This section is from the "Henley's Twentieth Century Formulas Recipes Processes" encyclopedia, by Norman W. Henley and others.
Take 240 parts subacetate of copper, 120 parts oxide of zinc in powder form, 60 parts borax, 60 parts saltpeter, and 3.5 parts corrosive sublimate. Prepare a paste from it with oil, stir together, and continue working with boiled linseed oil and turpentine.
Dissolve 120 parts sulphate of copper and add 120 parts chipping of tin; stir well and gather the precipitating copper. After complete drying, grind very finely in boiled linseed oil and turpentine.
Melt in a crucible 60 parts sulphur and 60 parts stannic acid; stir with a clay tube until the mixture takes on the appearance of Dutch gold and pour out. When cold mix the color with boiled linseed oil and turpentine, adding a small quantity of drier. These three bronzes must be covered with a pale, resistant
lacquer, otherwise they will soon tarnish in rooms where gas is burned.
To produce a Florentine bronzing, apply to the articles, which must have previously been dipped, a varnish composed of cherry gum lac dissolved in alcohol. This varnish is put on with a brush, and after that the bronzed piece is passed through the stove.
If the article is of brass it must be given a coat of copper by means of the battery. Next dip a brush in olive oil and brush the piece uniformly, let dry for 5 or 6 hours and place in sawdust. Then heat the article on a moderate charcoal dust fire.
French bronze may be prepared by reducing to a powder hematite, 5 parts, and plumbago, 8 parts, and mixing into a paste with spirit of wine. Apply the composition with a soft brush to the article to be bronzed and set it aside for some hours. By polishing with a tolerably hard brush the article will assume the beautiful appearance of real bronze. The desired tint may be regulated by the proportions of the ingredients.