Dictionarium polygraphicum. To marble books or paper.

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
Dissolve 4 ounces of gum arabick, in 2 quarts of fair water; then provide several colours mix'd with water in pors or lhells, and with pencils peculiar to every colour, sprinkle them by way of intermixture upon the gum-water, which must be put into a trough, or some broad vessel; then with a stick curl them, or draw them out in streaks, to as much variety as may be done. Having done this, hold your book or books close together, and only dip the edges in on the top of the water, and colours, very lightly; which done, take them off, and the plain impression os the colours in mixture, will be upon the leaves; doing as well the ends, as the front of the book in the like manner.
And after the same manner you may make marbled paper, by dipping it on the flat, as also linnen cloth, &c. -

MARBLING of books is perform'd by book-binders, by sprinkling over the covers of books with black, by means of a black pencil, struck gently against the finger, or on a stick held for that purpose.

Marbling is not us'd, except to such books as are bound in calves-leather; and after the marbling is finish'd, the covers are glair'd over with the whites of eggs well-beaten, and afterwards glax'd over with a polishing iron.

Books are also marbled on the edges; but in this marbling there is no black us'd, but instead of it, red, blue, yellow, &c.