Every branch of industrial art possesses its champions and originators, who have employed their whole intellectual and physical powers to solve problems for the purpose of enhancing and furthering their material welfare.

Often from small beginnings, within a longer or shorter period of time, great enterprises spring into existence, which greatly further our development in culture, science and arts, and are blessings to the whole civilized world. The material welfare arising from them renders it necessary that new champions continuously enter the arena and combat in the cause of progressive industry.

The industries of color and paper making which play most important parts in the art of marbling shall be the first subjects of my essay.

The paper industry which is very highly developed will have a much better future on account of its possibilities in the line of improvement. To-day, in the iron-age, we speak of a paper-age, and for good reasons, because there hardly passes a year which does not bring new discoveries, showing the extraordinary adaptability of paper. One branch of the paper industry which to-day is considered as an especial part of the industry is the manufacture of colored paper, the origin of which, as far as our literature is able to state, extends as far back as the first part of the last century.

From it springs the art of marbling, which in latter years was introduced into our trade.

The manufacture of colored paper makes a second branch of industry indispensable and one which stands on as high a stage of development as the paper industry; this is the manufacture of colors, which deserve the greatest attention on our part on account of the marbling art.

There is hardly a second branch of chemistry which is of such a great old age, historically proven, as the color industry.

We hardly know of a nation on the whole globe which does not make use of color in some way. The use of color for the purpose of embellishment and adornment dates back to historical times. Nature itself, by the beauty of the colors of her flowers and minerals acted as a teacher in the artistic development of the human race.

Egyptian wall paintings show richly developed forms and figures adorned with multi-colored fabrics.

This is a proof that the Egyptians not only understood the art of the manufacture of colors but that they also knew the much higher art of fastening the color on textile fabrics, i. e., the art of dyeing.

In olden times for the coloring of objects, mineral colors which occur in nature the result of a decomposition of metals and earths and had only to be put through a sieve and washed to adapt them to the painters use, were exclusively used.

To alchemy, which was the origin of Chemistry of to-day, we owe a surprisingly large number of artificial mineral colors, for the reason that with predilection it brought metals, earths and mineral compounds within the sphere of its researches which were aimed at the production of gold, but which all were ineffective in this direction. But the time and labor, which were employed in these investigations, were not thrown away. By alchemy an immense number of chemical compounds became known, without which knowledge the chemistry of to-day would not have reached its exalted stage of perfection.

Exclusive of mineral colors several organic colors came into use, the most being applied in the dyeing establishments as they were bodiless colors and at that time the art of binding them to metallic oxides was unknown.

By and by it became known in what way to bind the coloring matter of plants to bodies and to make them serviceable in the art of painting and the graphic arts. Since that time progress in this field has been so rapid that we gaze in astonishment upon the achievements of the color chemistry of to-day.

The progress which developed industrial art and caused it to flourish, was enhanced by a new and highly important invention, the industry of tar colors.

It is wonderful how man through the vigor of his intellect, tears from nature her hidden treasures which have lain in obscurity for thousands and thousands of years.

Who would have thought, that the antediluvian vegetation with its splendor of thousands of colors should celebrate its resurrection in aniline colors which by their splendid qualities of richness and intensity over-shadowed everything before them? It is a pity that we are only able to use these colors in limited numbers in our trade.

Up to this time they are used more for dyeing purposes, because they are without body and possess two apparently insurmountable proclivities, 1st, they do not mix so intimately with oxides of metal as the organic coloring stuffs of plants and they cannot for a long period withstand the influence of light.

In the meantime it is to be hoped with confidence, that science will soon find the solution for these difficulties. Already the forerunners of body colors have been discovered, a few which could withstand light have followed, as geranium lake in which the coloring matter is only bound to oxide of lead by surface adhesion. Furthermore scarlet lake, which, although bound to oxide of lead, has been put in such a state that it does not run and lastly the artificial krapp-(madder) lake and indigo, which have been produced from coal-tar and nearly equal to the good color lakes of the animal and floral kingdoms.

The main attention in the production of these colors is directed to the end of finding those which are free of poison and will not fade, to make them serviceable to the historic art of painting.

For the aniline color there is therefore a wide field open to experiment.

Whether our interests and demands in regard to colors will be fulfilled is a question of time.

Even the newer productions of the animal and vegetable kingdom already differ in quality from those indispensable to the art of marbling.

I recommend to my honored colleagues to read my book with attention, so that the intended gain shall not be missed and the beautiful art of marbling may attain a larger circle of friends.

The Author.