Pontypool japan
Encyclopedia
Pontypool japan is a name given to the process of japanning
with the use of an oil varnish
and heat which is credited to Thomas Allgood of Pontypool
. In the late 17th century, during his search for a corrosion
-resistant coating for iron
, he developed a recipe that included asphaltum, linseed oil
and burnt umber. Once applied to metal and heated the coating turned black and was extremely tough and durable.
Pontypool
is in a steep valley in South Wales
, surrounded by coal
and iron working. The iron used was produced by the furnaces of Blaenavon
to the North, and most of the "Pontypool ware" was actually produced in nearby Usk
or Newport
, at the Southern end of the valley.
this iron was important. Tin plating had been developed in Germany
, and British manufacturers needed to compete.
While it was the growth of the iron foundries and tin plating that gave birth to japanning
on metal, tin plated iron was not the only metal used. There are examples of brass
, copper
and bronze
used as substrates. In France
copper was the metal primarily used. Because it had to be hammered into shape rather than rolled and stamped the surface was uneven. This did not provide the best surface for japanning thus it has a greater tendency to flake off than the smoother English tinware. When the French made tinware it was often trimmed with bronze.
The use of metal allowed a variety of forms that were required to withstand heat and water. Coffee pots, tea sets, candle sticks and other household items could all be japanned and decorated in the popular fashion.
These japanned metal objects are very stable so a great many still survive. Many pieces survive today with little rust. In most cases it is easy to ascertain the underlying metal because it can be seen in losses or scratches. If the japanning is intact, a magnet
can be used to identify iron. Most iron trays show some rust on the back where only a single coating was applied. Even the tin plated iron objects show rust in some areas.
It is worth remembering the unavailability of effective paint, at this time. The surface finishes that did exist either had poor adhesion to their substrate, or required either a porous or an organic
substrate to bond to. Today's resin-based paints for metals had not been invented.
. In his book on Pontypool japan (W. D. John, 1953) , published one of the recipes the workmen had handed down through generations:
The linseed oil was heated together with the umber and the asphaltum while the litharge and cobalt were added slowly. According to the recipe, the varnish was ready when a drop of varnish dripped onto cold glass remained in a ball. After cooling, the turpentine was added. There was also a pale clear version which omitted the asphaltum and the cobalt. In modern tests, this varnish worked equally well on papier mâché and metal plates. Three coats produced a durable glossy black finish.
This recipe bears a remarkable similarity to one for gold size published by both (Robert Dossie, 1764) and (Stalker and Parker, 1688) . In that version, linseed oil is boiled together with gum animi, asphaltum, litharge
and umber in approximately the same proportions as the Pontypool recipe. (Watin, 1755) also describes the use of asphaltum as an addition to the well-known spirit varnishes of the day. It appears that the secret recipe for Pontypool japan had been in existence for some time before its use for japanning metal.
Brown,W.N. A Handbook on Japanning and Enamelling for Cycles, Bedsteds, Tinware, Etc,.London 1901.(http://www.archive.org/details/ahandbookonjapa00browgoog online)
Japanning
Japanning describes the European imitation of Asian lacquerwork, originally used on furniture. The word originated in the 17th century.- Japanned :Japanned is most often a heavy black lacquer, almost like enamel paint...
with the use of an oil varnish
Varnish
Varnish is a transparent, hard, protective finish or film primarily used in wood finishing but also for other materials. Varnish is traditionally a combination of a drying oil, a resin, and a thinner or solvent. Varnish finishes are usually glossy but may be designed to produce satin or semi-gloss...
and heat which is credited to Thomas Allgood of Pontypool
Pontypool
Pontypool is a town of approximately 36,000 people in the county borough of Torfaen, within the historic boundaries of Monmouthshire in South Wales....
. In the late 17th century, during his search for a corrosion
Corrosion
Corrosion is the disintegration of an engineered material into its constituent atoms due to chemical reactions with its surroundings. In the most common use of the word, this means electrochemical oxidation of metals in reaction with an oxidant such as oxygen...
-resistant coating for iron
Iron
Iron is a chemical element with the symbol Fe and atomic number 26. It is a metal in the first transition series. It is the most common element forming the planet Earth as a whole, forming much of Earth's outer and inner core. It is the fourth most common element in the Earth's crust...
, he developed a recipe that included asphaltum, linseed oil
Linseed oil
Linseed oil, also known as flaxseed oil, is a clear to yellowish oil obtained from the dried ripe seeds of the flax plant . The oil is obtained by cold pressing, sometimes followed by solvent extraction...
and burnt umber. Once applied to metal and heated the coating turned black and was extremely tough and durable.
Pontypool
Pontypool
Pontypool is a town of approximately 36,000 people in the county borough of Torfaen, within the historic boundaries of Monmouthshire in South Wales....
is in a steep valley in South Wales
South Wales
South Wales is an area of Wales bordered by England and the Bristol Channel to the east and south, and Mid Wales and West Wales to the north and west. The most densely populated region in the south-west of the United Kingdom, it is home to around 2.1 million people and includes the capital city of...
, surrounded by coal
Coal
Coal is a combustible black or brownish-black sedimentary rock usually occurring in rock strata in layers or veins called coal beds or coal seams. The harder forms, such as anthracite coal, can be regarded as metamorphic rock because of later exposure to elevated temperature and pressure...
and iron working. The iron used was produced by the furnaces of Blaenavon
Blaenavon
Blaenavon is a town and World Heritage Site in south eastern Wales, lying at the source of the Afon Lwyd north of Pontypool, within the historic boundaries of Monmouthshire. The town lies high on a hillside and has a population of 6,349 people...
to the North, and most of the "Pontypool ware" was actually produced in nearby Usk
Usk
Usk is a small town in Monmouthshire, Wales, situated 10 miles northeast of Newport.The River Usk flows through the town and is spanned by an ancient, arched stone bridge at the western entrance to the town. A castle above the town overlooks the ancient Anglo-Welsh border crossing - the river can...
or Newport
Newport
Newport is a city and unitary authority area in Wales. Standing on the banks of the River Usk, it is located about east of Cardiff and is the largest urban area within the historic county boundaries of Monmouthshire and the preserved county of Gwent...
, at the Southern end of the valley.
Background
In the late 17th century, there was a developing trade in metal goods made of thin iron sheet, spurred by development of the rolling mill. RustproofingRustproofing
Rustproofing is a condition of preservation or protection, by a process or treatment whereby the rate at which objects made of iron and/or steel begin to rust is reduced. The degradation in the long term can not be stopped completely, unless the rustproofing is periodically renewed...
this iron was important. Tin plating had been developed in Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
, and British manufacturers needed to compete.
While it was the growth of the iron foundries and tin plating that gave birth to japanning
Japanning
Japanning describes the European imitation of Asian lacquerwork, originally used on furniture. The word originated in the 17th century.- Japanned :Japanned is most often a heavy black lacquer, almost like enamel paint...
on metal, tin plated iron was not the only metal used. There are examples of brass
Brass
Brass is an alloy of copper and zinc; the proportions of zinc and copper can be varied to create a range of brasses with varying properties.In comparison, bronze is principally an alloy of copper and tin...
, copper
Copper
Copper is a chemical element with the symbol Cu and atomic number 29. It is a ductile metal with very high thermal and electrical conductivity. Pure copper is soft and malleable; an exposed surface has a reddish-orange tarnish...
and bronze
Bronze
Bronze is a metal alloy consisting primarily of copper, usually with tin as the main additive. It is hard and brittle, and it was particularly significant in antiquity, so much so that the Bronze Age was named after the metal...
used as substrates. In France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
copper was the metal primarily used. Because it had to be hammered into shape rather than rolled and stamped the surface was uneven. This did not provide the best surface for japanning thus it has a greater tendency to flake off than the smoother English tinware. When the French made tinware it was often trimmed with bronze.
The use of metal allowed a variety of forms that were required to withstand heat and water. Coffee pots, tea sets, candle sticks and other household items could all be japanned and decorated in the popular fashion.
These japanned metal objects are very stable so a great many still survive. Many pieces survive today with little rust. In most cases it is easy to ascertain the underlying metal because it can be seen in losses or scratches. If the japanning is intact, a magnet
Magnet
A magnet is a material or object that produces a magnetic field. This magnetic field is invisible but is responsible for the most notable property of a magnet: a force that pulls on other ferromagnetic materials, such as iron, and attracts or repels other magnets.A permanent magnet is an object...
can be used to identify iron. Most iron trays show some rust on the back where only a single coating was applied. Even the tin plated iron objects show rust in some areas.
It is worth remembering the unavailability of effective paint, at this time. The surface finishes that did exist either had poor adhesion to their substrate, or required either a porous or an organic
Organic matter
Organic matter is matter that has come from a once-living organism; is capable of decay, or the product of decay; or is composed of organic compounds...
substrate to bond to. Today's resin-based paints for metals had not been invented.
Recipes
Similar recipes or "secret varnishes" were also used in BirminghamBirmingham
Birmingham is a city and metropolitan borough in the West Midlands of England. It is the most populous British city outside the capital London, with a population of 1,036,900 , and lies at the heart of the West Midlands conurbation, the second most populous urban area in the United Kingdom with a...
. In his book on Pontypool japan (W. D. John, 1953) , published one of the recipes the workmen had handed down through generations:
- 448 pounds of raw linseed oilLinseed oilLinseed oil, also known as flaxseed oil, is a clear to yellowish oil obtained from the dried ripe seeds of the flax plant . The oil is obtained by cold pressing, sometimes followed by solvent extraction...
- 22 pounds of lump umberUmberUmber is a natural brown clay pigment which contains iron and manganese oxides. The color becomes more intense when calcined , and the resulting pigment is called burnt umber. Its name derives from the Latin word umbra and was originally extracted in Umbria, a mountainous region of central Italy,...
- 20 pounds of flake lithargeLithargeLitharge is one of the natural mineral forms of lead oxide, PbO. Litharge is a secondary mineral which forms from the oxidation of galena ores. It forms as coatings and encrustations with internal tetragonal crystal structure. It is dimorphous with the orthorhombic form massicot...
- 100 pounds of asphaltum
- 5 pounds of cobaltCobaltCobalt is a chemical element with symbol Co and atomic number 27. It is found naturally only in chemically combined form. The free element, produced by reductive smelting, is a hard, lustrous, silver-gray metal....
resinate - 406 pounds of white spiritWhite spiritWhite spirit [CAS 64475-85-0], also known as Stoddard solvent [CAS 8052-41-3] or mineral spirits, is a paraffin-derived clear, transparent liquid which is a common organic solvent used in painting and decorating. In 1924, an Atlanta dry cleaner named W. J. Stoddard worked with Lloyd E...
or turpentineTurpentineTurpentine is a fluid obtained by the distillation of resin obtained from trees, mainly pine trees. It is composed of terpenes, mainly the monoterpenes alpha-pinene and beta-pinene...
The linseed oil was heated together with the umber and the asphaltum while the litharge and cobalt were added slowly. According to the recipe, the varnish was ready when a drop of varnish dripped onto cold glass remained in a ball. After cooling, the turpentine was added. There was also a pale clear version which omitted the asphaltum and the cobalt. In modern tests, this varnish worked equally well on papier mâché and metal plates. Three coats produced a durable glossy black finish.
This recipe bears a remarkable similarity to one for gold size published by both (Robert Dossie, 1764) and (Stalker and Parker, 1688) . In that version, linseed oil is boiled together with gum animi, asphaltum, litharge
Litharge
Litharge is one of the natural mineral forms of lead oxide, PbO. Litharge is a secondary mineral which forms from the oxidation of galena ores. It forms as coatings and encrustations with internal tetragonal crystal structure. It is dimorphous with the orthorhombic form massicot...
and umber in approximately the same proportions as the Pontypool recipe. (Watin, 1755) also describes the use of asphaltum as an addition to the well-known spirit varnishes of the day. It appears that the secret recipe for Pontypool japan had been in existence for some time before its use for japanning metal.
Further reading
Salmon,W.Polygraphice, or, The arts of drawing, engraving, etching, limning, painting, vernishing, japaning, gilding, &c. : in two volumes ...,London 1701.(http://www.archive.org/details/polygraphiceor00salm online)Brown,W.N. A Handbook on Japanning and Enamelling for Cycles, Bedsteds, Tinware, Etc,.London 1901.(http://www.archive.org/details/ahandbookonjapa00browgoog online)