Exploring the Late 19Th-Century Landscape of Ink Manufacturing Via a Collection of 90 Bottles
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ICOM-CC 18th Triennial Conference Exploring the late 19th-century 2017 Copenhagen landscape of ink manufacturing ART TECHNOLOGICAL SOURCE RESEARCH via a collection of 90 bottles BIRGIT REISSLAND* A COLLECTION OF HISTORIC INK BOTTLES Cultural Heritage Agency of the Netherlands Amsterdam, The Netherlands [email protected] The study of artist studio practices is only beneficial when done in the ART NESS PROAÑO GAIBOR context of contemporary sources. Besides written sources, collections of Cultural Heritage Agency of the Netherlands Amsterdam, The Netherlands historic artist materials are an essential source in art technological studies. [email protected] Such collections are rare. Often their existence is unknown because they FRANK LIGTERINK Cultural Heritage Agency of the Netherlands are in private hands, or they have fallen into neglect at universities or art Amsterdam, The Netherlands [email protected] academies (Theodorakopoulos and Colbourne 2016). Their access for JOHAN G. NEEVEL scientific research is limited because just a few laboratories worldwide Cultural Heritage Agency of the Netherlands Amsterdam, The Netherlands are specialised in this field. [email protected] *Author for correspondence The Cultural Heritage Agency of the Netherlands (RCE – Rijksdienst voor het Cultureel Erfgoed) comprises a valuable reference collection of more than 10,000 items, including a recently acquired collection of 90 KEYWORDS: art technology, source research, historic ink bottles. These originate from 31 ink manufacturers from 9 ink, iron-gall ink, logwood ink, synthetic dyes, UHPLC/PDA, Van Gogh countries, the majority being of European origin (Figure 1, Table 1). The main focus of our study were the Dutch, French and Belgium inks from the late 19th and early 20th century due to our involvement in a research ABSTRACT Within a research project focusing on the dra- project investigating the severe discolouration of van Gogh’s writing and matic colour changes in Van Gogh’s pen-and- drawing inks (REVIGO project). ink drawings, interpretation of the analytical results requires a thorough understanding of late 19th-century ink manufacturing. Our labo- ratory had the unique opportunity to acquire a set of 90 historic ink bottles still containing ink. In this study, their chemical characterisation and the interpretation of these findings within the framework of ink manufacturing history are reported. Figure 1. Part of the historic ink bottle collection at the RCE. © Birgit Reissland 2 ICOM-CC We were particularly interested in the question of whether the ink reference 18th Triennial Conference 2017 Copenhagen collection reflected the late-19th- and early-20th-century landscape of ink production and in how far the reference inks could be of help in understanding ART TECHNOLOGICAL SOURCE RESEARCH EXPLORING THE LATE 19TH-CENTURY the studio practices of Van Gogh and other artists. The National Library of LANDSCAPE OF INK MANUFACTURING Norway owns a comparable collection of 40 ink bottles which is currently VIA A COLLECTION OF 90 BOTTLES under investigation (Palandri 2015, 49). The results are of relevance to the research, exhibition and conservation of ink-based artefacts. Table 1. RCE reference ink collection THE GOLDEN CENTURY OF INK PRODUCTION (1860–1960) (November 2016) In the 19th century, ink manufacture had to meet new requirements. The Country Manufacturer increasing number of people able to write required a scaling up of ink Austria Hardtmuth Belgium Bill Ink production and, as a result, this hitherto cottage industry was replaced G. Bouhon by commercial manufacture. The few traditional ink manufacturers with Renard roots in the 18th century were confronted with newcomers. Arnold, for Sidol instance, had to deal with Stephens, a serious rival, who even settled in France Antoine & Fils the same street, Aldersgate Street in London, in 1860. The number of ink Chavariber companies significantly increased in the mid-19th century (Table 2). Their Herbin founding fathers had quite different backgrounds. For instance, G.P. van Mathieu-Plessy Blommestein was the former director of the post office in Apeldoorn, Paillard Heinrich von Gimborn was a pharmacist and the teacher Neelmeijer started Pelletier his company by buying an ink recipe from Miss Meijer (De Indische Vervier Germany Tintenfabrik Eduard Beyer Courant 1927). Some well-known producers of stationary, such as Faber, Pelikan and art supplies, such as Winsor & Newton and Günther Wagner/Pelikan, Rotring extended their product range to produce ink as well, with the latter two Great Britain Arnold focusing on inks for artistic use. Ink manufacture had become an industry. Perry Stephens Table 2. Founding of ink companies in chronological order (this information is useful for Mabie, Todd & Co. Ltd. / Swan Ink assigning a terminus post quem) Winsor & Newton Year established Ink company Place Source Portugal Ferreira 1724 Arnold London Carvalho (1904, p. 208) Russia Chimili Odessa 1788 Paillard Paris Paillard (1929, advertisement) The Netherlands Van Blommestein Powalky N.V. 1818 Maynard & Noyes Boston Digger O’Dell Publications website Gimborn 1824 Thaddeus Davis New York Carvalho (1904, p. 209) Klutman est. 1826 / Leonhardi Dresden 1826: Leonhardi (1885, advertisement) Neelmeyer ink production 1854 1854: Dresdner Stadtteile website Sheaffer 1832 Stephens London Wild (2014, timeline) van Son 1840 Antoine Paris Antoine & Fils (1900, catalogue, p. 1) Talens 1842 Popp & Co Prague Drogisten Zeitung (15 Juli 1904) USA Carter 1855 Gimborn Emmerich Lable: “1855 Gimborn Blauw-Zwarte USA / French office Waterman Galnoten-Schrijfinkt” (Figure 6) 1856 Stafford New York Carvalho (1904, pp. 211–12) 1858 Carter Boston Carter’s Ink Company (1931, title page) 1858 Sanford Chicago Digger O’Dell Publications website 1866 Blommestein Powalky Apeldoorn Oud-Appeldoorn.nl website 1866 Verviers Belgium Lable: “Neos violette” 1868 van der Molen Geldern Nieuwsblad voor den boekhandel (5 November 1897, p. 453) 1869 Gardot Dijon Marques in Forum du CCOE 1872 Van Son Deventer Verf & Inkt (April 2013, pp. 30–1) 1880 Neelmeijer Apeldoorn Neelmeijer & Co. (advertisement) est. 1761 / Faber Stein Carvalho (1904, 211) ink production 1881 1899 Talens Apeldoorn Eskes 1989 3 ICOM-CC According to Carvalho, more than 300 ink companies existed in 19th-century 18th Triennial Conference 2017 Copenhagen America (Carvalho 1904, 208). He created a valuable list of 200 international companies (ibid., 215–16) containing well-known manufacturers, but ART TECHNOLOGICAL SOURCE RESEARCH EXPLORING THE LATE 19TH-CENTURY also many that disappeared over the years. Unfortunately, Carvalho did LANDSCAPE OF INK MANUFACTURING not indicate their country of origin, nor did he report which of these 200 VIA A COLLECTION OF 90 BOTTLES companies dominated the ink market. Schluttig and Neumann (1890), who tested a large variety of German inks, also did not reveal the names of the companies. To understand the ink market, advertisements are of great importance. While smaller ink companies preferred to advertise in local newspapers, large companies exported their products and advertised internationally. For instance, in 1872, van Dorp announced in the Java-Bode newspaper that he had received inks from Morrell, Brown, Mathieu-Plessy, Antoine & Fils, Guyot, and Leonhardi for sale in his stationary shop in Batavia (Java-Bode, 25 May 1872; Figure 2a). Four years later, he also sold inks by Stephens and Gimborn (Figure 2b). This advertisement is a typical example of stationary suppliers or book sellers promoting the inks they have in stock. Another indication of the significance of ink companies in the 19th century is their participation in the Great Exhibitions. Companies like Antoine & Fils, Mathieu-Plessy, Herbin, Neelmeijer, Talens and Wagner/Pelikan proudly included information about their prize-winning products in their catalogues, labels and advertisements. The competition was heavy and some ink companies merged. For instance, Neelmeijer was taken over by Talens (1924) and Gimborn by Pelikan Figure 2a. Inks imported to Batavia, advertisement by H.M. van Dorp, Java-Bode 5, (1931). The widening use of the ballpoint pen caused most ink factories May 1872 to close in the 1960s, marking the end of the golden century of industrial ink production. The world-famous French firm of Antoine & Fils closed its doors in 1960, as did the Dutch factories of Klutman in 1965 and Blommestein & Powalky in 1969. In the context of the large variety of 19th- and 20th-century ink companies, the number of ink manufacturers represented in our collection (31) is quite low. However, the major Dutch (Gimborn, Neelmeyer, Talens), Belgian (Renard, Bill Ink), French (Antoine & Fils, Mathieu-Plessy) and English (Stephens, Arnold, Perry, Winsor & Newton) companies are present. This is no surprise, because inks available today are an indicator of production scale. Manufacturers selling millions of bottles per year have a chance of surviving. Particularly relevant to the Van Gogh studies are the 19th- and early-20th-century Dutch and French inks. DATING INK BOTTLES The dating of ink bottles is important to envision the range of goods available to artists in a particular period and crucial to interpret the analytical results. Advertisements and catalogues show that customers could either purchase ink in a stoneware jar or in a glass bottle. Both materials are functional, because they do not react with the ink. In glass bottles, the colour and consistency of the ink were easily discernible. In stoneware jars, the ink Figure 2b. Inks imported to Batavia, advertisement by H.M. van Dorp, Java-Bode 5, was kept away from light exposure. The same ink was sold in different September 1876 quantities, usually in 1/1, 1/2, 1/4, 1/8 or 1/16 litre bottles, or quart, pint, 4 ICOM-CC half-pint, 4 oz. or 2 1/2 oz. bottles (Figure 3). Large bottles were intended 18th Triennial Conference 2017 Copenhagen for schools or offices where many ink containers were to be filled; smaller bottles were for personal use. Small glass bottles came in a large variety ART TECHNOLOGICAL SOURCE RESEARCH EXPLORING THE LATE 19TH-CENTURY of colours and shapes.