Publisher's Synopsis
An excerpt from the beginning of the first chapter.
In using the word "gilding," we do not refer to gold plating; but to the process of applying gold or silver leaf to a moulding or frame, as it is practiced by the picture frame manufacturers and dealers.
There are two styles of dull gold work; oil gold and matte gold. (These are produced by different processes which will be explained.) In contrast to these dull effects is the bright or burnished gold.
In doing over old work, it is customary to burnish the parts that were originally burnished; but on new work, the gilder has to select the parts that it is advisable to burnish. Sometimes it will be the entire top of the ornament; but usually, to give the best effects, the higher parts are selected.
On the smooth parts of the frame, the concave places (called hollows) and the convex parts (called beads) are the parts generally burnished.
It will be found that the hollows and beads are easier to burnish than the flats, and the wider the flat, the harder it is to accomplish good work.
As a great amount of the gilding done in retail stores is the refinishing of old frames, we will take up this class of work first and more in detail.
We wish to impress on the beginner as strongly as possible, the necessity of preparing the frame. If it is not prepared properly, good work cannot be done. It is just as essential to have the preliminary work carefully executed, as any other part of the process. This work, if slighted by the gilder, will in time come to light; and it will be necessary to re-gild the frame.
