Dark Ink in Recipes from Russian Publications of the 18th—19th Centuries

The study of records, handwritten notes and images on books allows to reveal the history of book existence as part of the history of society, to consider the reading process as a process of interaction between the reader and the book, and to trace the spread of books among various social groups. One of the “main characters” of this process, without a doubt, is ink — a material without which the creation of notes and drawings on books, and just on paper, would have been impossible. Specialists have a good idea of the appearance of the 18th—19th centuries records made with characteristic brown ink, the quality of which their authors paid great attention to, and often made it themselves. Ink had appeared in the ancient world, and, throughout history, ink recipes have been invented, developed, improved and, most importantly, recorded and published, which allows modern researchers to study them on the basis of preserved practical “manuals” and “home economics”. This study examines in detail the various components that were used to prepare ink in the 18th—19th centuries, describes the process of its production, and provides ink recipes from Russian publications of the 18th—19th centuries. The article shows that the number of recipes was increasing from century to century, which indicates an endless search for a perfect composition. Each manufacturer would develop their own “branded” recipe.

1. Kelichkhani Khamid-Reza. Iranskaya kalligrafiya: znakomstvo s traditsiei [Iranian Calligraphy: Acquaintance with the Tradition]. Moscow, OOO “Sadra” Publ., 2019, 408 p.

2. Drexel J. Iliotropion, to est’ Obrashchenie solntsa, ili Sozertsanie voli chelovecheskoi s voleyu Bozheskoyu [Heliotropium or “Conformity of the Human Will with the Divine Will”]. Moscow, Universitetskaya Tipografiya, u N. Novikova Publ., 1784, part 1, 400 p., part 2, 282 p.

3. Vishnyakova Yu.I. Hand-Drawn Notes and Records in the 18th—19th Centuries Books: Mini-Exhibitions at the Exposition of the RSL Book Museum, Rumyantsevskie chteniya—2018: Biblioteki i muzei kak kul’turnye i nauchnye tsentry: istoricheskaya retrospektiva i vzglyad v budushchee: k 190-letiyu so vremeni osnovaniya Rumyantsevskogo muzeya: materialy Mezhdunarodnoi nauchno-prakticheskoi konferentsii (24—25 aprelya 2018) [Rumyantsev Readings—2018: Libraries and Museums as Cultural and Scientific Centers: A Historical Retrospective and a Look into the Future: To the 190th Anniversary of the Rumyantsev Museum: Proceedings of the International Scientific-Practical Conference (April 24—25, 2018)]. Moscow, Pashkov Dom Publ., 2018, part 1, pp. 140—144 (in Russ.).

4. Semenovker B.A. Means of Writing. Ink, Evolyutsiya informatsionnoi deyatel’nosti do knigopechataniya [Information Activities Evolution before the Advent of Printing]. Moscow, Pashkov Dom Publ., 2017, pp. 153—166 (in Russ.).

5. Petrovsky D.I. Kalligraficheskaya istoriya Rusi i Zapadnoi Evropy. Pis’mo shirokokonechnym perom [The Calligraphic History of Russia and Western Europe. Writing with a Broad-Edged Pen]. St. Petersburg, Khimizdat Publ., 2016, 704 p.

6. Levshin V.A. Vseobshchee i polnoe domovodstvo, v kotorom yasno, korotko i podrobno pokazyvayutsya sposoby sokhranyat’ i priumnozhat’ vsyakogo roda imushchestva, s pokazaniem sil obyknovenneishikh trav i domashnei apteki i proch. i proch.: s prilozheniem nuzhnykh gravirovannykh risunkov: sostoyashchee v XII chastyakh [General and Complete Home Economics, which Clearly, Briefly and in Detail Shows the Ways to Preserve and Multiply All Kinds of Possessions, with an Indication of the Powers of the Most Ordinary Herbs and Home Pharmacy, and So On and So Forth: With an Appendix of the Necessary Engraved Drawings: Consisting of 12 Parts]. Moscow, Universitetskaya Tipografiya, u Khr. Ridigera i Khr. Klaudiya Publ., 1795, part 1, XV, 206 p.

7. Herzog K., Payler F., Metz R. (comps.) Recipes for the Preparation of Ink, Illyustrirovannyi perepletchik. Prakticheskoe rukovodstvo perepletnogo, futlyarnogo, portfel’nogo, kartonazhnogo, konvertnogo i linoval’nogo masterstva, ruchnym i mashinnym sposobom [Illustrated Bookbinder: A Practical Guide to Bookbinding, Case, Briefcase, Cardboard, Envelope Making, and Ruling, by Hand and Machine]. Moscow, 1899, pp. 276—294 (in Russ.).

8. Ink, Brokgauz F.A. Entsiklopedicheskii slovar’: v 86 t. [Brockhaus F.A. Encyclopedic Dictionary: in 86 volumes]. St. Petersburg, Akts. Obshch. Brokgauz-Efron Publ., 1903, vol. XXXVIIIA, pp. 602—604 (in Russ.).

9. Ink: price list section, T.I. Gagen v Moskve. Bol’shaya Lubyanka, 3. Magazin pis’mennykh i kantselyarskikh prinadlezhnostei. Fabrika kontorskikh knig, tipografiya, tsinkografiya, graviroval’noe zavedenie [T.I. Hagen in Moscow. Bolshaya Lubyanka, 3. Writing and Stationery Store. Office Book Factory, Printing House, Zincography, Engraving Establishment]. Moscow, T.I. Gagen Publ., 1895, pp. 44—46 (in Russ.).

10. Povremennoe izdanie o poleznykh izobreteniyakh v iskusstvakh, khudozhestvakh i remeslakh, i vazhneishikh predmetakh zemledeliya i torgovli [A Time-Based Publication on Useful Inventions in the Arts, Crafts, and the Most Important Subjects of Agriculture and Trade]. Moscow, Universitetskaya Publ., 1807, no. 4, 95 p.

11. A New Way to Make Good Ink, Magazin vsekh novykh izobretenii, otkrytii i ispravlenii dlya fabrikantov, manufakturistov, khudozhnikov, remeslennikov i domovodtsev... [A Shop of All New Inventions, Discoveries and Improvements for Industrialists, Manufacturers, Artists, Artisans, and Housekeepers...], vol. 1, pp. 397—398. St. Petersburg, 1811 (in Russ.).

12. Levshin V.A. Krasochnyi fabrikant, ili nastavlenie dlya sostavleniya vsyakago roda krasok, sluzhashchikh dlya raznoi zhivopisi, raznago roda ukrasheniya i raspisyvaniya na masle i drugikh veshchestvakh [A Colorful Manufacturer, or a Manual for Composing All Kinds of Paints Used for Various Fine Arts, Various Kinds of Decoration and Painting on Oil and Other Substances]. Moscow, Universitetskaya Publ., 1824, 247, IV p.