Sender: Rare Books and Special Collections Forum <EXLIBRIS@RUTVM1.BITNET>
Shirley,
Earlier, I was angry, but I feel much better now (see:MAP REPAIR/flame).
Paper marbling with oil based pigments is, basically, a 20th c. development.
Traditional european-style (actually, Turkish/Persian) marbling, Ebru, is
water based. The bath of water is thickened with, generally, Irish Moss,
or it's derivitive, gum caragheenan. The gum increases the surface tension
of the bath. The pigments are ground in water/alcohol (as a wetting agent;
it evaporates quickly, well before marbling commences)/gum arabic solution.
A bit of ox gall is added to the colors.
There are two ways to prepare ox gall (for this discussion). Ox gall
prepared for water color painting will not do. I would describe this, but
do not wish to flamed by librarians who are not in the least bit interested
in what a water colorist (or is that colourist?) might do. For Ebru, the
gall bladder is opened and the gall expressed into a container; then (or
before, the gall does not care) grain alcohol is poured in, approx. equal
volumes, and the blend is stirred. Let it settle for a day/week/or so and
decant the (reasonably) clear fluid. This is the ox gall which will react
with the alum applied to the paper (or any other substance which will absorb
alum [I have marbled paper, leather, parchment, wood, ceramic tile,
and fomecore]), and function as the effective mordant to fix the colors to
whatever holds the alum.
Send me your full mailing address and I will send you (gratis) the videotape
which I produced of Don Guyot demonstrating how traditional Turkish paper
marbling is done. I am the fellow at the beginning of the tape, cutting
open a real oxen's gall, and adding the alcohol. Howdy.
P.S. For anyone who may be in the neighborhood on 18 November, 1992, this is
an open invitation to visit the lab and PARTICIPATE in the 8th annual
Turkish paper marbling/5th annual Dannish smorgasbrod (includs aquavit);
it is not a spectator sport!
Peter and William, you are welcome; Everett, you seem to like to suck up,
but you are welcome also. It is a party, after all.
Jack C. Thompson
Thompson Conservation Laboratory
1417 NW Everett
Portland, Oregon 97209
<76520.3531@compuserve.com>
I don't generally give my full address, but right now, I would like Peter
and William and Everett to know where I am, and who I am.