Page:Archaeological Journal, Volume 1.djvu/223

Rh series of fac-similes of the numerous brasses of Suffolk has been formed by a gentleman in that county, who has devoted many years to the collection of materials for its history; he has solely employed the large black-lead pencils, which are used by carpenters, and prefers a thick quality of paper, the rubbings being subsequently set, like black-lead drawings, with milk or beer; the figures, scutcheons, or other portions of the design, are then carefully cut out, and pasted down upon large sheets of strong paper. The use of black-lead has this advantage, that it is very easy to produce with that substance an uniformly dark effect throughout the rubbing, however large its dimension, whereas by all other methods which have been devised, the like uniformity is only attainable with much care and labour, and the patchy appearance of the rubbing takes much from the sightliness of its aspect. Some collectors prefer the use of rubbers of soft black leather, the waste pieces which remain in the shoemaker's workshop, especially those parts which are most strongly imbued with the dubbing, or black unctuous compound, with which the skins are dressed by the curriers: satisfactory fac-similes are produced by this method, provided that the leather be of suitable quality, and the risk of tearing the paper in the course of the operation is slight. As, however, the unctuous properties of the leather, whereby a dark tint is imparted to the paper, are quickly exhausted, the frequent difficulty of obtaining in remote villages a fresh supply has induced most of the collectors of sepulchral brasses to give the preference to the use of shoemaker's heel-ball, or a compound of bees-wax and tallow with lamp-black, which may easily be made of any desired consistence. With heel-ball a careful hand will obtain a fac-simile satisfactorily distinct, even where the lines arc most delicate, or nearly effaced: the work thus produced is perfectly indelible, and is not liable to be injured by any accidental friction; this mode of operation has also the advantages of great facility and cleanliness, and is that which is at present most generally employed. Messrs. Ullathorne, of Long-Acre, the sole manufacturers of heel-ball, have provided for the use of those collectors of brasses who may find the heel-balls of ordinary size inconveniently small, pieces of larger dimension, about three inches in diameter: they have also proposed to supply a waxy compound of a yellow colour, in order that the rubbings may assume some