Important: Safety Warning
This page describes trade processes that use dangerously toxic materials such as cyanide solutions, mercury amalgams, or strong acids. These processes require training, equipment, and precautions far beyond what the text describes.
This information has been left in for historical purposes but should not be acted upon.
Ebony-Black
Steep the wood for two or three days in lukewarm water, in which a little alum has been dissolved; then put a handful of logwood, cut small, into a pint of water, and boil it down to less than half a pint. If a little indigo is added, the colour will be more beautiful. Spread a layer of this liquor quite hot on the wood with a pencil, which will give it a violet colour. When it is dry, spread on another layer; dry it again, and give it a third: then boil verdigris at discretion in its own vinegar, and spread a layer of it on the wood: when it is dry, rub it with a brush, and then with oiled chamois skin. This gives a fine black, and imitates perfectly the colour of ebony.