Forty Centuries of Ink: Or, A chronological narrative concerning ink and its backgrounds, introducing incidental observations and deductions, parallels of time and color phenomena, bibliography, chemistry, poetical effusions, citations, anecdotes and curiosa together with some evidence respecting the evanescent character of most inks of to-day and an epitome of chemico-legal ink.Carvalho, David Nunes
History
Forty Centuries of Ink: Or, A chronological narrative concerning ink and its backgrounds, introducing incidental observations and deductions, parallels of time and color phenomena, bibliography, chemistry, poetical effusions, citations, anecdotes and curiosa together with some evidence respecting the evanescent character of most inks of to-day and an epitome of chemico-legal ink.
Carvalho, David Nunes
Ink
(b) Apply lemon juice: 1. The violet becomes
brighter if it is one of the aniline violets, to be
distinguished from each other by applying one part of
hydrochloric acid to three parts of water, when it will
become violet-blue, changing to red if it is common
aniline-violet, but blue changing to a green hue and
upon adding plain water to a lilac or pearl gray if it
is iodine-violet (Hoffman's). It will also turn from
red to yellow in lemon juice. To test for the other
three violets: (a) Apply chloride of lime, to be followed
by a solution of yellow prussiate of potash:
absence of a blue coloration leaves orchil and logwood
to be considered. To distinguish between them apply
solution of hydrate of lime, whereby a change to
gray, followed by complete decoloration indicates logwood,
and a change to violet-blue, orchil.
The substances utilized with but few exceptions for
red ink are the "eosins," possessing different names
like erythrosine, as well as different hues. Antecedent
to about thirty-five years ago, cochineal (known
as "carmine"), madder, Brazil wood and saffron formed
the basis of most of the red inks.
Make a soap solution adding a small quantity of
ammonia, lemon juice, muriate of tin, all in water:
1. No change upon application indicates madder.
2. Any change, the presence of one of the three other
reds: (a) thus a complete decoloration with a return
of the color indicates saffron; (b) reappearance of the
red color though weaker, aniline-red: (c) production
of a yellowish red or light yellow color, cochineal or
Brazil wood, to be distinguished from each other by
the application of concentrated sulphuric acid, when
Brazil wood will at once give a bright cherry-red, and
cochineal a yellowish orange.
No yellow inks are in commercial use. Documents
do, however, often contain yellow marks about which
information is required as to their origin. As a rule
they are iron rust, picric acid, turmeric, fustic, weld,
Persian berries or quercitron. In order to recognize
the different colors, the presence or absence of iron
rust and picric acid must first be determined.
Apply a warm sample of a slightly acid solution of
yellow prussiate of potash; iron rust will be indicated
by a blue coloration.
Apply a weak solution of cyanide of potassium; picric
acid will yield a blood-red coloration.
If picric acid and iron rust are both absent, apply a
bit of ordinary wetted soap: 1. It turns reddish-brown
and becomes yellow again with hydrochloric acid--
turmeric; 2. It turns quite dark--fustic; 3. It is
unaffected--weld, Persian berries or quercitron. To
distinguish between these three, apply sulphuric acid,
the color of weld will disappear, and of the others
remaining apply tin-salt solution, when a change to
orange indicates Persian berries, and no change or a
very slight one, quercitron.
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