A Select Collection of Valuable and Curious Arts and Interesting Experiments, : Which are Well Explained and Warranted Genuine and may be Performed Easily, Safely, and at Little Expense.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Unknown

Language:

English

Physical Description:

1 online resource : multiple file formats

Place of Publication:

Salt Lake City, UT : Project Gutenberg,

Summary:

"A Select Collection of Valuable and Curious Arts and Interesting Experiments" is a scientific publication likely written in the early 19th century. This work serves as a guide to various practical arts and chemical experiments, intended for both amateur enthusiasts and those seeking to learn simple, safe, and cost-effective methods in chemistry and artistry. The book promises to explain a multitude of techniques that may be performed easily, encompassing topics from gilding and dyeing to producing unusual inks and paints. The opening of this publication begins with an introduction to its purpose, emphasizing that it aims to make artistic techniques accessible to those without extensive prior knowledge. It outlines that the experiments included blend recreation with practical learning, particularly in chemistry. The author notes that the focus is on safe practices, discouraging the use of substances deemed poisonous, and encourages a careful approach to the chemical experiments suggested. Overall, the beginning sets a foundation for the subsequent articles, which detail a vast array of experiments designed to engage readers in hands-on learning and creativity. (This is an automatically generated summary.)

Contents:

Water-proof gilding and silvering

The art of burnish gilding

Ornamental bronze gilding

To enamel picture glasses with gold

To wash iron or steel with gold

To wash brass or copper with silver

To give wood a gold, silver, or copper lustre

To print gold letters on morocco

To dye silk a brilliant gold colour

To dye silk a brilliant silver colour

To silver looking glasses

To write on paper with gold or silver

To make good shining black ink

Blue ink

Red ink

Yellow ink

Green ink

Purple ink

To write in various colours with the same pen, ink and paper

Sympathetic inks for secret correspondence

Luminous ink that will shine in the dark

To make a writing appear and disappear at pleasure

To make a writing vanish and another appear in its place

To restore old writing that is nearly defaced

To paint a picture that will appear and disappear

Landscape painting on walls of rooms

To paint in figures for carpets or borders

To paint in imitation of mahogany and maple

The art of painting on glass

Best method of polishing steel

To make letters of blue on polished steel

To preserve the brightness of polished steel

To give steel a temper to cut marble

To wash iron or steel with copper

To give iron the whiteness of silver

To wash iron with tin

To give tin the whiteness and brilliancy of silver

To crystallize tin

To make a gold coloured varnish for tin

To make shellac varnish for japanning

To make the best copal varnish

To make a spirit varnish for maps

To make elastic varnish for umbrellas

To varnish maps and pictures

To make brunswick blacking

To make a print appear on a gold ground

Best method of tracing or copying a picture

The construction and use of a copying machine

To produce the exact likeness of any object instantly

Copper plate engraving

Etching on copper plates

Engraving and scraping in mezzotinto

Etching in aqua-tinta

Copper plate printing

Etching letters and flowers on glass

To print figures with a smooth stone

To cut glass with a piece of iron

Best cement for joining glass

Best cement for joining china or crockery

To make a strong water proof glue

The art of moulding figures in relief

To cast images in plaster

To produce embossed letters on marble

To soften stone

To change wood, apparently, to stone

To render wood, cloth or paper, fire proof

To produce fire readily

To make super-combustible matches

To make gun powder

To make the common fulminating powder

To make mercurial fulminating powder

To kindle a fire under water

To light a candle by application of ice

To form letters or flowers of real flame

To produce flame of various colours

To make sky rockets and fire wheels

To produce detonating balloons

To prepare a phial that will give light in the dark

To make a person's face appear luminous in the dark

To freeze water in warm weather

To change the colours of animals

To give leather a beautiful metallic lustre

An easy method of extracting the essence of roses

To prepare various kinds of essences

To prepare soda water

To produce metallic trees

To tin copper by boiling

A metal that will melt in hot water

Illustration of calico printing

To prepare an imitation of gold bronze

To procure the exhilarating gas

Construction of the galvanic pile or battery

Construction of the oxy-hydrogen blow-pipe

To make a dry phosphorescent powder

Curious experiment of precipitation

To make a beautiful soft glass for jewelry

Composition of various kinds of glass

Composition of various alloys

To produce various kinds of gas

Various chemical tests

To produce a picture instantly

A cheap imitation of silver bronze

To make crayons of various colours

To make hard sealing wax

The art of manufacturing paper hangings

To make elastic blacking for leather

Sundry experiments.

Credits:

Produced by Chris Curnow and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net (This file was produced from images generously made available by The Internet Archive)

Notes:

Reading ease score: 62.3 (8th & 9th grade). Neither easy nor difficult to read.

Release date is 2011-11-20