¶To lay a double syse on letters, or upon other thinges
you
The art of limming. 3 [r]
You shall with a pencill made of gray annys, or calliber tailes Iay on thy syse somewhat substancially, or if thou wilt first thinne, and after thicker and then drie it, & when it is drye wet it lightly with thy spittle, and then shave it with a sharp knife, untill it be even without hils, & if there fall any default therein, or else there is more in one place then in another, lay agayne thy syse on it, and dry it & ingrosse it as is layd before, & when it ingrossed & made plain, then burnish it with the tooth of a calfe, of an ore, or of an horse that is made therefore standing in a crooked stick, and when it is burnished and made even and shining then is it ready to lay on it thy gold or thy silver.
To lay gold or silver on syse.
First cut the leaves of gold or Silver in peeces with a sharpe knife, or a knife made of a greate reede uppon a little bord as broad as a trencher covered with a calves skin rayled or understuffed with wooll or flore or else unstuffed, then shalt thou with a pensill weat lightly on thy mouth weat thy syse, so it be a little moyst, and then weat thy pensill agayne in the mouth on the same wise, and touche thy gold or silver that thou hast cutte by a corner lightly, and laye it on thy syse, before made a little, moyst, and then thou shalt take the tayle of an hare, of a conney, or a peece of cotten, & lightly presse it down on thy syse, & when thou hast thus done, let it dry until it be well dryed, then burnish it: for if thou shalte burnishe it weate thou shalt rubbe of all, and when it is well dryed, take the tuske that thou doest burnish with and dry it and heat it well on thy cheeke, then burnish thy golde first softly, and then harder until it shine, but burnish it notover long, for dreade of appayring. And when thou, haste well burnished it, then take a white woolen cloth or an
hares
The art of limming [3v]
hares foote, and rubbe all away, save it which cleaveth to the sise, & if ther be any place faultie, so that the gold faile for drynesse of the sise, then weat it agayne and lay on the golde, and dry it and burnish it as you did before.
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