Handicraft Simplified Procedure and Projects in Leather, Celluloid, Metal, Wood, Batik, Rope, Cordage, Yarn, Horsehair, Pottery, Weaving, Stone, Primitive Indian Craft. Lester Griswold
its origin has not yet been traced. It is said to have been employed in Syria as early as the 13th Century and we know that it was brought from the East into Italy after the fall of Constantinople in 1453. For about 100 years Italian craftsmen controlled the art and many examples of their excellent workmanship are still preserved in museum collections. A characteristic of the Italian gold tooling was the wide variety of decoration obtained with a few simple design elements skillfully arranged in combination and repetition. This is evident in the modern Florentine leather craft which is still one of the famous art-craft products of the ancient city of Florence.
Gold may be applied to leather in two ways. Gold Tooling refers to the application of gold leaf or powder to the design which has been stamped into the leather. Gilding may be done to emphasize the design, to form a background for color application, or to finish the entire surface of the project. Gold leaf or gold powder is used according to the amount of surface to be covered.
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The illustration shows (1) a Florentine stamped purse with antique color application to the design area. The purse 1A is a modified Florentine design which is applied by tooling and outlined with a wash of oil paint.
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No. 1 is a Florentine address book covered with gold leaf. It also shows the outline and color application described on page 50. No. 2 shows the front of a book cover with design tooled, gold powder and color lacquer applied and a section of the design border stamped.
Application of Gold Leaf
Tools: Modeling Tools, Background Stamps, Wood Mallet, Gold Size, Brush, Cloth.
Materials: Leather cut to shape, Undyed Calf, Steer or Goat. A book of Gold Leaf (25 sheets), Gold Size, Lacquer, Turpentine.
Instruction:
1.Transfer and tool the design as described on page 44, leaving the stamped background until the gold leaf has been applied.
2.Apply a thin coat of gold size to the leather with a soft brush and permit it to dry. Inspect the thickness of the coat for uniformity and apply additional size where necessary.
3.Apply a second coat of the size and permit this to become partially dry. In 20 to 30 minutes the partially dried size should be “tacky” or sticky rather than wet. The period of drying can only be determined by testing as atmospheric conditions affect the rate of evaporation. Ascertain the degree of stickiness by touching lightly with the finger tips.
4.Remove a sheet of waxed tissue paper which carries the gold leaf from the book. If necessary cut it into sizes convenient for handling. Apply the sheet, gold side down to the leather, covering the sized area in this manner. Press the sheet into contact with the size using a pad made of soft cloth free from lint. Lift the waxed paper gently from the leather, inspect the surface for any uncovered portions, and apply more gold leaf if required. Permit the size to dry, and remove excess with a soft brush or cloth.
5.Apply the stamped background and coat with transparent or colored lacquer as described on page 57.
Portions of a design, panels, flower centers and impressions of single stamps may be gilded as outlined in the foregoing paragraph. The gold adhering to other sections of the design is removed by rubbing with a cloth moistened in turpentine.
APPLICATION OF GOLD AND BRONZE POWDER
Tools: Modeling Tools, Background Stamps, Wood Mallet, Gold Size Brush. Cloth.
Materials: A piece of leather of the required size, Undyed Calf, Steer or Goat. Gold Bronze Powder, Gold Size Lacquer, Turpentine.
Instruction:
1.Transfer and tool the design as described on page 44, leaving the background stamping until the gold has been applied.
2.Apply a thin coat of the size to the leather and permit it to dry. This should penetrate the surface evenly without leaving a film.
3.Apply a second coat and permit this to become partially dry and “tacky,” see instructions, page 50.
4.Dust the powder lightly over the sized surface and permit it to dry for 30 minutes. Then rub gently over the entire area with a cloth dipped in the powder. Permit the size to become thoroughly dry.
5.Remove excess powder with a cloth dampened in turpentine.
This procedure is followed in gilding thongs for edge lacings. After the thongs have been laced into the edges of the leather, apply a coating of the gold powder and lacquer.
BRUSH WORK DECORATION AND COLORING OF GILDED LEATHER
Tools: Lacquer and Varnish Brushes, Ball Point Pen, Outline Brush, Colored and Transparent Lacquers, White Transparent Varnish, Black Dye.
Instruction:
1.Trace the design lightly upon the leather.
2.Gild by either method described and permit the surfaces to dry. Apply background or other stamped ornamentation.
3.Outline the design with black dye applied with the brush or ball point pen.
4.When the outline is dry, coat the portions of the design which are not to be colored with transparent white varnish. Permit this to dry.
5.Apply colored lacquers. Yellow lacquer applied to portions of the design as an undercoat may be shaded to green by the application of blue lacquer and red shading may also be added. The red applied directly to the yellow lacquer produces pleasing orange tones. Permit the lacquer to dry.
GOLD TOOLING
Gold Tooling or the application of gold leaf to leather with heated brass type or hand tools is a machine process commercially but may be successfully done by hand, as it was by the bookbinders of the Middle Ages.
Tools: Brass Hand Tools, Tracing Paper, Wood Mallet.
Materials: Gold Leaf, Size, Turpentine, Gasoline, (Oxalic acid solution). A piece of leather of the desired size, cut from Calf, Steer or Goat. The darker shades of dyed leather are best.
Instruction:
1.Transfer the outline design to the leather as previously described, and leave the tracing in position. (Hold with paper clips).
2.Apply cold hand tools. These may be design elements or seals, crests or monograms. The tool is struck lightly with the mallet to impress the design through the paper on the leather. This process is known as blind tooling.
3.Remove the paper and impress the tools on the leather in the same positions as before to deepen the depressions.
4.Wash the surface of the leather with a thin solution of oxalic acid to remove any greasy finger prints and gently pat dry with absorbent