perfect Terra incognita an undiscover'd Province for their sakes I shall willingly make an addition of a few pages to shew in a plain and more particular manner the way of working some Patterns in this Book either in Metals or Colours by the knowledge whereof they may be enabled with ease and inclination to perform any enter-prize that shall oppose them To these I shall affix the different ways of setting off and adorning your work which I have before rather mentioned and touch't upon than treated of The first eight Copper-prints at the end of this Book are several designs for small work of whose differences their Titles will inform you Two others for Drawers of Cabinets one of all sorts of Birds flying in Antick figures two of Birds great and less standing in various postures another of Beasts c. Two figures of Chinese men and women in untoward gestures and habits Others of Flower-pots Sprigs Trees and the like Lastly their Temples Structures and Palaces their manner of worship and reception of foreign Ministers and Embassadors with as much pleasing variety as can reasonably be expected Any part of these may be placed on the work as the fancy and ingenuity of the undertaker shall direct yet I shall give a little light after what manner they may be transposed Suppose then you have a large piece of work as a Table or Cabinet take one of the Prints which chiefly complies with your humour insert others also which may be most agreeable yet give variety too borrow a part from one a figure from another birds flying or standing from a third this you may practise until your Cabinet be sufficiently charged if after all this any thing be wanting your judgment must order beautifie and correct But observe this always that if you would exactly imitate and copie out the Japan avoid filling and thronging your black with draught and figure for they as you may remark if ever you happen to view any of the true Indian work never croud up their ground with many Figures Houses or Trees but allow a great space to little work And indeed t is much better and more delightful for then the Black adds lustre to the Gold and That by way of recompence gives beautie to the Black But here an Objection may be started That if a little work is most natural and according to the Pattern which the Indians have set us why have not I followed that Rule in my Draughts annexed to this Book To this I answer That if I had so done I must have provided thrice the number of Plates to shew the variety that these have sufficiently done not to mention a triple charge that would have attended Again should these have been beautified with little work I had then been liable to censure for being niggardly of my Patterns and depriving the practitioner of choice and variety But by what I have presented I have securely sailed between this Scylla and Charybdis have passed the Rock on one hand and the Gulph on the other and if I am not flattered have not only obtained the good liking of the Curious but sufficiently supplied the wants of those who are great undertakers Here you may alter and correct take out a piece from one add a fragment to the next and make an entire garment compleat in all its parts though t is wrought out of never so many disagreeing Patterns Besides I have not by this variety fixt a Ne plus ultra to your fancie but have left it free and unconfined I do advise that no one would oblige himself to keep close to the Copy for even the small Cutts will supply the place of a much larger Box than is there express'd and not injure or disgrace it I do with modesty and submission pretend not to confine but lead and assist your fancie Thus much in general terms I 'le detain you no longer on this large and pregnant Topick but regularly now descend to particulars and instruct you how to work off some of the fore-mentioned Draughts To work the First Draught This affords you ornaments for the tops and sides of little Boxes which when traced out according to the directions already given must be done with gold if you work in gum-water Take your gold-shell and with your pencil fill some of the tops of your houses and those parts which you observe in your Print to be mark't with black lines as the Doors Windows c afterwards the Sprigs Flowers and Birds all of them in a fair small but full stroak now if you paint these latter things with colours they may be variously managed with red some others with blew a third with silver until the whole be entirely compleated If you think to raise any of these be sure to practise on those that lie first and foremost for which I do refer you to the Chapter of Raised work When you have thus far advanced t is required that you should proceed to Setting off which I desire now to make my business to inform you as having never yet mentioned it yet I shall at present confine it only to that of Gum-water for this is not the way with Gold-size of which more properly hereafter When the leaves and tops of your Houses are fairly laid in Flat-work to make the black and shining veins of your leaves the tiling of your buildings and foldage of garments appear through your gold and metals as some of the Indian work does exercise your Tracing-pencil breathing on your work with your mouth close to it and when moistened with your breath streak or draw out the veins and foldage of the figures their hands face and parts so made in their proper order When your metal begins to drie and will not separate force it to part again by breathing on it for that moistness will reduce it to obedience which must be observed too in a moderate degree for if you make it over-wet and damp the tracing-iron t is true will disjoin it yet no sooner can it pass the place but it closes up and reduces it self to its former amicable conjunction as a Ship that ploughs and divides the Sea makes a channel in an instant but as that sails off the waters return the breach is healed and the place of its passage is no more to be found Too much moisture is therefore as great an inconvenience as none at all Perhaps your work may be rough and unhandsom before t is throughly drie yet after that a soft new pencil by brushing will cast off that disguise will command the loose rough particles to withdraw and represent the Veinings and Hatchments in a smooth and pleasant dress To set off Raised work with Black When your Raised work has been varnished and burnished put Lamp-black into a Muscle-shell and with gum-water hardly wet it for if you allow it too large a portion you 'l find it a difficult task to make it comply and incorporate but when it is mixt which
varnish black Japan Page 19 How to make Isinglass-size Page 22 How to make Blew Japan Page 23 How to make Gum-water Page 24 How to make Red Japan Page 24 How to make Chesnut-colour Japan Page 25 How to make Olive-colour Japan Page 26 How to work Metals or Colours with gum-water Page 26 How to make Gold-size for Japan Page 28 How to varnish Prints with white Varnish Page 30 How to lay Speckles or strowings on the out or inside of Boxes Drawers Mouldings c. Page 31 To lay Speckles on the Drawing part of Japan-work as Rocks Garments Flowers c. Page 32 How to make Raised work in imitateon of Japan and of the Paste Page 33 To prepare ordinary rough-grained woods as Deal Oak c. whereby they may be Japaned and look well Page 35 How to imitate Bantam-work Page 36 How to take off any Japan-patterns in this Book upon any piece of work whatsoever Page 39 The manner of working and setting off of some Draughts in this Book Page 39 How to work the first Draught Page 41 To set oft Raised work with Black Page 42 To work the second Pattern Page 43 To work the third Draught Page 44 How to work in Colours and Gold the great Sprig in the 13th Print Page 45 To work in gold-size the 20th Print of this Book Page 47 To work in gold-size the 23d Draught of this Book with perfect and corrupt metals Page 49 To guild any thing in Oyl Of Guilding whereby it may safely be exposed to the weather Page 53 How to make Primer Page 54 Of Fat oyl Page 54 Of Gold-size in oyl Page 54 How to mix and lay on Gold-size Page 55 Of the laying on the Gold and the Tools required in and for the business Page 55 To lacker in oyl such things as are to be exposed to the weather Page 56 To prepare and guild Carved Frames in oyl that are not to be exposed abroad Page 56 To overlay wood with Burnisht gold or silver Page 57 Of Gold and Silver-size for burnishing Of Burnishing Page 57 The best way to make Silver-size Page 58 The best Gold-size now in use Page 58 Another Size for Silver Page 58 How to gold-size your Frame Page 59 How to lay on Gold for Burnishing Page 59 How to burnish your work Page 60 How to lay on Silver-size Page 60 How to make Paste fit to mould or raise Carved work on Frames for Guilding Page 61 How to make Paste Page 61 How to make a Mould of any Carved frame thereby to imitate it in Paste Page 61 Of placing Paste or Carved work on Frames Page 62 Of Lackering Page 62 How to make common Lacker Page 63 Another sort of Lacker Page 63 How to make the best of Lacker now used by the Guilders Page 63 To make a Lacker that may be used wothout fire or Sun Page 63 To lacker on Oyl or Burnished Silver Page 64 To make Lackering shew like Burnished gold Page 64 Of Guilding Metals Page 64 How to prepare Gold Page 65 To guild Silver Copper Brass or Princes metal Page 65 Another way to guild Silver Brass c. Page 66 How to heal or heighten the colour of the Gold Page 66 To take off Gold from any Guilt Plate without damage to the one or loss to the other Page 66 To silver over Brass or Copper as the Clock-makers do their Dial-plates Page 66 To guild Iron Brass or Steel with leaf-gold or silver Page 67 How to refine Silver Page 67 To separate Gold and Silver when incorporated Page 67 Directions to paint Mezzotinto Prints on Glass or without Glass and the colours therein used Page 69 To wash any of the powdered colours fine Page 71 Of Oyls and their price Page 72 How to make the best Drying oyl Page 72 A Drying oyl more ordinary Page 72 To make Varnishes for these prints or pictures in oyl Page 72 Another more excellent Varnish either for pictures in oyl or making Prints transparent Page 72 How to lay Prints on Glass Page 73 To lay prints either Graved or Mezzotinto's on glass in such manner that your may role off all the Paper and leave only the shadow behind Page 73 To prepare prints without glass or straining frames Page 73 Of the posture and position of the Prints and those that paint them Page 74 How to paint a Mezzotinto Landskip on a Glass or otherwise Page 74 To paint a piece of figures as Men Women c Page 75 How to paint Hair Page 76 How to paint Drapery or Garments Page 76 How to paint changeable Drapery Page 77 To paint several sorts of Red Drapery and first of the finest Page 77 Another Red near the same Page 77 Other Reds more ordinary without glazing Page 77 To paint the best Blew and glaze with Ultramarine Page 77 To glaze and paint the best purple Drapery Page 78 Purple without glazing Page 78 Yellow Drapery Page 78 How to paint the most beautiful Yellow Page 78 To finish varnish and polish pictures that are not laid on glass Page 78 To varnish these prints or other pictures without polishing Page 79 To varnish pictures and polish them like Japan Page 79 To imitate or counterfeit Tortoise-shell Page 79 Another way to counterfeit Tortoise-shell Page 81 How to Dye Wood a beautiful Red. Page 82 How to stain a fine Yellow Page 82 To stain or dye woods of any colour for inlaied or flowred work done by the Cabinet-makers Page 83 How to dye or stain wood Black Page 83 The best Black Dye for Ivory Horn Bone c. Page 83 To stain a green colour on Wood Ivory Horn or Bones Page 84 How to dye Ivory c red Page 84 THE ART OF JAPANNING VARNISHING c. EVery Artist who undertakes to treat of his Profession before he enters on the work must describe the Instruments and Materials with which it must be performed and by observing this method those persons who either for diversion or advantage design to be Masters of this Art furnish themselves with all things necessary after the best manner shall lay a good foundation and may proceed to practise with chearfulness and success And that no one may impose upon you in the Price or Goodness of your Drugs that your Spirits be very strong your Gums and Metals of the best take this following account as your only security against all cousenage and imposture But before I speak of these things which the Shops supply us with I presume t is convenient to acquaint you with others that conduce to the composition mixture and preservation of the Varnish Colours c. And 1. two Strainers are required made of pretty fine Flannel or ordinary course Linnen in shape like a Tunnel or Sugar-loaf or a Jelly-bag that women strain Jellies through one is useful for straining your white Varnish and the other for your Lacc-varnish and Lackers when you make any 2. You must have two Tin-tunnels one to use with your
his seed bright copper compassed and set off vvith black the leaves dirty copper vvhich might be hatcht and enclosed vvith vvhite Novv remember I beseech you that although I have mentioned filling and setting off together for the more easie apprehension of it yet be constantly mindful to lay all your plain colours before you think of setting them off and the reason of it is this because you are more ready to set off vvith one colour before you undertake another and your sancie is more quick and ready to adorn and garnish every single flower and leaf Now supposing the flowers filled let us contrive what shall be the covering of the great leaves But to be brief Deck them with metals generally such as green dirtie gold pale muddy copper yet intermix here and there blew and green transparent bound and vein 'em with such as give the greatest life not wild gawdy colours so much as grave modest and delightful I advise you sometimes to double your borders in the leaves with the ground-black of the Box or Table left between as the Print will inform you And again make all your veins finishing lines and the stroaks you set off with fine clean even and smooth By this time I suppose whosoever shall survey these last pages may imagine we have pleased out selves with fancies and Chimaera's that we have discours'd like men in a dream nothing but Gold Silver and the richest colours can satisfie our luxuriant fancies nay we pretend to have it in such plenty too that Solomon himself compared to us was a beggar By our talk we are Masters of both Indies Pactolus Sands and the Mountains of Potosi should be our proper inheritance for like Midas and the Philosophers stone we turn every thing to Gold Our Birds are so splendidly arrayed that all common ornaments are excluded the best Dyes so universally overspread their wings that you 'd imagin they would outshine the Bird of Paradise The clothing and livery of the Fields are mean and heavy when compared to the Flowers our Art has produced whose lustre is more radiant more durable and surprizing CHAP. XVI To work in Gold-size the Twentieth Print of this Book SInce our Gentry have of late attained to the knowledge and distinction of true Japan they are not so fond of colours but covet what is rightly imitated rather than any work beside tho never so finical and gawdy The most excellent therefore in this Art copy out the Indian as exactly as may be in respect of Draught Nature and Likeness in this performance then colours must be laid aside Some variety of metals indeed may be admitted but in a very slender proportion to that of gold which is the Fac totum the general ornament of right genuine Japan-work This undertaking now in hand may be done with gold only But I shall in the next Chapter choose a Print whereon perfect and corrupt metals may be laid To begin therefore with that of Gold Be ever cautious and exact when you trace or draw out your design in vermilion or gold which being performed with an even hand call for your gold-size ready prepared for the draught use a small convenient pencil to mark in your size the outward lines the boundaries of that rock which in the twentieth Print you may perceive lies beyond the Buildings and although you do begin here you are not to fill it either with metals or speckles until the other work is concluded for if you remember we charged you before to finish the Rocks in the last place Again if I may counsel you begin with the remotest part that which is farthest distant from you for then you will not be liable to the inconvenience of rubbing or defacing any thing whilst it is wet with an unwelcome hand or intruding elbow Having therefore in short undertaken the farthest part first work it just as the Print is I mean draw your gold-size on the black lines of the Print and no where else reserving the white for the black Japan or ground of your Table But to explain it a litle more In all respects operate with your Size as if you were to copy the Print on white paper with ink or black Lead only take care that whilst you are busied in working one part you suffer not that already done with size to drie to that degree that it will not receive and embrace your metal but very often try the draught so lately made if it is clammy and sticks somewhat to your finger but not so as to bring off any then t is high time with your leather to lay and rub on the gold-dust if it clings to your finger so fast as to come off with it then know it is not sufficiently drie if t is no way clammy you may conclude t is too stubborn for the reception of the metal This caveat being rightly managed set upon your drawing part again and so continue now making lines then guilding them until the whole be compleated If you find it a tedious troublesome undertaking to draw the white and pass over the black or on the contrary to draw the black and omit the vvhite on the tops of your houses or foldage of figures faces or the like then for your ease overlay all those parts of your building or foldage c with gold-size and when your metal is laid on that and is well dried wash over with Securing-varnish those places only which you design to set off with black which done exercise your pencil in making those lines and divisions that are required to distinguish the parts of your house as the Tiling Draperie of garments or any thing of the like nature The reason why we enjoin you to wash with varnish is not out of any suspition or jealousie that the size or metal will forsake it s allotted seat but because its surface is generally too smooth and greasie to admit of and unite with the black unless reconciled by the mediation of the aforesaid varnish What I have propounded is an example for any other Print that you could wish or desire to accompllsh in Gold-size and indeed I had been very negligent should I have permitted this noble subject to rest in silence and oblivion this which above all others presents us with the grandeur and majesty of Japan work our under-performances vanish and shrink away when the Master-piece is exposed to view Let the narrow-soul'd Miser hug and adore his bags and pray to the golden Calf that he has erected I shall neither envy or comply with his idolatry for I had rather line my House with that precious metal than my Coffers CHAP. XVII To work in Gold-size the twentythird Print of this Book with perfect or corrupt Metals THis draught requires a greater variety of colours than any of the precedent without which it were no mean or ordinary performance to dress every figure in its proper habit and equippe the attendance according to their respective qualities but