  A great similarity to marble edges have the so called starched edges. To produce this kind of an edge no especial practice and no important preparations are necessary, but it permits of many varieties. For this purpose, books already cut are placed into the hand press, and in such a way, that the edge is horizontal. Dissolve a small quantity of pure rice starch in water until it has the consistency of a paste, add the different colors, which must be soluble in water in order to color properly, such as carmine or vermilion, cinnabar, Turkey, burnt umber, Prussian-blue, ultramarine, etc. When the color added has been carefully united by stirring with the solution of starch, throw, by the aid of a small whisk, the solution so colored in drops that are not too small on the edge placed horizontally, so that the edge is covered as uniformly as possible. As soon as the starch thrown on is dried, sprinkle on by the aid of a sprinkling brush and sieve, a darker color over the whole surface and allow the whole edge to dry again, then brush off The edge will be more effective and more similar to marble, if, for example, bluish-gray colored starch and then other starch mixed with red, the former in small the latter in larger drops, are thrown on so that the edge is quite well covered. Finally, a dark-brown color is sprinkled over the whole surface. Such edges have the effect of bluish-gray marbling imitations which are interspersed by dark veins. If you sprinkle on fluid gold bronze i. e. bronze finely ground in gum-arabic, instead of the dark-brown color, you obtain the celebrated gold veined edge in connection with the starched edge. Unsized paper is the best for producing starch edges because it quickly absorbs the moisture of the starch and color. To sized paper the color does not stick so readily and for that reason often runs together. To prevent this, moisten the edge before applying the starch color, with some ox-gall, and allow the first color to dry thoroughly before applying the second. |
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