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Scan 131
An encyclopedia of the violin
26 lines. Read by computer on 3 September 2026. Printed page 103. See the scan on archive.org.
1Brownish Red.—This color, which is the color generally found in the old German violins, is obtained by boiling 1 3/10 ounces of arnotto with 1 3/10 ounces of Cassel yellow and 1 3/10 ounces of potassium in 7/8 of a quart of water.
3As in the case of the preceding color it is necessary to grind the arnotto and the Cassel yellow before exposing them to the action of the heat.
5The composition should be allowed to boil for a somewhat longer time than the one preceding, since it takes longer for the Cassel yellow to dissolve than it does for the arnotto.
7After having let it stand for twenty-four hours, the liquid is decanted and poured into a bottle which should be hermetically sealed.
9Mahogany Color.—This color is obtained by boiling 21 1/3 ounces of madder root together with 5 1/3 ounces of fustic or yellow wood in 1 5/8 quarts of water. By so doing a light mahogany-hued coloring fluid is obtained.
11If a darker shade of mahogany is desired, 5 1/3 ounces of campeachy or sandalwood should be used in place of the yellow wood.
13These colors—the light and the darker mahogany—having been applied to the wood, 1/3 of an ounce of potash should be dissolved in 7/8 of a quart of water, and a layer of this should be placed on the wood after the first coats have dried thoroughly.
15How to Obtain All These Colors in Their Greatest Perfection
17In preparing these colors, one must endeavor, as far as possible, to make use of river water or rain water, and to employ in the preparation of each color an earthenware pot glazed on the inside, in order that the same pot may be invariably used for the same color. While the color is boiling it should be stirred with a piece of maplewood.
19An equalized fire should be maintained beneath the pots, and each pot should be withdrawn from the fire when the mixture contained in it boils up, and replaced once the ebullition has gone down.
21It is well to allow coloring matter to thicken somewhat in order that the color may be a little darker than is desired, for the simple reason that it is always easy to make a color lighter later on, by adding a little water; while, on the contrary, when the color is too light, it will not answer, and it cannot be put back on the fire to boil without changing. Finally, a coal fire is preferable to a wood fire, since it is possible to regulate the heating of the pot as may be desired, by throwing a few cinders on the coal fire when the latter becomes too hot.
23Colors Meant to be Mixed with Alcohol Varnishes
25Black.—The only means known to us by which fine black may be obtained are the following:
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