yellow coarse earthenware. Smooth the latter first with sandpaper, then rub in the colours. The same is applicable to old carving in marble.

All of these devices are of use to the restorer. As regards restoration of terra-cotta, the field is wide and profitable. Not only in Italy, but even in London, we may find for sale broken Etruscan vases or similar objects for a trifle, which are extremely easy to restore. These are generally of red or light yellow clay baked. If you have, let us say, a vase fractured, obtain clay of the same colour—if you cannot readily get it, take pipeclay—and colour it with a strong infusion of red or yellow, though this is not necessary if the exterior is black. Mix the clay well with glue or gum-arabic and alum-water, supply the missing portions, and let them harden. With a little care and practice, remarkable restorations may thus be made. I may here add that with this composition, bottles, decanters, and cups can be coated, which, when painted or rubbed in, exactly resemble Etruscan or other ancient pottery. To prevent cracking, they should first be painted with thick, coarse oil paint mixed with sand or umber, which forms a ground. Let it dry—the longer the better—and then rub in, thinly, the gum and clay. There is another composition of blanc d’Espagne, or whiting, and silicate of soda, which sets even harder, but which is a little more difficult at first to work, which may be used for such restoration. This can be directly painted on glass for a ground.

Majolica or Faïence can generally be sufficiently well mended with acidulated glue, but as the latter often communicates a dark stain, it is better to use for fine ware, or any which is to be used, the so-called Turkish cement. The best quality of this is made of the finest quality of gum-mastic dissolved in spirit. It is so tenacious that in the East gems are frequently directly attached by means of it to metal, and they will often break sooner than separate from it. Most chemists have for sale, or will prepare for you, some form of it. The silicate of potash and whiting can also be supplied by chemists; they should be mixed with great care, so as to form a medium paste, and then used rapidly and with skill, because this cement hardens very quickly. It is, however, a very powerful binder, and sets as hard as glass.

Having put together and cemented the broken pieces of a cup or vase, they must be kept in place till the cement dries. This is effected by means of many contrivances, regarding which the operator must employ some original inventiveness. Firstly, the pieces can often be simply tied, or attached by pieces of tape, or parchment, or paper glued on. In other cases india-rubber bands are useful. Again, bits of wood, or sticks and wires, are the things useful. A bed of wax is generally a sure guard. It is best to do this with great care, and not impatiently rely on holding the pieces together with the fingers till they stick. This is often the most difficult part of the whole operation; therefore it should be done well and deliberately. And here it may be remarked that, as in surgery, the most complicated cases of fracture may be studied out and adjusted; for which reason I dare say that skilful surgeons would be good menders of crockery, just as good astronomers are always good riflemen.

When the broken pieces are adjusted and all is dry, there remain the chips, hollows, ragged edges, and “hairs,” as the French call them, or lines of juncture, to be filled and smoothed. This is done with the cement which you employ, according to the quality of the material, either plaster and gum-arabic, silicate and whiting, or powdered chalk. Some experts succeed with white of an egg and finely powdered quicklime, which holds firmly, but which requires practice to amalgamate. Fill the cavities carefully, pressing the cement well in, as the Romans did, with a stick or point. When all is smooth, paint over the blank spaces and varnish with Sohnée, No. 3, or with a slight coating of silicate. Fine copal varnish is rather tougher or less brittle.

The most thorough process of all is to unite the fragments with a vitreous or metallic flux, such as the silicate—there are several of these—and then have the work baked or fired. It can then be painted with porcelain colours under glaze, and fired again. As this is very delicate, difficult, and expensive, few amateurs will care to try it. It is, however, perfect, and by means of it the most complete reparation can be effected. The Japanese do this simply with the blow-pipe, by means of which they fix enamel powders even on wood. This use of the pipe is also difficult, but the ancient Romans are said to have employed the process with most minor work. As a thread of glass will melt in a candle, and as fine-glass powder is equally fusible, it can be understood that under the flame of a blow-pipe the latter can often be melted so as to avail in restoration.

Crockery, or Faïence, and Porcelain.—“Crockery,” by which we commonly understand such ware as that of the blue willow plates, is far superior to terra-cotta, since its core or basis is thin, and very hard, and its gloss of a different description, and more incorporated with the body; or it is of a single superior body.

Porcelain differs entirely from the other two kinds of fictile ware, being an elaborate mineralogical compound, its base being kaolin, a friable, white, earthy substance, requiring great care in its preparation, and petunse, or feldspar, which is united with the kaolin. The result is a very delicate and beautiful diaphanous ware, or one through which light passes to a limited degree. Both crockery and porcelain are far more difficult to mend, owing to the impossibility—particularly with the latter—of making fractures disappear.

The first and most simple process of mending both kinds of ware is to make small holes with a drill along the edges of the fracture, and then, adjusting the fragments, bind them together with wire. M. Ris-Paquot claims that “the honour of this discovery belongs properly to a humble and modest workman named Delille, of the little village of Montjoye, in Normandy.” But the archæologist will say of this claim, as the English judge did of a similar one, that the plaintiff might as well apply for a patent for having discovered the art of mixing brandy with water, since there was probably never yet a savage who had wire, or even string, who did not know enough to mend broken calabashes, jars, and pipes by this solid method of sewing. From the time when large earthen punch-bowls were first used in Europe, we find them mended with silver wire. It is needless to devote whole pages with illustrations, as M. Ris-Paquot has done, to show how to effect such mending. The holes are made with either a bore or hand drill, such as can be bought in every tool shop. If the reader will obtain one and experiment with it on any penny plate or broken fragment, he will soon master all the mystery. The wire is made fast by a turn with a pair of nippers or pincers. Before fastening, wash the edges of the ware with white of egg in which a very little whiting, or finely powdered lime or plaster of Paris, has been mixed.

I may here observe that the wire for china-drilling should be half round, or flat on one side. To prepare this, take brass wire, say a length of about two feet, and, holding an old knife, draw the wire firmly and steadily against it.

There are endless cements for sale by chemists, all warranted perfect, to mend glass and china, and most of them do indeed answer the purpose very well, for nature has given us not a few materials wherewith to repair accidents. Thus, even boiling in milk will often suffice to reunite broken edges. But I believe that of all, the Turkish cement already described, which is made of gum MASTIC (a term improperly applied in France to putty, by Americans to lime-plaster on houses, and by Levantines to spirit with resin in it), is the most adhesive and resistant to heat, cold, or moisture.

The art of mending does not consist so much of knowing what to use for an ADHESIVE (since, as I have said, every chemist’s shop abounds in these) as in skill and tact with which fragments are brought and kept together, missing portions supplied, and in knowing the substance with which to fill a blank. There are cases in which, when a hole has been knocked in a china or glass plate, it can be drilled out round, and a disc of the same substance or colour, or even of another, inserted. This is almost an art by itself, and by means of it very singular and puzzling effects may be introduced; as, for instance, when a number of holes are drilled in a white china plate and then filled with discs of coloured china, agate, coral, &c. In the East, turquoise and coral beads are often thus set into porcelain, as well as wood. The mastic or acidulated glue is used to make the objects inserted hold firmly.

As the smoker, when he breaks his pipe across the stem, has it repaired with a short silver slide or tube, so when a china jar is broken across the neck, the reparation can be concealed by a silver collar, which is sometimes a great improvement; as, for instance, when the head of a china dog, or even of a china man, is taken off. But in a great many cases, or in all where this kind of concealment is advisable, it may be made, like Cæsar’s wife, beyond suspicion, by making the collar or concealing ornament, or leaf or flower, of silicate and whiting so as to resemble the ware itself, which can be done very nicely.

Silicate of Soda is sometimes sold in the form of a dry solid, which is placed in a little vinegar, and warmed. When dissolved it can be used ad libitum. It is often used as a glaze for stone.

There is a curious old story about mending broken crockery by means of magic—or rather by deceit—which, though not of a practical nature, is at least amusing. It is partially told in a book published about 1670, entitled Joco-Seriorum Naturæ et Artis Magiæ Naturales Centuriæ Tres. It happened once in Mergentheim that there was a great fair, when the whole courtyard of the palace was full of earthenware vessels for sale ab assidentibus muliebibus (by attendant women). Seeing this, the Prince of Mergentheim went about among these women, and so arranged it that they divided all their stock into two parts, or exact duplicates, half of which they hid away, while the other half was exposed for sale. While at dinner the Prince spoke much of magic, and professed to be able to produce such a delirium in people’s minds that they would act like lunatics. “Thus, for instance,” he said, pointing casually out of the window, “you see all those women. I can drive them mad at once.” Whereupon one who was present wagered a handsome carriage and four horses that the Prince could not do it. The latter smiled, waved his hand, and uttered a spell, when lo! all at once the market-women began, bacchantium more—like raging Bacchantæ—to attack their crockery with sticks and stools, and hurl it about, and dash it to pieces.

The one who had betted the chariot protested that it was a trick arranged beforehand. The Prince replied, “Well, the pots are all broken. If I can mend them again by a spell, wilt thou then believe?” The other said, “Most certainly.” Then the Prince waved his wand and said, “It is done. Let us go down into the courtyard and see.” And when there, sure enough they found the pots all whole again—at least they discovered others exactly like them in their places.

The legend continued that the Prince, though he kept the carriage and horses as a trophy, liberally paid for them. The author of the Tres Centuriæ, who does not record the secret of the little arrangement, declares that he does not know whether it was all done by a fraud or by magic. If it was the latter, I regret that the incantation by which broken crockery is mended is now lost. The most powerful spell known to me is Recipe Gummæ Mastichæ duæ unciæ cum Spirito Vini fiat mixtio—that is, mastic cement. It is generally combined with sturgeon’s bladder glue.

This cement answers very well for glass. One of the old recipes, which was very good indeed, is thus given by Johannes Wallburger (1760):—“Take finely cut and a little powdered sturgeon’s bladder” (still sold by all chemists), “soften it all night in spirits, add to this a little clean and powdered mastic, boil it a little in a brass pan. Should it become too thick, add a little spirits.” This may be also used for many other purposes.

A strong but coarser adhesive, especially for crockery and stone, can be made as follows:—Take old and hard goat’s milk cheese, and warm it in hot water till it forms, by pounding, a mass like turpentine. Add to this, while grinding, finely pulverised quicklime and the well-shaken white of eggs.

I do not hesitate to give a variety of such recipes, because in every one the artist will find valuable suggestions for other purposes than simply glueing broken articles together. This latter is a valuable “filler” for many purposes. Glue was formerly made into a strong cement by boiling it for a time in water, but before it had become incorporated with the water, the latter was poured off and strong spirits substituted and stirred well in.

A very popular old cement for crockery, of which there were several variations, was made by mixing glue, turpentine, ox-gall, the juice of garlic, and sturgeon-bladder, tragacanth, and mastic. All of this singularly smelling mixture was put into a pan and boiled in strong spirits, such as whisky, then kneaded on a board under a roller, again boiled with more spirits, yet again rolled, and this was repeated a third time, and then cooled till it could be cut into cakes. When these were to be used they were again steeped in spirits. But with this cement, glass or metal could be most firmly attached to wood. I confess that I have never tried it, but it was evidently a very strong cement.

Another of these somewhat complicated recipes for crockery, glass, and porcelain, which I find in the Tausandkünstler, 1782, is as follows:—Half an ounce of finely cut sturgeon’s bladder, two teaspoonfuls of alabaster powder or gypsum, quarter of an ounce of tragacanth, one teaspoonful of silberglatt, two of powdered mastic, two of frankincense, two of gum-arabic, one of Marienglas, one tablespoonful of spirits of wine, one of beer-vinegar. Boil it and stir, and apply. Any drops sticking to the mended article may be removed with vinegar. When it is to be used again revive it by heating, adding spirits of wine and beer-vinegar. The gum-frankincense is here worth noting.

A common cement for mending broken glass or china is prepared as follows:—To two parts of gum-shellac add one of turpentine; boil them over a slow fire, and form the mass into small cakes before it dries. To use it, warm with a lamp. To mend ivory or wood, take a cake and let it dissolve in spirits of wine.

A very strong cement is made as follows:—Take one ounce of finely powdered mastic dissolved in six of spirits of wine and two ounces of shredded sturgeon’s bladder dissolved in two ounces common spirits; add one half ounce of gum-ammoniac as it hardens; warm it when it is to be used. This is as strong a cement as can be made.

Defects, cracks, and repairs in porcelain, &c., may often be concealed as follows:—Paint the spot with silicate of soda, not too much thinned, and dust it over before it dries with bronze powder. This will set so hard that it may be polished with an agate burnisher.

It is also possible that many of my readers have heard of gesso painting, an art perfected by Mr. Walter Crane. This consists of painting with plaster of Paris in solution, with the point of a brush, depositing the soft paste in relief. The same principle is applicable to painting in silicate and whiting on glass surfaces. By means of it decoration can be given to any glass bottle or other object.

Lime enters into the composition of many cements, the simplest being the mortar formed by its admixture with water. But the quality of this is very much determined by that of the lime. The chunam of India, which resembles white marble or a fine white stone, is made of sea-shells burned to lime. A wonderfully hard, fine, white cement used by the Romans for their best mosaic-work, and which set with great rapidity, was made of shell-lime with the white of eggs. I have found the same composition worthless when made with inferior stone-lime.

A good cheap cement for porcelain and glass is combined as follows:—

Pour a part of the spirits and water mixed on the flour and chalk, add the glue, boil it down till the latter dissolves, and stir the turpentine into the whole. This can be used to make artificial wood with shavings or sawdust.

A very good cement for porcelain, and one which is colourless, is made by cutting the finest clear gelatine into bits, and dissolving it in vinegar of 50°, stirring it in a porcelain vessel until well mixed. When cold it will harden, but softens under the influence of heat, when it may be applied to the broken edges of the porcelain, which are to be pressed together. It will be perfectly hard within twenty-four hours. It is to be observed that the art of keeping such joined pieces together is the most difficult problem in mending. This cement is widely applicable to many objects, and also admits of considerable modification and additions, like all cements. As it is colourless, it may be combined with ivory dust, or white powders of baryta, magnesia, whiting, &c., to form artificial ivory with glycerine. With sturgeon’s bladder it makes a still stronger cement.

Lehner observes that glue has the property, when combined with acid chrome salt (sauren chromsalzen), of losing its solubility when exposed to the light, so that it can be used as a cement for broken porcelain and glass. If the juncture is to be invisible, take the purest white gelatine; otherwise the cheaper gilder’s glue will answer. To prepare the chrome glue, dissolve the gelatine or the glue in boiling water, then add the solution of double chromic acid alkali, or the red chrome alkali of commerce, stir it well up, and put it into tin boxes.

The formula is:—

To use, warm the cement, apply it to the broken glass, which must then be exposed for several hours to the sunshine.