The Gilded Page

A study of the origin, development and practice of manuscript gilding. Kathleen Whitley traces the history of gilding from Ancient Egypt and illustrated papyri to the adoption of the codex in the late Roman era, and the subsequent spread of the written word through sacred texts. Examples of antiquarian recipes and techniques of gilding are included, such as those within the 15th-century "Il Libro dell'Arte", and William Salmon's London manual of 1673. However the second half of the book brings the art of gilding up-to-date with comprehensive instructions for equipment, materials and techniques for flat and raised gilding, techniques in laying and tooling gold leaf, and gilding with powdered gold or shell gold.