Day in the Life

May 9, 1849

Journal Entry

May 09, 1849 ~ Wednesday

9th A hand pointing to the right A folded letter/box I recieved A letter from Jacob Gibson & wrote one to him
& sent him O pratts Pamphlet, & one to Shelden Wooster, an Epistle
to John Druce

Receipt for Etching & Engraving on Steel

Take A small quantity of lampblack mixed with some of the strongest
varnish mixed to A paste with A knife on A plate then thined with
turpentine so as to write or draw with it then write on steel any thing
that is Needed And let it dry then take A Teaspoonfull of Aqua fortis
A drop of quicksilver in it. when the quicksiver is desolved Add A
tea spoonful of water then it is ready for use

How to use the Material for etching

Cover the edge & back with the same material that we rwrite with
And all parts where it is not wished for the Aqua fortis to take effect
And when the Article is dry (the steel shhould be kept dryfree from greese) then
Apply the preperation of quick silver & Aqua fortis with A small rag rolled into
A little brush diped into the preperation & rubed even across the length of

the blade & let it remain 2 1/2 minutes after the polish is taken off.
then dip the blade in water then wipe it dry. then take clear tur-
pentine & rub over the blade untill the varnish is clean off &
while the blade is wet with the Terpentine dip it into dry slack lime
then polish the blade in chalk & water with A peacle of soft leather
And it will Appear of A silver cast

To Engrave on Steel

Follow the same direction As for etching ownly cover the
steel all over with the varnish then write on it as soon as it is
dry with A Needle or any sharp instrument that will cut through
the varnish so as to give room for the Aqua fortis to eat And instead
of 2 1/2 minutes let it eat 10 minutes or as long as is found necessary
by experiment go through the same process of cleaning & polishing
as before

For Curing Any kind of Hydes with wool or Hair on

Take common salt & Allum of equal quantity & make strong
brine of it let the skin be washed clean with water, then lay
them flat on the ground with the wool or Hair down then take
the salt & Allum water & cover the skins with it on the flesh
side let it remain on a small skin 24 hours on A large skin
48 then wash it in clean water then stretch it let it dry
then curriy it with courrier tools untill it is pliable

People

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Gibson, Jacob
1 Jan 1814 - 1 May 1882
Druce, John
18 Jun 1818 - 7 Oct 1897
Pratt, Orson
19 Sep 1811 - 3 Oct 1881
1082 mentions
Apostle
Wooster, Sheldon
25 Aug 1785 - 19 Feb 1862

Events

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May 9, 1849