'Lord Curzon's Notes on Persia: About 1889-1890' [‎693r] (1406/1486)

May io, 1889 .]
JOURNAL OF THE SOCIETY OF AR7S.
575
day, cards made of three, two, and sometimes
of a single sheet. These four sheets con
sisted, first, of two sheets of a strong specially
made cartridge paper of a low brownish colour,
and two sheets of a hard-sized white paper,
which was made either wove or laid according
to the fancy of the card maker, the “laid”
being the most used. From the examples
preserved in various collections which have
remained in the sheet without being cut
up into single cards, and which date from
the early part of the 16 th century, it would
appear that a sheet that would serve for the
manufacture of twenty cards was that most
approved by the card makers, and the size of
this sheet, which was technically described
as “pot,” has varied at different times from
io^ in. by 14 in. to 14 in. by 17 in., being
approximately the size now known as foolscap.
When the stencil had given place to colour
printing by the hand or steam press, the
sheet which was destined to form the face of
the card was printed by letter-press from
wood, stereotype, or electro blocks success
ively in the various colours used, the Court
cards (catachrestic for coat or heraldic)
being printed with a blue outline, which was
followed by the yellow, flesh, black, and red
printings, and the “pips” or “points” on
sheets each of their own colour, red or black.
An essential of this process of printing in which
oil colours are of necessity used—as will be
seen when the operation of pasting is borne in
mind—is that great care should be taken
that the inks employed should be prepared
in such a manner that the minimum of time
may be required in the drying before
the operation of pasting is reached. This
diying process is attained by the sheets when
printed being hung over rods or cords, in
batches of 10 to 30 sheets, in heated chambers
or chambers to which there is free access of
air, for a period varying—according to season
and to the facilities of the manufactory—for
from three to twelve months.
The card being formed of four sheets, the
two inner sheets, or “literis,” is made by the
pasting together of two sheets of the strong
cartridge before mentioned, which are dried
and kept in stock as other paper. The next
process is to “ mingle ” the two outer sheets
preparatory to their being pasted into the card,
and this is done by the placing alternately of
a printed sheet, forming the face, and a plain
sheet which is to form the back ; this being
done, one pile is formed of those sheets, and
another of the previously pasted double sheets
or “literis.” With these before him, the
paster takes a sheet of the white paper
and lays it on the pasting table, pro
ceeding with a broad, flat brush, to paste
it all over with a strong flour paste, in
which sometimes a small proportion of glue
or gelatine has been mixed. He then places
on this a sheet of the “ literis,” and, in turn,
pastes the upper side of it in the same manner;
he next takes two of the mingled sheets to
gether which are alternately printed and plain,
and places them on the pasted “literis;” there
is then pasted a complete board with the white
sheet ready in position for the next pasting, and
the work so proceeds till the pile is finished.
The next process is to lift the pile to the press,
which is either what is known as the “ stand
ing press”—the oldest method of getting
pressure by means of a screw bringing
down a block upon the bed of the press—or
by the modern hydraulic press, the object
being to squeeze out all the superfluous paste
from between the sheets, and which, exuding
at the edges, runs away at the foot of the
press. The lessening bulk of the pile under
this operation is provided for by the screw or
hydraulic ram as the case may be. This
ordinarily takes 12 to 20 hours, and the sheets
are then ready to be removed to the drying-
room, where they are hung on cords, having
been previously pinned or wired together
in pairs, the pinning forming in effect a
hinge which carries the sheets over the
cord, or they are hung in a similar
manner in pairs by means of clips of com
bined wood and metal, or the common
wooden peg, known as the American clothes
peg — the clips or pegs being screwed to
rails fixed at proper intervals. Pegging or
clipping is the preferable method, as by it
the risk of damage by careless wiring or pin
ning is avoided. The length of time during
which the boards require to be so hung depends
entirely upon the temperature of the rooms and
the perfection of the ventilation. The object of
this operation being to get rid of all moisture
from the card, it is evident that the more
perfect the means for getting rid of the evapo
rated moisture the more rapidly the boards
come forward for the next step towards the
finished card, but from four to eight days is
usual. The boards are now in the state known
as “ rough,” and are ready for either enamel
ling or for being finished without enamel. The
demand for a perfectly plain card, that is
one without any enamel, still exists to a small
extent, but the trade is now almost entirely