Dictionarium Polygraphicum. Black. (Pigmentit ja väriaineet)

Dictionarium Polygraphicum:
Or, The Whole Body of Arts Regularly Digested.
Vol I.
London: Printed for C. Hitch and C. Davis in Pater-noster Row, and S. Austen in St. Paul's Church Yard. MDCCXXXV.
1735 BLACK, the proper Black for painting in water colours, is  Ivory Black, which if it be pure and well ground, is of use in painting in miniature, but is not proper for colouring prints; for 'tis too heavy a colour and hides the beautiful strokes of the graver, unless done with great care.

However if it be necessary to use Black by way of darkening a print, rather chuse a strong tincture of good Indian ink than the Ivory Black; but to colour pieces in miniature use the Ivory Black prepar'd as follows.

Grind the Ivory Black very well in gum water, then beat the white of an egg very well, till you perceive a kind of oily liquor settle to the bottom, this liquor mix with as much of the Ivory Black as you think will be proper to permit it to run freely in the pencil, and it will bear an extraordinary gloss; and if the object is shining, such as the wings of some beetles, mix with some of it a little white upon a Dutch glaz'd tile, till you find it light enough to relieve the shade, and then make another lighter mixture of the same; which being us'd on the brighter part of the subject, will produce the effect you defire.

Printer's BLACK is most us'd, because it is easiest to be had, and serves very well in washing.

Note, You must never put any Black among your colours to make them dark, for it will make them dirty, neither should you shadow any colour with Black, unless it be Spanish brown, when you would colour an old man's gown, that requires to be done of a sad colour, for whatever is shadowed with Black will look dirty; and not bright, fair and beautiful.

Ivory or Velvet BLACK, is made of Ivory burnt, generally between two crucibles well luted: which being thus rendred perfectly Black, and in scales, is ground in water, and made into troches, or little cakes us’d by the painters; as also by the jewellers, to blacken the bottom or ground of their collets; wherein they set their diamonds, to give them their teint or colours.


Lamp BLACK, smoke BLACK, is the smoke of rosin, prepar’d by melting and purifying the rosin in iron vessels, then setting fire to it under a chimney or other place made for the purpose, and lin’d at the top with sheep skins or thick linen cloth, to receive the vapour or smoke which is the Black; in this manner they prepare vast quantities of it at Paris.

This Black may also be made by the burning of Lamps, having many wicks, covered with a very large top at a due distance, to receive the smoke, which continually sticking upon the top, produces this Black colour; the top of this Lamp may be taken off every half hour, and the Black swept off it; then the wicks being snuffed, and the cover or top being put on again, repeat this till you have what quantity of colour you desire, or till all the oil is burnt out; this Black is of excellent use for Black warnish. A quart of oil worth about six or eight pence will make (as some say) Black enough to do a large cabinet.

In England it is usually prepared from the resinous parts of woods, burnt under a kind of tent, which receives it; it is us’d on various occasions, particularly in printers ink; for which it is mixt with oils of turpentine and linseed, all boil'd together.

This is to be minded, that this Black takes fire very readily, and when on fire, is very difficult to be extinguish'd; the best method of putting it out is with wet linen, hay or straw, for water alone wont do it.

A way to make Lamp Black better.
Make a fire shovel red hot, and lay the colour upon it, and when it has done smoaking it is enough; it may be us'd with gum water and ought not to be ground when us'd with oil.

To make a finer Lamp Black than is usually sold.
It is made with lamps of oil, something being laid close over to receive the smoke.


German or Frankfort BLACK, is made of the lees of wine burnt, then wash’d in water and ground in mills for that pur pose, together with ivory or peach stones burnt.

This Black makes the principal ingredient in the rolling-press printers ink.

It is most generally brought from Frankfort, Mentz or Strasburg, either in lumps or powder.

That which is made in France, is not so well esteem’d as that made in Germany, by reason of the difference of the lees of wine us’d in the one and the other; though on the other hand some prefer that made at Paris to that made at Frankfort.


Foreign Lamp BLACK, is no other than a soot rais'd from the rosiny and fat parts of fir-trees.

It comes mostly from the northern countries, as Sweden and Norway; 'tis a Black that is more generally us’d than any other, because of its plenty and cheapness, and proves a very good Black for most uses; 'tis of so fine a body that if it be only tempered with linseed oil, it will serve to work with on most common occasions; without grinding; but being thus us'd, it will require a long time to dry, unless some drying oil be mixt with it; or which is better some verdigrease finely ground, this and the drying oil together, will make it dry in a little time.

Some add also oil of turpentine; and without these it will not dry under a long time, for in the substance of the colour is contain’d a certain greasy fatness, which is an enemy to drying.

In order to remedy which, burn it in the fire till it be red hot, and cease to smoke, which will consume that fatness, and then it will dry much sooner; but when it is burnt it must of necessity be ground in oil, for else it will not work fine; for fire is of that nature, that it is apt to harden most bodies that pass through it. See the article BURNING of COLOURs.

This colour is usually brought over to us in small boxes, and barrels of deal of several sizes.

There is a BLACK made of willow charcoal, which if ground very fine, does in oil make a very good Black; but not being so easy to be gotten as the Lamp Black, 'tis seldom us’d.


To make a BLACK from sheeps feet.
Take sbeeps bones, calcine them in an oven, or in a crucible in a furnace, and quench them in a wet cloth; they must be ground in water be fore any gum is put to them.
This Black will mix with lake and umber for carnation in miniature or water painting.


To dye wood, Horns and bones BLACK.
Dissolve vitriol in vinegar or spirit of wine, and infuse them in it.

Another way.
Take litharge and quick lime of earth two pound, mix them with a sufficient quantity of water and put in the bones, and stir with a stick till they boil a-pace; then take it off the fire, and stir till it is cold, and the bones will be very Black.


Spanish BLACK is so cali’d, because first invented by the spaniards, and most of it brought from them, is no other than burnt cork, us'd in various works, particularly among painters.

Earth BLACK, is a kind of coal found in the ground, which being well pounded is us’d by painters in fresco.

There is also a kind of BLACK made of filver and lead, us’d to fill up the cavities and strokes of things engraven.


BLACK for painting or staining glass.
Take scales of iron from the smith's anvil, grind them for three hours on a shallow, copper or brass plate (such as spectacle makers use to grind their glasses upon) take of this powder and of Rocaille of each what quantity you please, add to them a little calcin’d copper to hinder the iron from turning red in the fire; grind all to an impalpable powder, and keep it in a glass close stopt for use.


BLACK. As a velvet BLACK for glas.
Take pieces of glass of several colours, to which add a little less than half the quantity of Manganese, as of Zaffer, and put the whole into a pot in the furnace.
This glass being well purified may be wrought, and it will give a glass like velvet, fit for many things.

Another of the same, a much fairer velvet Black.
Take ten pound of crystal frit in powder, and one pound of calx of lead, and of tin the same quantity; mix them all well together, and put them into a pot, heated in the furnace; and when this glass is melted and purified, you must cast in an ounce and a half of steel calcin’d and powdered, and one ounce and half of scales of iron from the smith's forge, powdered and mixt with the steel; mix the whole well as you cast them in, that the glass may not rise, and the better to incorporate them.
Then let all rest for twelve hours, during which time, stir them sometimes, then you may work it, and you will have a very fair velvet Black colour.

Another velvet BLACK, fairer than the foregoing.
Take twenty five pound of Rochetta frit, half a pound of tartar, an ounce and half of Manganese prepar’d, reduce all to powder, and mix them well together, put them into a pot, which set into the furnace leisurely, that the matter don't rise too much. Let it melt and purify during the space of four days or thereabouts, mix the materials well, cast them into the water the bet ter to purify, and then melt them again; and you'll have a Black of an extraordinary beauty.


Dyers BLACK, is one of the five simple and mother colours us'd in dying. It is differently made according to the different quality and value of the stuffs to be dyed.

For broad cloths, fine ratines, druggets, &c. they use pastel, or woad, and indigo; the goodness of the colour consists in there not being above six pounds of indigo to a ball of pastel, when the pastel begins to cast its blue flower, and in its not being heated for use above twice.

The stuff being thus blued, is boil'd with allum or tartar, then maddered, and lastly, the Black given with galls, copperas and sumach; to bind it and prevent its smearing in use, the stuffs are well scower'd in the fulling mill, when white, and then well washed afterwards.

For stuffs of less value, ’tis sufficient, that they be well blued with pastel, and black'd with galls and copperas. But no stuff can be regularly dyed from white into Black, without passing thro' the intermediate blue.


Yet there is a colour call’d cold Black or Jesuits Black, prepar'd of the same ingredients as the former, but without being first dyed blue.

In this case the drugs are dissolv’d in water, that had boil'd four hours, and stood to cool till the hand would bear it; then the stuff is dipt in again and again; and taken out six or eight times.

Some prefer this Black to the other, but on weak grounds this method of dying Black, is said to have been invented by the Jesuits, and to be still practis'd in their houses, where there remain numbers of dyers.