Embroidery and Fancy Work/Repoussée Work
REPOUSSEE WORK.
One of the latest fashions in decoration art is for hammered metal work. Like most of our present decoration it is but an old— a very old— fashion revived. Benvenuto Cellini, who lived early in the sixteenth century, did much to develope this art in its various branches.
To the uninitiated the idea of hammering metals does not seem very attractive, for it looks like very hard work. But such is not the case. The sheet brass which is principally used comes in a great many degrees of thickness, some of it being very thin. Many of the sheets can readily be sawed by the fret saw into the desired shapes, the embossed or repoussee pattern being then hammered in.
The materials for this work are some pieces of sheet brass, preferably thin, a tool called a tracer, a chaser's hammer and one or more grounding tools. The brass is sold by weight at about thirty-five cents a pound, the tools twenty to thirty cents each. A piece of smooth board is also needed, and a few screws.
Before beginning to work at a pattern, it is absolutely essential to learn to use the tracer well. Metal work differs from most other kinds of decoration in this one thing, it is almost impossible to rectify a wrong stroke. Take some scraps of brass—those left after sawing out a plaque or bellows cover, or whatever other object you may intend working-and having drawn straight and curved lines on it with a soft black lead pencil, go over these lines with your tracer, holding the latter perpendicularly and giving it a gentle tap with the hammer. To prevent your brass wabbling it is best to screw it by the corners to a board. In cutting out objects to be decorated it is necessary, generally, to leave a margin, not only for the screws, but to leave space for the mounting when necessary. At first you will find the lines you trace to be anything but lines of beauty, but as you proceed you will, with care, improve The traced line should be continuous, never showing any marks of the tracer having been taken up and put down again. The first tracing should be very gently done, so as to make a very faint outline. In embossing a pattern, the outlines have to be gone over again and again at different times. A thoroughly well-drawn pattern is essential in this work. You can either copy it on the brass with a lead-pencil or transfer it by means of tracing and transfer papers Be sure, however, before you begin work that every line is accurate. Having traced all the outlines very faintly with your hammer and tracer, you are now ready for the grounding. Tour brass must be well screwed down, being sure that you have it very smooth. Your grounding tool shouldbe an eighth or a tenth of an inch in diameter at the working end, which should be roughened like a seal. Go over the whole of the background with this tool, holding it perpendicularly and striking lightly. Work from your outline edges outward in all directions, trying to keep your work equal—that is, to not hammer too long on one side of your pattern before going to the opposite side. Neglect of this precaution will give your work an unsymmetrical look which no subsequent tinkering will remedy. Hammer lightly at first. Heavy blows will be apt to result in breaking the brass. As you hammer you will see your pattern gradually coming out in relief. When the embossing is sufficiently prominent, unscrew your work, and take it to a worker in metals, who will mount it in a narrow, strong, brass frame A jeweler would probably be able to do this himself or could get it done for you.
This repoussée work can be applied to many uses. Plaques or platters, ornamental false hinges, keyhole plates, bellows covers, panels and picture frames, and a large variety of other articles of household use or home decoration, can all be easily made when the rudiments are once thoroughly learned. Cups can be made by working the brass flat and having it made up and a bottom put in by a tinsmith. The patterns should be bold and conventional. Petty work, always inartistic is peculiarly out of place on metals.
To polish brass, the best way probably is to rub it thoroughly with rotten stone or tripoli and turpentine, finishing it off with chamois leather and oil. In your designs avoid, in the beginning, any unnecessary inside lines. The simple outlines of a bird or fish are very striking and arabesque designs have an excellent effect.
For the benefit of those who aspire to more elaborate work on heavier metal. I will quote the directions given by Mr. Leland, who was the pioneer in the revival of this art in both America and England. Amateurs owe him a debt of gratitude for the invention of the mode described above of hammering thin brass. Formerly the only way known of doing respoussée work was by the use of the pitch bed described in the following extract.
"You will, as you use thicker sheets, wish to hammer sometimes from the back into the raised patterns, either to produce a deeper relief, or to smoothe and correct inequalities. For this purpose you must make a bed of so-called pitch or composition, which, when hard, yields only gradually under the hammer. You have already learned that in hammering on a soft pine board, it was necessary to work on some basis which resisted while it yielded. But the fibrous structure of the wood only permits a certain decree of yielding. To obtain a deep relief, something must be used, which, while it resists somewhat, or is difficult to penetrate, must also be gradually penetrable to almost any extent. For this purpose make a bed of brick dust, or plaster of Paris, fine sand or ashes, or even dust, which is to be thoroughly mixed with pitch (or rosin), in equal parts with the dust, and a very little tallow or turpentine. Those who supply jewelers’ tools generally keep this composition for sale, at twenty-five cents a pound, in cakes. When the brass is laid on a bed of this, it can be indented very easily on either side, and by turning alternately. If you have a sheet of brass or thin silver cup or plate or goblet, or salver, you can fill it with the melted pitch, or "back it," and can then work easily on the outside. If you wish to raise a bunch of grapes an inch or two inches, you must hammer them out from the inside, and then, to finish the work, turn it again, and execute the more delicate parts from the outside. * * * * * * It is advisable, after preparing the bed of pitch, to give it the thinnest possible coat of oil. This causes the metal to work better on it. If there is too much oil it will not adhere. It is often necessary in heavy metal and in working deep relief, to anneal the work. This is effected by placing it in an oven bed of coals till it becomes soft—not in the least melted, however,—and then removing it very carefully with pincers or pliers It was with such pincers, usually confounded with tongs, that Saint Dunstan,
"As the story goes,
Once took the devil by the nose,"
while the Saint was annealing metal. Whoever has annealed knows how vexing it is to be interrupted just at the critical moment, and the Evil One, knowing this, chose that time to provoke the Saint to unsaintly anger. Saint Dunstan, or as the French say, Saint Eloy, instead of giving way to wrath, calmly took Satan by the nose, drawing it out to the great length which it has since had, and destroying the last trace of beauty in the fallen angel. The story was intended to teach all workers in brass and other metals, that they must be very patient, especially in annealing. Annealing oxidizes and softens the metal. While hammering cold sheet brass, the oft repeated blows harden the metal and cause brittleness. This brittleness is removed by annealing, which restores the original ductility or softness. After working, the metal must be cleaned by boiling it in sulphuric acid, mixed or diluted with from six to twelve parts of water. With thin sheets of good metal, annealing for amateurs will not be necessary when making basso-relievos, or very low relief."
Sheet silver can be worked in the same way as brass. A napkin ring or a bangle bracelet can thus be made by an amateur. The most workmanlike way would be to procure the circlet ready joined, and work it on a wooden block wrapped with paper to make it fit tightly, or else to fill it with "pitch;" or it can be worked flat and afterwards made up by a jeweler, who will also solder up any little holes you may have made. Often the ground of beaten silver will turn black with time, but this adds to its beauty by bringing out the work in stronger relief.
Simple designs may also be engraved on silver by the amateur. The work is done with a graver similar to that used by a wood engraver. Practice on a piece of zinc, cutting perfectly straight lines, cutting them lightly or more deeply at will. Vary this with curves and spirals.
Metals may also be etched. The directions given by the author already quoted, are as follows:
"Cover the metal with varnish; let it dry, and then draw your pattern with a sharp point—say, a needle—simply removing the varnish and exposing just so much of the metal as you wish to show black lines. Put strips of wax around the metal, and then pour on it a mixture of one part of acid to three of water. Brush away the bubbles, as they gather, with a feather, or the lines will be very ragged. Then pour out the acid and water and wash away all the varnish with turpentine. Then you will find your drawing engraved on the shining surface."
As one proceeds in hammering brass, there will be an ever increasing demand for new tools, to fit into the corners and twists of the design, or to produce a given effect in the grounding. If bought, these will cost a considerable sum, but they can easily be
Fig. 36.
manufactured at home from square steel rod, or wire, sold at the tool shops for this purpose. Cut this into pieces about four inches long by means of a triangular file. Thin both ends a little, and by means of a file form surface of one end into the shape required, square, convex, gouge-shaped, etc. Harden it by heating to a yellow heat and dip into oil or water.
Fig. 36.
Sectional patterns are given for small waiters, or plaques. A fine collection of designs by Mr. Leland by the Art Interchange, have been published which will be of great service to those pursuing this art.
It should be added that all lines inside the design should be worked before the ground is hammered, as the brass cannot be worked after it has been hammered into relief.
In Fig. 37, is a border which can be adapted to several uses.
Fig. 37