Gambling rules from the Journal of the Early Americas article

In case you have not read the latest issue of the "Journal of the Early Americas", I wrote a short article on colonial gambling to complement the cover art. Space did not permit the printing of the rules for some popular games that were a part of the article. They are reprinted here for your enjoyment:

Bouillotte

Players: 3-5

Cards: 20-24 cards; counters or chips used as bets

Use a "Picket" deck (suited 32-card pack, lacking ranks 2–6) reduced to 20 cards by removing sevens, tens, and Jacks. If >5 people play the Jacks are not removed; if 3 play the queens are removed as well. Ace is high.

Play Clockwise

Determine where a person sits: sequence cards are taken out of the deck equal to the number of players (e.g., with 4 players, an ace, king, queen, and nine are taken, etc.), shuffled,, and each player draws one. Player with the ace chooses where to sit first, etc. Player with the king deals.

Before dealing players "ante" one counter. On play round each may "raise", those not "seeing" the "raise" being obliged to drop out. Three cards are dealt to each player, the next being turned face up (the retourné). Each player must then bet, call, raise or drop out. When a call is made the hands are show and the best hand wins. Win rank order: (the brélans)

                        1. Four of a kind, one being that retourné

                        2. Three of a kind, ace being high

                        3. Three of a kind, one being the retourné

If more than one player has a brélan the best matches the turn up or retourné; if none match the turn up then highest rank wins. Any player with a brélan gets a side payment of one chip, two if four of a kind, from each opponent.

If no one holds a brélan  all dealt cards along with the turn up are shown and those of each suit valued (ace 11, face 10, others per their spots). The player, not having dropped out, holding the highest card in the suit with highest counted value and wins the pot.

Whist

Players 4

Cards 52 (Ace high)

Play clockwise

Partnership play; partners sitting opposite. Deck is cut or drawn to determine partners (two highest vs. two lowest) and then to determine deal. No comment or signal on the cards is permissible. Cards are shuffled, cut, and dealt one card at a time face down so that each player has thirteen cards. The final card, which belongs to the dealer, is turned up and is trumps. That card remains face up until the dealer 's turn to play the first trick.

The player to the dealer's left leads to the first trick. He may lead any card in his hand. The other players, in clockwise order, each play a card to the trick and must follow suit by playing a card of the suit led if they have one. A player with no card of the suit led may play any card, either discarding or trumping. The trick is won by the highest card of the suit led, unless a trump is played, in which case the highest trump wins. The winner of the trick leads the next trick.

Play continues until all thirteen tricks are played. Count the number of tricks each player has scoring 1 point for each trick won in excess of 6. The game is over when a partnership reaches 5 points. In some longer variations of whist where winning score is higher than five, extra points (honours) are assigned after a game to a partnership if they were dealt the ace, king, queen, and jack (knave) of the trump suit; a partnership with three of four honours (A, K, Q, J) receive 2 points, four points for all four. However final game winning point cannot come from honours points.

Hazard

Players 2+

Dice 2

Only one player, the caster, may hold and play the dice at one time. In each round the caster specifies a number, 5 through 9, which is called the "main". The dice are cast.

• If he rolls the main, he wins (throws in or nicks).
• If he rolls a 2 or a 3, he loses (throws out).
• If he rolls an 11 or 12, the result depends on the main:
• with a main of 5 or 9, he throws out with both an 11 and a 12;
• with a main of 6 or 8, he throws out with an 11 but nicks with a 12;
• with a main of 7, he nicks with an 11 but throws out with a 12.
• If he neither nicks nor throws out, the number thrown is called the chance. He throws the dice again:
• if he rolls the chance, he wins;
• if he rolls the main, he loses (unlike on the first throw);
• if he rolls neither, he keeps throwing until he rolls one or the other, winning with the chance and losing with the main.

The caster continues until he loses three times in a row and thence passes the dice to his left.

Bets are made between the caster and the "setter" (the bank which can be an individual or the players as a group). If the caster nicks the first throw, he wins his stake. After the first throw the caster wins his stake if he gets his chance before his main. After the first throw the caster and others, as side bets, may wager that chance will come before the main.

**** Here there are odds tables that can be used but I kind of think this will make for really confusing reading and extra length. We could include a URL for the odds tables. But I think messing with odds is something that would detract from play, rather than just side betting--whose going to remember or want to calculate? I've included the odds tables and explanation here just FYI:

These bets are made at odds determined by the relative proportions of the main and the chance:

Main	Chance
	4	5	6	7	8	9	10
5	4/3	—	4/5	2/3	4/5	1/1	4/3
6	5/3	5/4	—	5/6	1/1	5/4	5/3
7	2/1	3/2	6/5	—	6/5	3/2	2/1
8	5/3	5/4	1/1	5/6	—	5/4	5/3
9	4/3	1/1	4/5	2/3	4/5	—	4/3

For example, with an odds stake of £10, a main of 7 and a chance of 5, a castor stands to win £15 (3/2 × £10); with the same stake, a main of 5 and a chance of 6, he could win £8 (4/5 × £10). ******

Gama'giwe'binigowin (The Snake Game)

Players 2+

crafter and photo credit: Jeremy Kingsbury

Equipment

 Four flat sticks of even length (some players carve wavy sticks to mimic snakes), 6 or more counter sticks. The four flat sticks are marked so one side will be the same for all four and on the opposite side of two sticks identical markings are made (none on the other two).

The players take turns tossing the sticks up or to the ground; points are determined by their fall. If all sticks show same marking, take two counter sticks and throw again until a toss produces no points. If a toss produces two pairs of matching sticks, take one counter and throw again. No other counts are allowed. During play a player may also take counter sticks from other players if the common or bank pile is empty. When a player has gained all counter sticks that player wins.

Bets are made before each toss with the player tossing making the first bet. Side bets between players and onlookers can also be made (will the toss be successful? what will be tossed? and so on). The side bets can often be the most entertaining and profitable.

Recreating Punch articles published

My posting has been so occasional as to be almost non-existent. However, that does not mean I have not been busy.

The second part of my article on recreating the 18th century Punch and (originally Joan, her name became Judy by the 19th century) has been published in The Journal of the Early Americas.
 

Punch at Grand Portage Minnesota

A number of puppeteers have expressed interest in this article and wanted to buy a copy of the journals for Parts I and II.
  
By arrangement with the editor/publisher, if you are not a subscriber and would like to purchase a copy of the two issues (Part I and Part II) contact me at wayne@otisrabbit.com and I can mail you both issues at cover rate plus mailing.

Otter and Death at Madeline Island

Puppeteer or history buff the Journal of the Early Americas has some really cool articles on, well, early history of North America. If you're not a subscriber, check out the issue preview at The Journal of the Early Americas and I think you will be convinced to become one.

Recreating an 18th Century Punch show

One of the projects crowding my "to-do" list is creating new heads for the characters in my Punch show.

Currently, made of non-period materials, I want wooden heads to match the period puppets for my show. The heads are patterned after Cruikshank drawings and I want to reproduce the same look in wood.

This is the start of the process and I'll update progress on this project from time to time here as well as on the Woodland Puppets News blog. I hope the heads will be done sometime this summer so that all future shows will be totally period correct to the 18th century.

I will also post about the process of building the show, stage, and other aspects, too. I am writing a longer article for publication in the Journal of Early America and possibly the Puppeteers of America's Journal.

Some things never change--"hunting the squirrel"

Well, it seems time has passed quickly and over a year has passed since my last post. Life, as they say, intrudes on life.

All the raging stampede in the stores this past weekend, not to mention the tear-gassing taking place in many venues for many reasons, reminded me of another kind of rage and riot that also has not changed. And you may be surprised at this.

In Liza Picard's "Dr. Johnson's London" (p. 31) we find that life then as now had a certain outrageous flavor:

Riding a coach had its own set of dangers, what with abysmal roads, wide carter wagons, and bad suspensions, "If the coachman was wicked, he would follow a 'one horse chaise . . .passing so close to it so as to brush the wheel, and by other means terrifying any person that may be in it.' This incitement to road rage was know as 'hunting the squirrel'." (taken from Francis Grose's "A Classical Dictionary of the Vulgar Tongue", London 1785).

On a different note: check out the latest NAVC Gathering in Winnipeg.

Eagle River Clerk's Report

The following is an excerpt from the journal kept for the post at Riviere d'Aigle in the fall of the year:


Sept. 29 Wednesday Rainy cool weather. Arrived riviere d'Aigle in the late afternoon   as the house is already built we Moved our goods and other supplies inside and Readied for trade. Mr. Oakes being yet upon the Portage I expect him tonight  We shall greet him with a fire, a pip, and a toast to our Safe journeys here.

Mr Oakes & co arrived some time later while still light  But two more upon the trail did not arrive until Late

30th Thursday Sky clear temp 44 Heavy dew  We were up early lighting a fire and awaiting the arrival of the local band of Sauteur The post was occupied all day with comings and goings though Without much trade activities.  old A-- brought in some castorum and a few musquach  the Night was passed quietly until the Men got into a keg of HW.

Fri Oct 1 Cool 36 degrees at dawn the Post was comfortable at 50 degrees A fire was laid in preparation of the day. Piere des Auniers accused one of the men of stealing his Cassette we discovered a keg full of water upon a shelf, this after much desire of water but none willing to fetch it.

Soon we were busy with many Natives arriving to trade and Look over our goods. The day which had been overcast became Rainy shortly after noon Many of our visitors came I believe mainly for the warmth of our fire Mr Oakes exhorted them to trade with us and bring us their Furrs and meat.


Sat the 2nd Cool 37 degrees Parly cloudy Last nights Regale has made for a quiet morning A-- a local free trader came by this morning and shared the meat he had taken this morning.  Passed the day giving credits to 3 families that came on their way to Winter camp. Sun later but quite cold.

The text ends abruptly in torn pages. Perhaps the rest will come to light upon investigation. In the meantime, your Obt Clerk is obliged to return to the accountbooks.

North American Voyageurs Council Fall Gathering a month away

The North America Voyageurs' Council annual Fall Gathering is just a month away. For those of you who have attended, you know the wide range of workshops available, not only on the fur trade but relating to 18th century living, Native peoples, and so on. For those of you who have not attended before, this is a chance to meet interpreters and reenactors from all over the Midwest and Canada (and Alaska and New York, you get the idea), and discover the rich resources of talent and knowledge NAVC gathers each year.

And at a cost of $85 (which includes a $10 yearly membership) that includes your food, lodging, all this knowledge (a few workshops with hands on "take away" projects have minimal materials fees), you can't go wrong!

Sign up today. Visit the NAVC Fall Gathering web page for more information.

North American Voyageurs Council Fall Gathering

We're just a month away from one of the country's best educational programs for reenactors and interpreters, especially those involved with the fur trade of North America.

The North American Voyageurs Council presents Fall Gathering 2010 the first weekend in November. This year we are meeting at the Forts Folle Avoine near Danbury Wisconsin. Folle Avoine is the site of two fur posts, the North West Company and the XY Company, which have been reconstructed on the original footprint. Attendees will be able to sleep right on the same earth that Michel Curot, John Sayers, and George Nelson, amongst others lived.

Some exceptional workshops this year, plus an appearance by none other than Punch and his 18th century coterie of mayhem.

Click on the Fall Gathering link above to get more information and download a registration form. More info needed, contact clerk@navoyageur.org


Hope to see you there!

One post to another

Not much to report of late since moving from one event to another over the past 8 months has meant equipment repair and preparation, not to mention also working.

Last weekend was the Fall Gathering at the Snake River fur post in Pine City which was great--good weather, better friends!

Coming at the end of September/first weekend of October is the Living History Event in Eagle River, WI. This event used to be in February (-40, as seen below). Should be be much warmer and, I hope, drier than it has been the past few days.

 I'll post some pix of the trade goods I've prepared for this year's event--packages and fabric bolts. Between my goods, Karl Koster's, and Dave Klessig's I think we'll have a very full trading post.

Haven't had a chance to get out to gather oak gall due to weather and other commitments. I hope to get out next week or the first week in October.

I will be processing the oak galls at Eagle River in preparation to make more ink to dehydrate for powder (batch number 5; batch number 4 was small but very nice and for sale along with a couple of batch 3 left).

Grand Portage revisited, pt 2 Punch and friends

Early one evening during Rendezvous week at Grand Portage, Mr Punch made his appearance. No modern or PC character he, this was the 18th century antagonist, the street theater Punch of Everyman.

The English street show grew out of the Commedia del Arte tradition of Italian theater. Pulchinello found new homes and audiences outside Italy, becoming the founding character for a variety of puppet traditions throughout Europe. Coming to England in the 17th century as a marionette (though he was already a glove puppet, too, in Italy), Punch as he became known soon moved from a comedy relief character in larger theater pieces at fairs, notably Bartholomew Fair, to a character with his own story, outlook, and personna.

England already had a long tradition of glove puppetry. Punch began life as a glove puppet "out front", doing fight schtick and inviting the public into see the larger marionette productions (you can see such characters in Hogarth look at right side of the photo for the glove puppets, with a painting of Punch with his wife, Joan, in a wheelbarrow).

Although there is a lot of exposition behind what is really going on behind the action of Punch (political and social, the rage of the lower/middling classes to the institutions that controlled their lives, and so on), suffice it to say that Punch represented the "great unwashed" who enjoyed the show for what it was and what Punch was able to do.

Even though the actual crowd at Grand Portage would not have seen something like this, Punch and his puppet cohorts had existed in the New World for a couple centuries, certainly being performed along the Atlantic seacoast according to various accounts (ref. Paul McPharlin's "Puppetry in America"). The audience attending this 18th century performance, albeit in the summer of this year, were definitely engaged. I was a bit apprehensive of the children in the audience, but they were even more vocal and boisterous, encouraging Punch, than their elders.

All in all, I want to thank Ft William Historical Park for "calling my bluff" and encouraging me, as a professional puppeteer in real life, to mount this show for their July rendezvous, and Grand Portage for inviting me to present, too. And most of all, the audience. I believe that puppeteers and reenactors are the two groups who present the best audiences for this type of show, understanding both the context and temper of the times, and the Art.

Next up for Punch, the North American Voyageur's Council Fall Gathering (NAVC) in November at Folle Avoine, Danbury WI.

Grand Portage revisited, pt 1

This year's trip to Grand Portage started earlier than usual, picking up Gene Tisdal, Henri, at the Duluth airport before arriving late at night, well early in the morning, in the 18th century of Lake Superior's premier historic site and encampment. You can see a few of the sights on FrontierFolk postings such as this one (check a few others on the Colonial Nouvelle France/New France section of FF).

As usual, the week in the countinghouse talking with visitors to the site and interpreting both fur trade history and the business end of the . . . business was terrific! In addition, the Department of the Interior has been filming a movie for the interpretive center at the site since July and was using the August Rendezvous to move into high gear, filming canoe brigades on the Lake, the Native inhabitants of the Portage, and the frenzy of activity that took place during the summer while trade goods from Montreal where unloaded for distribution to the interior and furs from the interior posts were readied for the journey to Montreal.

Many photos from the week, and the shoot, have been posted on Frontier Folk and FaceBook. If you have trouble finding some of them, let me know and I'll pass along the URLs since there are just too many to post here.


A few here may whet your appetite. The partners meeting is a traditional event, with the various wintering partners reporting on the year's returns and the trade good needs for the coming year.

 At the end of the Rendezvous, the partners who don't winter over leave for the safety and comfort of their hearths in Montreal, while the rest of us return to the interior and the search for our "gold", the beaver fur.


Next up, part two, Punch and his wife attend the Rendezvous at Grand Portage.

Gall nuts, gall nuts, who's got the gall nuts?

This is the first in a flurry of posts; I probably should space them out but I've got the time over the long weekend so here goes:

Gall nuts are starting to appear. Apparently, the weather or something has delayed the wasp egg laying component here in the Upper Midwest. I've been finding gall nuts, though not as abundantly as I would hope. Going up to the oak savannah in Anoka MN next week to check out the supply there.

The gall nuts I have found have ranged from dried to green and probably still containing the larvae. They are, for the most part, rather large. I've picked a few green ones as an experiment to see how they compare.

Next up, Grand Portage's countinghouse and the movie filmed there, and Punch and Judy arrive at Grand Portage from the 18th century. See you in a day or so.

Where have all the gall nuts gone?

 . . . long time passing . . .

A scrivener song by Pierre Seeger? Well, undoubtedly not, but an anthem for me this season nonetheless.

Oak gall nuts seem to be missing in action this summer, at least in the Upper Midwest area around the Twin Cities. I don't know if this is due to the weather or climate's effect on the wasps that usually lay the eggs in the oak branches creating the galls or some other cause. Missouri, on the other hand, seems to be having a bumper crop year.

Bees in general have been going missing and although I've seen a few wasps and hornets of late, nothing like former years. Local calligraphers who use the galls to make their ink, too, have been unable to find the galls around here. George Yanagita, from whom I've received a few bags harvested in the backyard marsh, hasn't seen any in his oak trees this year.

A conundrum to say the least.

As a result of my weekend of fur trade interpretation at Madeline Island demonstrating ink making and so on, I am preparing and drying a new batch of ink for powder. Maybe I can salvage something from the summer. If you have oak galls in your backyard and are close enough to make harvesting and transfer to me possible, let me know.

Ink Batches

Amazingly, I have been able to post twice in one month! I need to restrain myself lest expectations rise to unattainable heights.


A new batch of ink is completed and is awaiting the completion of the slow dehydration process in the oven. Unlike batch numbered 3, this ink has a very dark, stout character with a bit of shine. Batch 2 as you will recall seemed a bit timid and not quite as permanently impressed upon the paper fiber as I would have liked, though still quite usable.


So, I should have a completely adequate supply of period correct 18th century ink ready for sale come Spring.

Packaging is set set, with instructions in both period and (inside) modern day wording.






Now, I await the return of Spring, the budding oaks, the busy wasps, and nascent galls ready to be turned into more ink . . .

Putting electronic quill to electronic laid paper

I find myself apparently as constant a correspondent by this means as I was consistent with letter and thank-you writing in my youth. In other words, not so much. I beg your pardon for my lack, though with the steady stream of postings from others I doubt my missives have been sorely missed.

Still, the purpose of this setting seems to be to generate a persistent flow of communication about the subjects of interest to the originator. And to this task I have not stayed true. I could plead that "life intrudes" as it has with work, family, and other commitments. I could as well plead that I had nothing of note, at least to me, that seemed worthy of your ear.

This is not to say your correspondent has not been busy with attention to those things pertaining to the Clerk.

Indeed, since my last missive in November regarding NAVC's Fall Gathering, I have, amongst other endeavors, spent a good deal of time reading a pile of books and journal articles (I won't bore you with a list, you can send me a message if you want a "reading list") regarding 18th century shipping, trade, merchant activity, insurance, and other subjects relevant to 18th century economics. I hope that I can, at a not too future date, put together an article or presentation regarding the understanding I have gained in this area as regards the economic workings of the fur trade. With, I hope, a practical application, such as my workshop "And Take a Receipt", which examines the fairly dry topic of: "the type and use of fur trade documents to figure out the cost and profit on a 2 1/2 point blanket and its comparative value both to trader and Native in the context of 18th century price structure" and presents the information in concrete terms applicable to the interpreter.

That said, I've taken up mixing the latest potion of ink, using the last of my oak galls. I hope these are a better batch than the last one which did not produce a colorfast a liquid as previous concoctions. I will also be using a dried gum Arabic rather than the liquid form more readily available in art stores. I will chronicle that venture in the next "chapter" in our continuing serial. With, it is to be hoped, not such a long gap.

North American Voyageurs Council Fall Gathering

Some of you are already acquainted with NAVC, but for those that are not here is a look at how history interpreters learn and have fun in the Upper Midwestern US:

NAVC Fall Gathering photo gallery

Enjoy.

A friend reaches the final portage

Most of his friends and acquaintances will have undoubtedly received the news in other forums, but I must also comment here, though I have been remiss in timely postings on other matters.

Mike Ameling, "that grumpy old blacksmith out in the Hinterlands", has died at age 56.

I first met Mike when we took the "Grand Portage Choir Boys" tour van to DeChartres Spring Frolic a number of years ago. The thirty-somethings through fifty-somethings piled into the Timmerman's van (the "Otter" family van for those of you who know Tim and Brenda) and headed south.

It was, to say the least, a rollicking good time, and has been every year since. Although only two of us in that crew could be considered "liberal" or other left-leaning labels, and we definitely did not agree on any number of political issues, we became nonetheless close friends and comrades.

Mike was a blacksmith, and more. Amongst his other skills and areas of knowledge, his study of the firesteel, an integral part of anyone's interpretation of our time period, was comprehensive, spanning Roman times to now. His artifacts were fascinating and his reproductions were amazing. His reproductions now reside in various interpretive centers. Many camps have any number of his fire steels, metal pipes, rat spears, chisels, knives, and more.

Beyond that, Mike was a really nice guy. That "grumpy" epitaph was just a label he liked, I suppose because he really did live in the hinterlands. But he was kind and generous, and like many Midwesterners, ever self-effacing.

Mike, you deserve all the compliments and honors and love your family and friends around the world are pouring out to you.

Godspeed, Mikey, and we'll see you further down the portage.

Ink takes a powder

And so another month has passed; how time flies and how fleeting the enterprises and intentions of man . . .

In the while, though, amongst life's other endeavors your correspondent has found time to continue the exploration of 18th century inks, the creation of ink powders, and the formulations necessary to create a powdered ink suitable for reenactors and others interested in this the task of writing in this time period.

In the past month, I have found my way through at least 4 to 5 works on ink, ink of the 17th and 18th century, and chemical composition of such ink, not to mention other works related to the function of the clerk. I am indebted to a large extent to Jack Thompson of Thompson Conservatory, mentioned in previous postings, for leads to a number of the works--either through his direction or found amidst reading such.

I think I have arrived at a suitable ink which I can render in powdered form and which I will be making available in a period packet shortly.

A few remarks, however, are necessary as a result of the my various readings, especially so given postings regarding inks on other bulletin boards.

1. Iron gall ink, other postings elsewhere not withstanding, is the proper writing ink to be used for our time period of the 18th century. It goes back much further, probably at least to the 9th century though carbon inks were also in use early on. In the class of carbon ink is included the "logwood" or "lamp black" inks. These carbon based ink were not desirable in that they did not meet the test of suitable ink:

To wit, "The requisites of a good black writing ink or black writing fluid require it to flow readily from the pen, to indicate in a short time a black color and to penetrate the paper to an appreciable degree, and more important than all the rest, to be of great durability. When kept in a closed Bessel no sediment of any account should be precipitated, although such will be the case in open ink-wells, and this the quicker the more the air is permitted to get ot it. If it is to be used for record or documentary purposes it must not be altogether obliterated if brought into contact with water or alcohol, and should depend for permanency on its chemical and not on its pigmentary qualities. . . ."

(David Carvalho, "Forty Centuries of Ink", Banks Law Publishing: NY, 1904, p. 132; plus a variety of other authors including Mitchell, "Inks: Composition and Manufacturing", Griffin and Co.: London, 1924; and Barrow, "Black Ink of the Colonial Period" in American Archivist, 11:4 plus the bibliographic references contained in these works).

2. The point made in all the works I have read agree that the image produced by the action of writing with ink is best when the ink penetrates the fibers of the material written upon, not a surface image (which is what carbon inks accomplish). In other words, when you write on paper with iron gall ink, the image is produced not by the application of opaque material upon the page but by the chemical reaction of the gallate tannin in the ink actually absorbing into the fibers chemically and changing its composition and hence color.

This is the reason why the various calligraphy inks and so called "period" inks sold by various companies are inadequate. In the experiments I have done, those little packets sold with or without a quill produce a nice, shiny, black ink that runs, smears, or otherwise is obliterated when wet.

If you examine period writing, especially period fur trade journals which underwent some serious abuse in their time of use, and then later storage, you will not that even under the insult of liquid of various types they are still legible, not having run or smeared.

3. Other inks, such as "India ink" or "Japan ink" are not and were not considered appropriate ink for writing as they "clumped" up or otherwise impeded the use by quill, being better suited to the brush of Chinese and Japanese (and Indian) writing. Such ink was better suited of artistic endeavor.

4. Powdered inks, contrary to the surmise of the archivist I quoted in an earlier post, seem to have been made from dehydrated or dried ink rather than a package of the various dry ingredients finely powdered, mixed, and sold to be later constituted with water. In the various reading mentioned, all mentioned this latter to be undesirable, creating a very pale image unsuitable for writing (perhaps if left long enough for the tannin to leach . . .).

At the same time, however, powdered inks were found to be inferior to the ready made ink "from scratch". In the "wet" ink, the pigment is held in the solution while the process of drying and reconstituting takes away this property and holds particles in suspension rather than solution.

I have found this to be the case in comparing my "wet" and reconstituted inks. And yet, the ink from powder, though seeming to be applied as a thin and pale solution to the paper, turns a dark black upon the paper as the ink dries and oxidation takes place (this oxidation being the cause of the dark image on paper created by iron gall ink).

Based upon those considerations, and more, the ink I have formulated meets the tests of readily flowing and penetrating the writing surface fiber to create a permanent, black record.

Given the choice of ink made from ingredients (that is, purchasing "wet" ink) or ink made from powder, I would probably opt for buying a bottle of prepared ink, from my readings and my own experience with making ink.

But, given the mess that carrying around ink prior to use, especially prior to sale, ink powder seems to be a good avenue. The product does not seem to suffer from the drying process, though shininess is not evident any longer. This really doesn't seem to be an impediment as a shiny line doesn't seem to have been a prerequisite of period ink, and ink powder was a common product.

It seems that those wishing a shinier ink can merely add a bit of sugar, or even mix the powder with white wine rather than rain water (both period formulae). Though vinegar is sometimes suggested in period recipes, vinegar has been found to be detrimental to paper.

One other note to this rather long exposition, period recipes call for the boiling or at least use of warm water to process the gall nut. In the course of reading, I have found that the better method, found later (but possibly used by some??), should have been a cold soaking.

Ultimately, the cold water method is what I have ended up using by default and without a thought. After the cold water soaking for a few days, or possibly allowing soaking in the warm sun, I have usually strained and then reduced the concoction by boiling it to half before adding the other ingredients.

I hope to see some of you at the NAVC Fall Gathering at which time I hope to have some sample ink powder packets for perusal. For those of you wondering what is this NAVC Gathering and what goes on, click on this link to see our Fall Gathering Preview newsletter. Having Adobe Reader 9 will provide best viewing of all PDF documents.

Next time.

Back to the countinghouse

After a month hiatus, the Clerk returns. Lest you should think your humble Clerk has been lacking in industry, this past month has been occupied with travel to Grand Portage to participate in the Annual Rendezvous and greet visitors to the post in the countinghouse.

Beyond that trip, the days have been taken up in my "other life" as a puppeteer in performance and in building characters for a company in northern Minnesota.

However, I have returned.

During this period my experiments with ink have continued. I have taken the greater part of the ink I have produced in the past and dehydrated it producing a powdered ink. I had earlier stated that I wasn't enthralled by the produced outcome, the product having much particulate residue and seemingly quite thin.

I was wrong!

After using this reconstituted ink, I found that it worked quite well. The liquid applied quite nicely to the paper. At first contact the ink was quite a faint gray, but within seconds as it dried, the ink took on a dark complexion. This is possibly due to the tannin etching in the paper's linen/cotton fibers, but perhaps the iron sulfate play some part.

I have yet to strain the reconstituted ink to remove the particulates as some instructors of the 18th century advise. They claimed that the particles interfere with the flow of the ink but I have not found that to be the case.

More as it develops.

On a related theme, I have also been exploring what form actual period powdered ink took. In my search, I found the following information which I posted in another forum:

Whilst searching out information on forms of powdered ink, having gone the dehydrated route, I found this series of abstracts from Smithsonian workshops. The particular one that caught my eye was Elissa O’Loughlin's on Powdered Inks.

"Powdered iron gall inks are not reconstituted inks. . . The packets, usually made of paper, allowed the user to carry large quantities of ink without the bulk of the liquid. The ink was mixed with water as needed, and presumably formed a dark writing ink within a short period of time."

Which caused my question about the time element since "a short period of time" was defined.

"Erasmus is said to have carried powdered inks with him on his travels. One could assume that they were in common use when writing materials went “on the road” with officials such as circuit court judges. Colonial American records contain many references to these inks. Benjamin Franklin sold them in his shop in Philadelphia, and the Congress of the United States purchased large quantities of the ink in paper packets."

This is an interesting note on the actual types of the ingredients, as opposed to the commonly used materials:

"One extant sample of powdered iron gall ink in the U.S. National Archives (c. 1830) exhibits some properties which suggest that the form of the iron was chosen carefully. The powder is light brown-gray in color, appears finely divided (not clumped) and the particles of gum are glassy and brittle."

Apparently, rather than the ferrous sulfate (iron sulfate) obtainable from chemical houses (school supply warehouses), the type used possibly used was pure heptahydrate, not hygroscopic and so does not readily oxidize in air.

Another thread to pursue.

Pointed question

I received a recent inquiry regarding the use of "points" on blankets and whether they related to weight or thickness of the blanket. I thought the reply might be of use to you:

Blankets, from the reading I've done on English manufacture, were indeed produced by weight (and sometimes, consequently, length of the complete piece, many many yards) as the completed blanket fabric was taken to the guild hall for weighing and approval. Various widths of fabric were produced which pertained to the ultimate size of the blankets to be manufactured.

However, the weight referred to does not refer to the individual blanket, rather the total piece which would be later cut up into pairs. The thickness of the knap and the quality of the fabric were more a function of the maker and were not indicated, as far as I have been able to determine, by the points (weight could vary from country to country, by manufacturer or weaver; the guild was the ultimate arbiter of whether the fabric was of good quality). The use of points, when they were used and not everyone used actual points apparently, were for indicating size. They would be especially useful as a handy tool for finding the right blanket at a glance.

The "point" is sort of a matter of contention. According to the HBC blanket historian, Harold Tichenor, the "point" may have evolved from French useage in the 16th century. However, there was never a consistent standard for a "point", per Tichenor, until the 19th century when HBC set a standard. In reading about blanket manufacture in Witney and Oxfordshire, there seems to have been an understood set of sizes, though they may have varied from guild hall and manufacturer (remember all work was piece work sent out to individuals and groups by the blanket company). From the use of the "point" in inventories, etc. there must have been a common understanding as to the sizes, or relative sizes each appellation indicated ( 2 point, 2 1/2 point, etc).

And yet, when the point sizes are compared by manufacturer they vary. This site (I may have already passed this on to you) has a messed up page, but toward the bottom there is a comparison of sizes to various companies late 18th into the 19th centuries: http://hrd7.tripod.com/hbc/hbc.html

Off to Grand Portage next week.

Blankets, one more time

Since there was a question about sizes, this page about Point Blankets is a good, quick reference, especially if you can't get a hold of other books. Remember to double the length indicated to derive the "pair of blankets" size. Ex. the one point at 46 inches long is about 8 feet as a pair or double.

You can figure the half point as in between the point sizes.

Contact me for some bibliographic references on blankets and weaving in England (Witney, Oxfordshire, etc).