A Useful Resource

[ltmurnau]

In the thrift store at lunch dzherzhinski pointed out to me a wonderful little book on the shelf - Lee's Priceless Recipes. This is a reprint of a book of practical knowledge compiled in 1895, containing "tried formulas and simple methods for Farmers, House-keepers, Mechanics, Manufacturers, Druggists, Chemists, Perfumers, Barbers, Chiropodists, Dyers, Bakers, Paper-Hangers, Metal-Workers, Hunters, Trappers, Stockment, Taxidermists, and all People in Every Department of Human Endeavor."

There's enough in here to start a hundred projects, and from time to time I shall type out an entry for the Edification of The Public (the whole book is 370 pages long and apparently has 3,000 separate items in it, so let's not quibble about piracy). Here's one on how to make and use a hectograph, one of my favourite subjects:


Copying Pad for Taking Transfers of Writing.
White gelatine 4 ounces, water 8 ounces, glycerine 8 ounces, gum dextrine 2 ounces. Always use these same proportions for any amount. Melt the gelatine in the water at a gentle heat, add to it the glycerine, in which the gum dextrine has been thoroughly incorporated. Now stir all together, until thoroughly mixed, and then pour into pans of the desired size, to the depth of 1/2 inch.

RECIPE FOR INK TO BE USED.
Violet aniline 40 grains, gum arabic 12 grains, alcohol 1/4 ounce, water 1/2 ounce; dissolve the gum in the water and alcohol, then add the aniline. Shake in a bottle from time to time, until the aniline is dissolved.

TO WORK THE COPYING PAD.
Write with the ink on any good paper, press the written surface on the pad, and allow it to remain two minutes; then take off and the writing will remain, from which impressions may be taken by laying on plain paper and smoothing with the hand. As soon as the last impression is taken, be sure and wash off with a wet sponge.


Notes:
Many of the chemical names used in the book are old and unfamiliar ones - for example, "blue vitriol" means copper sulfate, and "spirits of hartshorn" means ammonia. So, I am not exactly sure what gum dextrine is, but sugar is called for in other copying pad recipes I've seen, so substitute that. Aniline violet is also called methyl violet or gentian violet, and used to be used as an antiseptic or disinfectant as well as a dye and an indicator solution (so you might be able to find it at science supply houses).

Oh, and 1 grain = 1/480 ounce = 0.06 grams.

Comments

[balaam42.livejournal.com]

I wouldn't be concerned about piracy... most copyrighted works lapse into the public domain in fewer than 109 years....

[ltmurnau.livejournal.com]

Told you I wasn't worried... but some people object to anyone typing in any part of a published book on the Internet. Fortunately there aren't many of them around here.

[balaam42.livejournal.com]

They just ought not to check out the Project Gutenberg Archive then. I have their DVD collection burnt which contains no fewer than 9000 previously published works which have gone into the public domain. More stuff than a person could reasonably read in their lifetime, not all of it worth it really of course, but there are many treasures in there.