Thread: Application of Gold Leaf

Some excellent alternatives to try out, gents!

I don't think they did it like that at the time, though - it was probably done the same way as they tooled books. An iron is made for the design, heated to just above the temperature of boiling water, and pressed into the leather of the book. This leaves an impression for the gold leaf.

The depression is sealed/sized (I have used used gold leaf and dutch leaf and silver foil a lot, and a glue-size is always used) with a sizing agent referred to as 'glaire' (glaire seems to have been used by bookbinders mostly- I used a concoction made of rabbit skin glue for woodwork, etc) it is simply the white of an egg, the same type of stuff used to paint plaster walls in the renaissance - lasted well in my opinion!

Then the gold leaf is put over the sized area and the tool is applied again, once more heated, directly into the impression it made before. If it was not hot, the gold leaf would not stick. It didn't require a varnish - real gold does not tarnish.

In the pressed horn scales example, the lettering is already pressed into the horn. The same die set could be used again, or it would be a simple enough job for a die-cutter to cut another one just for the lettering.

No doubt cheaper, oil-varnish methods were resorted to to keep prices down - you can see evidence of this sometimes when the gilding is tarnished or discoloured - it is quite usual to find red or green discolouration on the designs hot-pressed into paper coffin-cases that have gilding, for example.

Not a trememdous lot of help to us now though, but it is nice to know the basic principles things were made from. Buffing paste, gilding compound or acrylic paint all sound a lot easier!

Regards,
Neil