Observer in 1845–1856, and of The Central Presbyterian in 1856–1860. The son graduated at Princeton in 1849, studied under Franz in Berlin, under Friedrich Ritschl at Bonn and under Schneidewin at Göttingen, where he received his doctor’s degree in 1853. From 1856 to 1876 he was professor of Greek in the University of Virginia, holding the chair of Latin also in 1861–1866; and in 1876 he became professor of Greek in the newly founded Johns Hopkins University. In 1880 The American Journal of Philology, a quarterly published by the Johns Hopkins University, was established under his editorial charge, and his strong personality was expressed in the department of the Journal headed “Brief Report” or “Lanx Satura,” and in the earliest years of its publication every petty detail was in his hands. His style in it, as elsewhere, is in striking contrast to that of the typical classical scholar, and accords with his conviction that the true aim of scholarship is “that which is.” He published a Latin Grammar (1867; revised with the co-operation of Gonzalez B. Lodge, 1894 and 1899) and a Latin Series for use in secondary schools (1875), both marked by lucidity of order and mastery of grammatical theory and methods. His edition of Persius (1875) is of great value. But his bent was rather toward Greek than Latin. His special interest in Christian Greek was partly the cause of his editing in 1877 The Apologies of Justin Martyr, “which” (to use his own words) “I used unblushingly as a repository for my syntactical formulae.” Gildersleeve’s studies under Franz had no doubt quickened his interest in Greek syntax, and his logic, untrammelled by previous categories, and his marvellous sympathy with the language were displayed in this most unlikely of places. His Syntax of Classic Greek (Part I., 1900, with C. W. E. Miller) collects these formulae. Gildersleeve edited in 1885 The Olympian and Pythian Odes of Pindar, with a brilliant and valuable introduction. His views on the function of grammar were summarized in a paper on The Spiritual Rights of Minute Research delivered at Bryn Mawr on the 16th of June 1895. His collected contributions to literary periodicals appeared in 1890 under the title Essays and Studies Educational and Literary.
GILDING, the art of spreading gold, either by mechanical or by chemical means, over the surface of a body for the purpose
of ornament. The art of gilding was known to the ancients.
According to Herodotus, the Egyptians were accustomed to gild
wood and metals; and gilding by means of gold plates is frequently
mentioned in the Old Testament. Pliny informs us that the first
gilding seen at Rome was after the destruction of Carthage, under
the censorship of Lucius Mummius, when the Romans began to
gild the ceilings of their temples and palaces, the Capitol being the
first place on which this enrichment was bestowed. But he adds
that luxury advanced on them so rapidly that in a little time you
might see all, even private and poor persons, gild the walls, vaults,
and other parts of their dwellings. Owing to the comparative
thickness of the gold-leaf used in ancient gilding, the traces of it
which yet remain are remarkably brilliant and solid. Gilding
has in all times occupied an important place in the ornamental
arts of Oriental countries; and the native processes pursued in
India at the present day may be taken as typical of the arts as
practised from the earliest periods. For the gilding of copper,
employed in the decoration of temple domes and other large
works, the following is an outline of the processes employed.
The metal surface is thoroughly scraped, cleaned and polished, and
next heated in a fire sufficiently to remove any traces of grease or
other impurity which may remain from the operation of polishing.
It is then dipped in an acid solution prepared from dried unripe
apricots, and rubbed with pumice or brick powder. Next, the
surface is rubbed over with mercury which forms a superficial
amalgam with the copper, after which it is left some hours in clean
water, again washed with the acid solution, and dried. It is
now ready for receiving the gold, which is laid on in leaf, and, on
adhering, assumes a grey appearance from combining with the
mercury, but on the application of heat the latter metal volatilizes,
leaving the gold a dull greyish hue. The colour is brought up
by means of rubbing with agate burnishers. The weight of
mercury used in this process is double that of the gold laid on,
and the thickness of the gilding is regulated by the circumstances
or necessities of the case. For the gilding of iron or steel, the
surface is first scratched over with chequered lines, then washed
in a hot solution of green apricots, dried and heated just short
of red-heat. The gold-leaf is then laid on, and rubbed in with
agate burnishers, when it adheres by catching into the prepared
scratched surface.
Modern gilding is applied to numerous and diverse surfaces and by various distinct processes, so that the art is prosecuted in many ways, and is part of widely different ornamental and useful arts. It forms an important and essential part of frame-making (see Carving and Gilding); it is largely employed in connexion with cabinet-work, decorative painting and house ornamentation; and it also bulks largely in bookbinding and ornamental leather work. Further, gilding is much employed for coating baser metals, as in button-making, in the gilt toy trade, in electro-gilt reproductions and in electro-plating; and it is also a characteristic feature in the decoration of pottery, porcelain and glass. The various processes fall under one or other of two heads—mechanical gilding and gilding by chemical agency.
Mechanical Gilding embraces all the operations by which gold-leaf is prepared (see Goldbeating), and the several processes by which it is mechanically attached to the surfaces it is intended to cover. It thus embraces the burnish or water-gilding and the oil-gilding of the carver and gilder, and the gilding operations of the house decorator, the sign-painter, the bookbinder, the paper-stainer and several others. Polished iron, steel and other metals are gilt mechanically by applying gold-leaf to the metallic surface at a temperature just under red-heat, pressing the leaf on with a burnisher and reheating, when additional leaf may be laid on. The process is completed by cold burnishing.
Chemical Gilding embraces those processes in which the gold used is at some stage in a state of chemical combination. Of these the following are the principal:—
Cold Gilding.—In this process the gold is obtained in a state of extremely fine division, and applied by mechanical means. Cold gilding on silver is performed by a solution of gold in aqua-regia, applied by dipping a linen rag into the solution, burning it, and rubbing the black and heavy ashes on the silver with the finger or a piece of leather or cork. Wet gilding is effected by means of a dilute solution of chloride of gold with twice its quantity of ether. The liquids are agitated and allowed to rest, when the ether separates and floats on the surface of the acid. The whole mixture is then poured into a funnel with a small aperture, and allowed to rest for some time, when the acid is run off and the ether separated. The ether will be found to have taken up all the gold from the acid, and may be used for gilding iron or steel, for which purpose the metal is polished with the finest emery and spirits of wine. The ether is then applied with a small brush, and as it evaporates it deposits the gold, which can now be heated and polished. For small delicate figures a pen or a fine brush may be used for laying on the ether solution. Fire-gilding or Wash-gilding is a process by which an amalgam of gold is applied to metallic surfaces, the mercury being subsequently volatilized, leaving a film of gold or an amalgam containing from 13 to 16% of mercury. In the preparation of the amalgam the gold must first be reduced to thin plates or grains, which are heated red hot, and thrown into mercury previously heated, till it begins to smoke. Upon stirring the mercury with an iron rod, the gold totally disappears. The proportion of mercury to gold is generally as six or eight to one. When the amalgam is cold it is squeezed through chamois leather for the purpose of separating the superfluous mercury; the gold, with about twice its weight of mercury, remains behind, forming a yellowish silvery mass of the consistence of butter. When the metal to be gilt is wrought or chased, it ought to be covered with mercury before the amalgam is applied, that this may be more easily spread; but when the surface of the metal is plain, the amalgam may be applied to it direct. When no such preparation is applied, the surface to be gilded is simply bitten and cleaned with nitric acid. A deposit of mercury is obtained on a metallic surface by means of “quicksilver water,” a solution of nitrate of mercury,—the nitric acid attacking the metal to which it is applied, and thus leaving a film of free metallic mercury. The amalgam being equally spread over the prepared surface of the metal, the mercury is then sublimed by a heat just sufficient for that purpose; for, if it is too great, part of the gold may be driven off, or it may run together and leave some of the surface of the metal bare. When the mercury has evaporated, which is known by the surface having entirely become of a dull yellow colour, the metal must undergo other operations, by which the fine gold colour is given to it. First, the gilded surface is rubbed with a scratch brush of brass wire, until its surface be smooth; then it is covered over with a composition called “gilding wax,” and again exposed to the fire until the wax is burnt off. This wax is composed of beeswax mixed with some of the following substances,
