Dictionarium polygraphicum. Observations on Red colours.

Dictionarium Polygraphicum:
Or, The Whole Body of Arts Regularly Digested.
Vol II.
London: Printed for C. Hitch and C. Davis in Pater-noster Row, and S. Austen in St. Paul's Church Yard. MDCCXXXV.
1735
Red-lead is the nearest to an orange-colour, and mix'd with yellow berries, it makes a perfect orange. It is us'd for build ings and highways in landskips, being'mix'd with a little white. it is the only bright colour to shadow yellow garments with, to make them appear like changeable taffety; and to colour any light ground in a picture, and several other uses.

Cinnabar lake; this is good for shadowing yellow garments with in the darkest places; as also vermilion mix'd with white, only it makes a sky-colour, with white and red-lead a flesh-colour; end is an excellent colour of itself to colour garments with.

This colour being dear, you may therefore, for ordinary uses, instead of it use red-ink, thickened upon the fire; which will serve very well, and better than lake, unless it be very good.

Red ink is made by boiling brasil rasp'd in vinegar, mix'd with beer, adding a little alum to heighten the colour; boil it 'till it tastes strong on the tongue, then strain it out, and keep it close stopp'd for use.

But if it be made a flesh-colour, or a sky-colour, then it must not he thickened.

Vermilion is a most perfect scarlet-colour; it is so fine, that it needs no grinding, but may be tempered with your finger, with glair or gum-witer, and so us'd, mixt with a little yellow-berries, it makes it the lighter and brighter colour, and is then principally us'd for garments.


A glorious colour of East-India cakes.
In using these cakes, you may take one, or a part of one of them, and put it into a horse-muscle shell, adding a little fair water, just enough to wet it all over, letting it lie so about a quarter of an hour; then squeeze it bard against the shell, or wring it out between your fingers, and there will come forth an admirable transparent colour, which will serve instead of lake, if the red-cake be good.
These cakes are commonly counterfeit; and good for little; but you will find by cutting a little way into them, if they be good, they are as red within, as they are without; if naught, they look pale and whitish within.