第46章

"The more I looked into the subject, the more I became convinced that the whole subject of ink was one upon which the persons using it were comparatively ignorant. Consultation with experts satisfied me that good inks were being injured by improper treatment; that the custom of mixing inks and of adding water to them was unsafe; and that among the inks reported as in use upon the records there were many manufactured for commercial uses which should not be used upon records, and which the manufacturers would say were not intended for record inks. I therefore sent to the manufacturers of the inks reported as in use by the recording officers, and to some others, the following letter and inquiries:

" 'The fading of much of the ink used in records of comparatively recent date, while as a rule the records of two hundred years ago are as legible as when written, establishes the fact that for permanent qualities much of the modern ink is inferior to the ancient, and that inks are used that are unfit for making a record which should stand for all time.

" 'I am led to believe that most ink in manufacturers make inks which are good for commercial and other uses where there is no desire for a permanent record, but which they would not recommend for use where the important object was the permanency of the record. One of the dangers to which our records are exposed can be obviated by the use of proper inks; and I desire to obtain the opinion of the leading manufacturers on the subject, that Imay advise the recording officers of the State what are, and what are not, safe inks to use for records.

" 'I shall esteem it a favor, therefore, if you will answer the enclosed questions, and return them at your convenience. Your reply will be treated as confidential as far as names are concerned, except in the answer to question No. 5, and that will not be printed if you so request. Any general opinion which will aid the recording officers in their selection of ink or paper will be welcomed.

" '1. Do you consider it safe to use for a permanent record aniline inks?

" '2. Do you consider it safe to use for a record logwood inks?

" '3. Do your consider nut-gall and iron inks absolutely safe for a permanent record?

" '4. Do you consider carbon ink the only permanent ink?

" '5. What inks of your manufacture would you advise against using for a permanent record?

" '6. Do you advise generally against the inks known as writing fluids, when permanency is the first requisition?

" '7. Do you manufacture a writing fluid?

" '8. Do you consider it safe to add water to ink intended for permanent record, which has grown thick by exposure to the air?

" '9. Do you believe that the obliteration of ink is ever due to the chemicals left in the paper?

(This question has been asked of the paper manufacturers also.)" '10. Do you consider it safe to mix inks without knowing to what chemical group the inks so mixed belong?'

"Replies were received from twenty-two manufacturers. Several of the inks in the market, though bearing the name of certain persons, were found to be manufactured for them by manufacturers who had already answered the questions.

Their replies were, therefore, not considered.

"To the first question, 'Do you consider it safe to use for a permanent record aniline inks!' the unanimous answer was decidedly no. Aniline black is absolutely permanent, but as it is not yet known how to render it soluble in water, it has not been much used in ink.

"To the inquiry in regard to logwood inks, nearly all answered no, and most of those who did not qualified their answers to such an extent as to imply distrust.

"Upon the question of the permanency of nut-gall and iron inks, the answers were more varied; one answering no, and four answering directly yes, the remaining answers being in brief that such inks were permanent if properly made.

"To the question, 'Do you consider carbon ink the only permanent ink?' the answers were varied and contradictory. Most of the manufacturers said a carbon ink could not be permanent, because carbon was insoluble; and some said that no chemical union could exist between carbon and the other ingredients in ink. Others claimed that carbon was the one permanent color, and cited the old Indian and Chinese inks which have stood for centuries as illustrations of its permanency. These statements were so widely different that I pursued the inquiry further, and found it was conceded that, if a process could be discovered by which carbon could be dissolved and made to retain its color, no known substance would make so permanent an ink;but that there was no such process, and in the inks now made the carbon was simply held in suspension in the ink without any chemical union; but Ifound also that improvement has been made, and that it is possible to combine the carbon with chemicals which will cause the carbon to embody itself.

More than ordinary care should, however, be exercised in the purchase of carbon inks, for the lack of chemical union would cause a tendency to precipitate the carbon if the ink were improperly made.

"The replies to the inquiry, 'Do you advise generally against the inks known as writing fluids, when permanency is the first requisition?' were in a way the most unsatisfactory, and savored somewhat of advertising. One manufacturer made no fluid, and had no opinion to express. Most of the others made fluids. Nine advised generally against their use; four recommended them in preference to ink; and the others either advised generally against them, but recommended their own, or qualified the answer in such a way as to throw doubt on them.

"The argument in their favor seems to be that their fluidity makes them permeate the paper, and, in the change of color which usually takes place after using, a dyeing of the paper results. The objections are, that to obtain the fluidity body must be sacrificed, and there is not enough substance deposited upon the paper. The objections made by two manufacturers of fluids I give in their own words.