Document OzV2B9GjXdg0ao91g3boQa2m1

+0*.C*T. ^ OUTLIER Of PAINT AND TARNISH HISTORY hy V. R. Sieplsin (Written for General Publication January 10, 1024) The use of paint a a protective coating has coma down to us from remote antiquity. Xven Koah "pitched the Ark within and vritliout with pitch" and the mother of Vosee placed him in an ark of bulrushes which she "daubed with aline and with pitch." At later periods the Jews evidently used paint on their houses, as in Jeremiah appoars - "Woe unto him that sayeat, 1 will build me a vide house - - celled slth cedar and painted elth vermilion." (Even then It.was bad taste to paint a house with vermilion.) Its use for decoration and picture painting began very much curlier. Pictures of bison, idld boar, reindeer and other animals have recently been found In some e.nroc in Spain. Theca rare evidently the aork of cavemen and date from tha Paleolithic age, probably 60,000 yer-.rs ago. Thoue prehistoric pictures are reel masterpelces end are far superior to pictures of buttles and hunting scenes on the -wills of Babylon erected about 2500 years B.C., and null paintings found In tombs in Thebes dating from 1500 E.C. In the British Museum are many mummies elaborately decorated, the oldest of these is that of Venkara who lived about 4000 years B.C. Uany beautifully painted things rare found In the tomb of King Tutankhamen were they had lain undisturbed for 3300 yesra. These references seen to establish the use of paint at least 4000 years before the coming of Christ. The art of painting developed uuch more slowly than did sculpture. This was, undoubtedly, due to the crude nature of painting materials avail able rather than to tho skill of the artiat. Creek sculpture attained a high state of development as curly us four or five centuries B.C.. but the ext Of painting was not fully developed until the remarkable work of the Italian mas tere in the fifteenth century. The materials used by the ancients were probably all minerals, natural eerth colors, organic dyes from plants, and waxes. The old Creek philosophers are the first to give any definite reference to detail. Theophrastus writing about 3S0 years B.C. refers to "ceriisBa* a native mineral carbonate of lead found in maall quantities In Europe and Pliny who lived A.D. 23 to 79 writes of the mode of boiling wax and painting ships with It after which - "neither the sea, nor the wind, nor the sun can destroy the wood thus protected." (Tirst reference to - "Save the surface and you save all.") The Romans being essentially a warlike people never brought tha decoration of buildings to the high plane tt reached with the Greeks, though the ruins of Pompeii show many structures with mural decorations la very fair condition. The colors used are glaring, usually a blaok background _______ 0007-SWI'-041510 I r/ with bright red, yellow, and bin*. The black was, undoubtedly, Lamp Slack; the red was the mineral Cinnabar, natural Vermilion, referred, to by Theophrastus and Pliny. Title has stood for three centuries with little change of color. The yellow, no doubt, was fellow Ochre., st pots of fellow Ochre wore found at Pompeii and the blue, undoubtedly, was lapis Laiu.ll, the true native ultramarine blue which la found In Persia. The earliest referenco tc the manufacture of any paint material Is by Theophraetue who described white lead ae prepared from lead and vinegar evaporated to drynese. Phlny again mentions it. It Is not known when the white lead of today was first made or to what country It owes Its birth, but tre~ dltion assigns discovery of the method to the Hitch and to a man named Stratlngh. It must be over 300 years old, as a patent for a method like the present Old Dutch was taken out in England la 1622. The length of time Involved encouraged effort to develop a more rapid method and the flret quick process on record la the Chamber process patented by Sir James Creed in England In 1749. Uany other processes have been invented but the most satisfactory one now in use Is the Carter -process pr-tented in July 1829, Zinc Shite seems to have been suggested first by Curtols of Dijon, France, In 1782 snd after several unsuccessful attempts to use it for a paint material, Leclalr In 1845 found a method to use It for oil paints. Up to this time ell sine oxide was made by the French process from vapors given off by a bath of ?lnc metal. Zinc oxide haB always met with much favor In France and recent legislation has been enacted prohibiting the use of lead carbonate In paints. In 1856 Wetherlll patented the American process of .'taking sine oxide directly from the ore, mixed with coal, by volatilization on a grate. In 1879 the bowls patent for making sublimed lead was taken out. A vela of lead and zinc ore was discovered in 1870 and smelting It by the Lewis method developed lead-.d sine like the Oslo pigment in general use. Idthopone was first patented in 174 under the name of Orr' e .vhite. There arc many variations in the manufacturing process no*? in use but rll produce-a material essentially the same. Black appears to be the earliest coloring pigment used as from time immemorial soot has been used by savage tribes to paint their faces and other objects they vlehed to beautify in this way. Black substantially the eame as our present Lamp Black wea made by the Chinese at least 2000 years ago by burning oil in small earthenware lamps with a limited supply of air and col lecting the soot thus condensed. Asphalt or Bitumen found on the shores of the Dead Bea me used by the early Egyptians on mutiny cases. At a much later date, in Europe, Ivory and Bone Blacks were wade by burning ivory cuttings or bones In closed retorts arid grinding end refining the charred reeidue. Frankfort cr Vine Block was made by a similar method using vine cuttings, stones from plums, olives, almonds or similar fruits. Carbon Blacks made by the incomplete combustion of gas wars first m.ide In this country in 1864. The earliest blue on record la Indigo used In India and Egypt and mentioned by the Ancient Byzantine writers ac well as Pliny end others. It is named In the Marseilles Tariff of 1228. Katural Ultramarine Blue, lapis _ 0007-SWP--041511 0007-SWP-000124906 l' -:X,// / -3- tarail, Tias used autny centuries ago but ultramarine was first made artificially by Christian Gael in in franc* In 1828. Prussian Hue was first mad* In 1710 by a color maker names Dlesbach In Berlin. Malachite, green copper mineral, was employed by the ancients. Verdigris was used by the Homana ss a pigment and has been detected In the wall paint of Pompeii. Barta Qreen or Baerald Green eaa discovered, in 1814, though Scheele'e Green very similar to this was made In 1778. This pigment Is little uced as a paint material non. Chrome Green, essentially the seme as those now used were first made In Prance in 1838. Tellow Ochre, one of the most ancient plgnsnta, was used hy the Egyptians, Greeks and Bomana. Haplea Tellow which Is baste lsad antlmonlste, has been found on Babylonian bricks at least 2500 year* lod. Chrome Tellow, lead chromate. In coraaon use today, was first mads about 100 years ago, though some is found In nature. The browns, such as umber, sienna, iron oxide, etc. are natural earth colors which probably were some of the earliest pigments used for decorative purposes. The earliest red pigment about which we have any Information Is th* native Cinnabar, mercuric sulphide, used by the anciente and Chinese. Chinese or English Vermilion la now produced artificially by combining mercury and sulphur In a process submitting It to sublimation or by a ast method. This manufacture aas first undertaken in England about 125 years ago. Red pigment using organic dye derived from the madder plant, a native of Greece, was made In Europe in the 13th century, though madder was used by the Greeks and Homans for dyeing long before it m used for painting, Many other organic dyes have been used hut these have been largely displaced by aniline dyes first discovered by Dr. William Henry Perkin in 1856. He mads In that year a mauvB dye used to dye silk for a dress for CJieen Victoria, for this ha was knighted. The history of paint vshieles and varnishes can be presented much more simply than that of pignente. The pitch that Hoah used sue, undoubtedly, a form of crude petroleum and it is remarkable that no other substance has been discovered that le so well adapted to protect surfaces a alnst moisture. Waxes were first used as the vehicle for colored paints. Excellent examples of the use of melted wax as a binding medium for pigments, executed in the second and thirl oentuxlss, are shown in London museums. Later evidently a mixture with oil or animal fat was used to lss*n the inconvenience of heating the wax. Tor interior decoration a site made with fish glue, gum arable or similar gum or the shite or yolk of egg, were the earliest mediums used. The earliest mention of drying oil* as a paint vehicle Is by Eetiue, a Greek physician, in the blglnnlng of the sl~th century. This may have been Linseed Oil. Heracllue In the seventh century flret mentions the 0007-SWP--041512 0007-SWP-000124907 I -4 - mixing of oxide of lead rlth oil to make it dry quicker. In the library at Lucca la a manuscript of the eighth or ninth century giving recipe for a transparent varnlah. composed of linseed oil and varnish gov, probably amber. Oil painting had been definitely established as sarly as A.D, 1100, though in an unsatisfactory form. In fact, the art of painting was vary crude until the fifteenth or sixteenth century then it underwent a transition from ancient to modern art. About this time other olla such as poppy seed oil and walnut oil came to be much favored. China wood Oil or Tung Oil though employee Vy the Chinese for centuries In finishing their Junks and for lacquers, was Introduced into the manufacture of varnishes only about 25 yenre ago. rish Oils have evidently been used for many years and other seed oils snd petroleum luve also been r.ldely used. Put coring all these centuries, Linseed Oil has been by far the chelf oil fur the paint Industry. Turpentine from European pine trees dates back for many centuries, but American Turpentine that '.-e know today was first developed by the early settlers In the southern states about 300 years ago. .'Aptha, of ciurse, followed the discovery of Petroleum In the IS. S. rhen Col. Drake sunk his first oil well In lltusvllle. Pa. in 1859. The vcrnlsh gum first used, no doubt, was amber as it is found quite generally throughout Europe and beads made from it -.ere found in the early britlsh graves and Etruscan tombs. Other varnish gum such as Zanzibar, Sierra Leone, Eenguela, Mastic, Sandarac, no doubt, preceded the modern Kauri and later t-'anllla, Brazilian and Congo Gums. Shellac has been known tJ the natives in India for several thousand yeare end used as a varnish gum for some centuries, as a manuscript issued by Akbar, emperor of Hindustan in 1590, mentions the proportion of Shellac Cum to be employed In varnish used for the woodwork of public buildings. (This seems to be the first definite reference to speci fications for paints or varnish materials.) This outline of ancient history brings us down to about the time of-the Civil Wsr in the United States. Prepared paint was unknown. Houses -ere painted with shits lead thinned with oil and a little turpentine and drier. Tints v.ere obtained by using plgsents of the character described, either dry or ground in oil. The same character of paint ms used generally on steamships, railway freight care, wagons, etc. Carriages and railway passenger cars '*ere painted with turpentine colors, that is, pigments ground in turpentine. Primers end undercoatings were mixed on the job, using lead end varying proportions of oil, japan, varnish and turpentine. Rubbing And finishing varnishes were later applied for gloss and wearing quality. Turniture was finished with stains made from water soluble vegetable dyes or earth pigments. Filler vs* prepared specially for the work in hand. Kuch furniture was finished with a French polish, thst la, shellac rubbed on with a pad until a good surface and proper gloss was obtained. Often one or 0007--SWI-041513 0007-SWP-000124908 -5- two coats of rubbing Tarnish sa.* applied and when thoroughly dry rubbed with pumice and water and then finished with finishing Tarnish. Or polishing vsmlith was used which was allowed to dry thoroughly and then ruhhta with pumice and water followed by polishing with the bare hand. all the mixing of paint was done by the painter hlncelf, who was an expert craftsman In those days. His efforts were to get all materials in oe near the primary stole as possible s>; he could be sure of their purity. Shortage of labor durliy; the Civil War encouraged effort for all lines of Industry to offer their product In a state more adaptable for the consumers' Immediate use and as a result prepared paint appeared on the .uaricot. The first paint so made proved very unsatisfactory as It settled In the padbage and could not be readily stirred up. JD. H. Averill of Herbert, a suburb of Cleveland, in 1866 invented a liquid paint which did not settle in the package. Unfortunately he mixed liberal proportions of adulteration with the load, sine and linseed oil used and thus did not make the paint as good as he might hare done. He thought he had made a discovery which would lead to great wealth but he an destined to disappointment. Many others followed In hla lead and prepared or mixed paint soon acquired a very had reputation and there came to be a well founded prejudice against all preicred paint from which It has never fully recovered. Patent paint as It was called was vigorously opposed by many manufacturers. nowever, the demand persisted and some of the larger and better manufacturers began to turn their attention to the production of high quality liquid paint. The Sherwin-Williams Company wore pioneers In this movement end in 1880 put on the market Sherwin-Williams Prepared Paint as the best outside house paint it was possible to pro&uoe. At first they found It very difficult to introduce this prepared peint because of the prejudice against it but effort was fundamentally right and the product soon met with much favor and led the field. It had the effect of elevating the character of paint generally so that now there are many good prepared paints on (he market and It Is very generally recognised that the exterior buildings can be kept well painted most economically over a period of years through the use of prepared paint made with lead carbonate, sine oxide, linseed oil, drier and turpentine, and this combination is specified very generally by railways, steamship companies, War Department and Havy, etc. etc. As prepared paint for outside of houses proved so useful, the demand grew for paints prepared for other purposes. Special paints for floors were made, enamels and stains lti varnish for Interior woodwork and furniture were produced. Special flat wall paints came Into general use as a substitute for wall paper. Special paints were offered for farm 0007-SWP-041514 0007-SWP-000124909 -6- buildings, roofs, concrete, etc. Special varnishes rare offered for floors, interior woodwork, outside exposure, etc, end Innumerable other specialties sere offered to the trade. Such a bewildering array of special products are nos on the mar ket, many known by special trad# names, that the paint dealer is often con fused as to Just shat to offer for the prospective job. This has led one manufacturer to prepare complete guide outlining to the consumer Just shat product is best adapted for the article to be painted. bhile all this development of paints for the building industry and household use sas going on, there ms a similar development in industrial paint to keep pace with changes in the method of palntti^. This has required change from brushing material to that adapted for many other methods intro duced in modern factory practice, such as dipping first largely used in the agricultural implement manufacture about SO years ago, spraying, first attempted oh a large scale in painting the World's Fair Buildings at Chicago in 1893, and the later methods of flooding or flowing introduced about 1906 to keep up to quantity production in modern automobile plants. Air drying has been largely superseded by baking, lyxoxylln Enamels and lacquers are now being developed by some manufacturers, thus taking advantage of this artistic and quick drying finish first developed by Alexander parks in England in 1855. At the outbreak of the *arld Bar in 1914, American chemists imme diately turned their attention to the manufacture of Aniline Dyee and Intermediates which were Imported from Gexmahy. t'.any manufacturers entered the field and a great deal of energy and capital was devoted to the problem. Hew factories were built with great epeed and nsw manufacturing organisations were developed and the American product eoon appeared on the market, filling the want which could no longer be supplied from Germany. The American Dyes Institute was organised to co-ordinate this effort and eliminate useless duplication. This has now resulted in a very wsll established dye industry in this country, making the paint, color and textile industry to a very large extent no longer dependent upon Germany. Varnish manufacture has suffered so seriously from fluctuations in market price and irregular supplies of China wood Oil, that during recent years ouch investigation has been carried on hoping to grow China Wood or lung Oil trees in 71orida. Experiments in this culture look very promising and it is estimated that 50,000 acres planted with Tung Oil trees would take care of all American requirements. lhe paint and vernish industry has grown emaslngly until it now embraces nearly 500 individual companies in the United States with produc tion approaching 200,000,000 gallons annually. "Save the surface and you save all" is so well understood that it is quite probable that the industry may attain the goal set in 1922 to double the business in 1926. 0007-SWP--041515 0007-SWP-00012491