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Reproducing brasses and incised slabs
Brass rubbing
Brasses
Most brasses can be rubbed without causing damage to the brass itself. The exception is floor-set brasses where the pitch that helps secure the brass to the stone has perished, leaving a space between the brass and the stone. This condition can be detected by tapping the brass in various surfaces and listening for a 'hollow' sound. Brasses in this condition should not be rubbed, because the pressure of rubbing causes the brass plate to flex, stressing the metal and eventually leading to cracking of the brass plate.
If you do find a brass that is coming loose please report this to:
Mr H.M. Stuchfield F.S.A.
Hon. Secretary, MBS
Lowe Hill House
Stratford St Mary
Suffolk CO7 6JX
or e-mail martin.stuchfield@intercitygroup.co.uk
Incised slabs
Greater caution should be exercised when taking a copy of incised slabs. Only attempt to take a rubbing or dabbing when the entire surface of the slab is in sound condition. If the surrounding floor or wall is damp, the surface of the slab may be crumbling or flaking away or may be damaged by surface salts. In these conditions the lightest pressure of rubbing or dabbing can easily cause the worst affected parts of the surface to break away, causing irreparable damage to the slab. The only feasible method of making a satisfactory record of slabs with unstable surfaces without damaging them is photography.
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To rub a brass you will need the following items:
 | Paper; a roll of strong but not thick paper, which will not yellow with age. The best is all-rag detail paper, available in a variety of widths and lengths. |
| Wax 'Astral' heelball, available in sticks and hand-sized cakes, is best, though other waxes can also be used. Most people use black heelball on white paper, though rubbings in coloured waxes on white paper or metallic gold and silver waxes on black paper also produce attractive rubbings. |
| Masking tape Available from hardware stores, this is used to secure the paper to the stone. Alternatives, such as sellotape, are ineffective and can cause damage. |
| Scissors |
| Duster |
| Soft brush |
| Dustpan |
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To rub a brass:
Click here
to see illustrations of the steps below
- Find a brass The most comprehensive list of brasses is Mill
Stephenson, A List of Monumental Brasses in the British Isles (1926,
reprinted 1964), available in most reference libraries.
Seek permission to rub from the incumbent (for contact details look
up Crockford's Clerical Directory, available in most reference
libraries). Book an appointment to avoid clashing with church services and
other church activities. Most churches allow rubbing, normally on payment of
a fee or a donation to the church fabric fund. Some churches provide resin facsimiles
of brasses for rubbing; where available these should always be used except
for rubbings for historical records - your
rubbings will be just as good as one taken from the brass.
- Assemble your brass rubbing kit of paper, heelball, masking tape, scissors, soft brush, dustpan and duster. Remove your shoes and any other hard object that might scratch the brass.
- Clean the brass Kneel, by the side of the brass not on it, and carefully brush any grit or other debris from the brass and the surrounding stone. If the brass is not cleaned properly, grit may damage the brass and tear the paper, spoiling your rubbing.
- Dust the brass with your duster to remove any remaining dust or grit.
- Cut a length of paper, leaving a reasonable margin at top and
bottom.
- Stick the paper to the stone. The paper must be taughtly fixed to the stone or wall, with no wrinkles. Secure the paper at the top and roll it down. Stick it on one side, with strips of masking tape every 6-8 inches, positioned at a downward angle. Make sure the paper is stretched tightly, them stick the other side and bottom of the paper.
- Stretch the paper If the church floor or wall surrounding the brass is damp, the paper will stretch more than usual and could cause your rubbing to be blurred. To avoid this problem, fix the paper initially with fewer pieces of tape, then leave it for 20 minutes, stretch the paper tight and re-fix it with tape every 6-8 inches.
- Outline the composition with your fingers so the edges of the brass plates stand out and you avoid inadvertently rubbing over them. If rivets are protruding they may cause tears in your rubbing. Make small holes in the paper to enable it to lie flat on the brass. The holes can easily be repaired from the back when your rubbing is complete.
- Rub with the heelball beginning at the top of the brass. Hold the heelball fairly flat in one hand and with the other hand make an L shape by stretching out the thumb and laying the palm flat on the paper. By rubbing within the outstretched hand it is easier to control the length of the strokes. Try to rub in one direction only (preferably up and down, following the main lines of the engraving) and aim for an even finish.
- Avoid going over the edges by leaving them until you have rubbed the central adjoining part. By positioning a piece of cardboard by the edge of the brass you can avoid making unwanted marks.
- Work systematically, finishing each section in turn; the paper may stretch under the pressure of rubbing so that if you return to a section to touch it up, blurring may occur. If the engraved lines are deep, rub hard to get a jet black finish, but if the brass is worn a better reproduction is achieved by rubbing more gently and aiming for a grey finish.
- Finish the rubbing by checking carefully that you have rubbed all parts of the composition and have rubbed right to the edges of the plates.
- Remove the paper from the slab Ease the tape from the outside, taking care not to tear the paper. If any of the brass has been obscured by the
tape. Take off the piece of tape and rub where it has been.
- Take the tape off the paper, by easing up the inner edge and peeling away in an outwards direction to avoid tearing.
- Polish the rubbing by gently buffing with a soft duster.
- Clear up by sweeping up any flakes of heelball and scraps of paper of tape.
Admire your completed rubbing.
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The method outlined above makes 'negative rubbings' in which the surface of the brass is coloured black, gold or whatever colour is chosen and the engraved lines are left white. 'Positive rubbings', which in which the lines are black with the surface left white, provide an excellent base for the application of decorative colour for heraldic dress or shields of arms. To achieve this follow the procedure for negative rubbings above. Then when you get home rub over the surface of the rubbing with a rag soaked in waterproof black ink. It will colour the paper only on the
un-waxed lines of the engraving. Clean off excess with kitchen roll. When the ink is dry, rub over again with a rag soaked in paraffin to dissolve the heel ball. The rubbing can then be coloured at choice and if necessary the black lines touched up.
This is the best way of recording incised slabs and is particularly effective in recording alabaster slabs which retain coloured mastic in the lines. The details of the composition are best brought out with the help of a florescent light source positioned at a low angle so that the incised lines are shadowed.
Brasses can also be photographed, but great care must be taken to ensure that the brass is evenly lit, ideally using photoflood sources. The use of a camera-mounted flash is inadvisable, since reflections often mar part of the photograph.
For detailed advice on photographing brasses read:
M. Norris and M. Kellett Your Book of Brasses (London, 1974), pages 59-64.
This is particularly effective for brasses which are worn or finely engraved.
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To dab a brass you will need the following kit:
| Paper Tissue paper is best, but thin detail paper can also be used. |
| Dabber Take a ball of cotton wool about the size of a fist and place it on a piece of
chamois leather, then secure the leather tightly round the ball. |
| Powdered graphite Available from art supplies shops. |
| Linseed oil Available from hardware stores. An alternative is a good quality salad oil. |
| Fixative spray Available from art supplies shops. |
| Two pieces of cardboard or hardboard about a foot square |
| Palette knife |
| Masking tape |
| Scissors |
| Duster |
| Soft brush |
| Dustpan |
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1. Prepare the dabbing medium by mixing oil and graphite to a stiff paste with a palette knife on one piece of cardboard.
2. Fix the paper as described in steps 1-7 of the brass rubbing instructions above.
3. Dip the dabber into the paste Wipe off any surplus onto the second piece of cardboard.
4. Press the dabber onto the paper Avoid any rubbing movement as this will stretch the paper. Work systematically covering the whole brass and recharging the dabber with paste as necessary.
5. Fix the dabbing with the fixative spray to avoid smudges
(optional).
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You may be able to find heelball and brass rubbing detail paper in good art supplies shops. Alternatively they are available
by post at the following prices:
Heelball
At present there is no known supplier of Astral heelball. As and when the
situation changes, the website will be updated.
Several brands of a reasonable substitute wax are available from a mail order
firm, Whitewinds. The wax that is recommended is the Cirencester Brand -slightly
harder than Astral but produces superb results. They sell many other items for
brass rubbers, including paper. Contact details:
Whitewinds
Geuffos Farm, Bryn Dulas Road,
Llanddulas,
Abergele LL22 8NA
Tel: 0044 (0)1492 516644
Fax: 0044 (0)1492 516561
www.whitewinds.co.uk
Email: greenwood@whitewinds.co.uk
Paper
Whitewinds (contact details above) sell brass rubbing paper in widths of
36ins, 33 ins. and 22 ins.
Black brass rubbing paper is available from:
"The Brush and Compass"
Graphic and fine art materials shop
14 Broad Street
Oxford OX1 3AS
Telephone 01865 246481.
As of early June 2003 they have in stock C300
detail paper, 53 gm2, 841 x 25 m. re-order ref RS000162 from 'Royal Sovereign'
at the new improved price of £18.69.
All rag white brass rubbing detail paper is getting harder to find and
supplies appear erratic. Two other suppliers who have had such paper
recently are:
Broad Canvas of Oxford (telephone 01865 244025; the contacts are Joan or
Peter),
reported price £9.45 plus VAT for a 10 yard roll of 30 inch white paper.
The Paper House
19A Greengate St
Stafford
01785 212953
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There are a number of collections of rubbings of brasses, many of which contain rubbings of lost brasses and rubbings of brasses which have since been mutilated.
The most complete collections of brass rubbings are held at:
| The Society of Antiquaries of London. |
| Cambridge University Library. |
| Ashmolean Library, Oxford. |
| British Library. |
| Victoria and Albert Museum. |
The only national collection of rubbings and dabbings of incised slabs is held in the Library of the Society of Antiquaries of London.
In addition, the Monumental Brass Society is setting up The Malcolm Norris
Research Centre at the University of Birmingham Library, which will contain a collection of brass rubbings, as well as other items relating to the MBS and brasses.
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