Red lead

“ For because red Lead appears red when illuminated with white Light, wherein all sorts of Rays are equally mix'd, and in the green Light all sorts of Rays are not equally mix'd, the Excess of the yellow-making, green-making and blue-making Rays in the incident green Light, will cause those Rays to abound so much in the reflected Light, as to draw the Colour from red towards their Colour. ”

“ Red Lead, or Minium, is a mineral substance of red colour, used for painting, and made, by a tedious and troublesome process, from massicot. For this purpose the massicot is ground to a fine powder, put into a furnace, and constantly stirred, whilst the flame of the burning coals plays against its surface for about forty-eight hours, when it is converted into a red powder, which is the article under consideration. It is subsequently passed through very fine iron sieves. The use of red lead as a pigment is well known ”

“ Brunswick Green, Carmine, Chrome Yellow, Cobalt, Gamboge, Indian Red, Indigo, Ivory Black, Lamp Black, Ochre, Orange Chrome, Orpiment, Prussian Blue, Red Lead, Scheele’s Green, Smalts, Umber, Ultramarine, Verdigris, Vermilion, Yellow Ochre, Zaffre, Zinc White, White Lead.— (Red and white lead are used for lutes as well as for pigments, red lead too is largely consumed in the manufacture of flint glass) . Brass founding, tin plate works, japanning, bedsteads, lithography, brush works, coach and carriage works, buttons, ammunition works, cycles, art metal work. ”

“ Permalba White—A fine opaque white for artists, etc. Contains neither lead or zinc. Can safely be mixed with ultramarine and all other pigments. A product of an American manufacturer.
Red Lead—Used on iron prevents rust. Is an inexpensive product of lead, largely used as barn paint. Possesses good covering qualities.
Rose Madder or Madder Lake—A beautiful transparent rose color of a clove or flesh pink hue. Alizarin, a coal tar product, now affords a better substitute than the original pigment obtained from the madder plant. ”

“ A red color has sometimes been observed in white lead, and has been formerly attributed to the presence of silver. German investigations have recently shown that this is incorrect, and that the red tinge is due to defects in manufacture. ”

“ A dull orange red produced by mixing two parts of black, three of red, one of orange, and a little yellow.
Flesh Color. One hundred and twenty parts white lead, two parts yellow ochre, and one part Venetian red will produce an excellent flesh color. Or mix eight parts of white lead, two parts of orange chrome yellow, and one part of light Venetian red. An increased proportion of red may be employed where desired. ”

“ Orange Lead. A very bright and powerful red, sold in powder; requires only to be plunged in water to be ready for use.
Vermilion. A fine red, sold in powder, and only requires to be plunged in water. ”

“ Red glass only lets the red rays through and cuts off all the rest. How could it help being a lot fainter? And, what's more, red doesn't excite the nerves of the eye as much as white does, so that if there were two lights of equal power, one red and one white, the red would be less easily seen. ”

“ It is, however, more congenial with yellow than with blue, and thence partakes more of the character of the former in its effects of warmth, the influence of light and distance, and action on the eye, by which the power of vision is diminished on viewing this colour in a strong light. On the other hand, red appears to deepen in colour rapidly in a declining light as night comes on, or in shade. These qualities of red give it great importance, render it difficult of management, and require it to be generally kept subordinate in painting. ”

“ Red breaks and diffuses with white with peculiar loveliness. It is discordant when standing with orange only, requiring to be joined or accompanied by their proper contrast, to resolve or harmonize the dissonance. In landscapes, &c., abounding with hues allied to green, a red object properly placed as regards light, shade, or distance, conduces wonderfully to the life, beauty, harmony, and connexion of the colouring. Red is, indeed, the chief element of beauty in floral nature, the prime ornament of the green garb of the vegetal kingdom. ”

“ But all reds have something human, even the most luminous scarlets and crimsons—the scarlet verbena, the poppy, our garden geraniums, etc.—although in intensity they so greatly surpass the brightest colour of the lips and the most vivid blush on the cheek. Luminous reds are not, however, confined to lips and cheeks: even the fingers when held up before the eyes to the sun or to fire-light show a very delicate and beautiful red ”

“ There is a certain majesty and power in the colour of red which, when seen in large fields, impresses the mind. But no one who has not seen vast masses of red all around in every direction above (in leafy foliage) , below in the ruddy, as it were, blood-stained turf, around—in vegetation of quaint forms, but of crimson hue, can realise the inexpressible gorgeousness of this spectacle—a field of peonies or other red flowers would very feebly represent it, for these red flowers of earth have green leaves, and ours have pale and delicate tints ”

“ The red stars have been described by various observers as resembling 'a drop of blood on a black field,' 'most magnificent copper-red,' 'most intense blood-red,' and 'glowing like a live coal out of the darkness of space.' Some people see them as a shining red, like that of a glowing cloud at sunset. Therefore there can be no doubt that the colours are genuine enough, and are telling us some message. ”

“ There is yet another sort of fire which mingles with the moisture of the eye without flashing, and produces a colour like blood—to this we give the name of red. A bright element mingling with red and white produces a colour which we call auburn. The law of proportion, however, according to which compound colours are formed, cannot be determined scientifically or even probably. Red, when mingled with black and white, gives a purple hue, which becomes umber when the colours are burnt and there is a larger admixture of black. ”

“ The American red-bud is a joy in the spring about dogwood time, for it is all bloom, and of a most striking [Pg 203] color. Deep pink, or purplish light red, or clear bright magenta—all these color names fit it approximately only. One is conscious of a warm glow in looking toward the little trees, with every branch clear down to the main stem not only outlined but covered with richest color. ”

“ RED ILLUSIONS UNDER GLASS Life as green illusion - the cool fronds of the fern are deep set in firmest soil and the grassy narrows brook a silent, liquid play. Red illusions under glass - quietly picking strawberries where a woman hums to the buzz of flies with the afternoon sun disappearing overhead. Each grasp of the berry a red stain, the darting of seeds, crimson tendrils do confuse the eye with a polka dot starling raucous in glee above. ”

“ Crystals that ranged in color from deep, unfathomable red to emerald green danced before me. As though fighting for some control of a color-world the reds began to seep through into the blues and the greens.
They suddenly merged into one solid color—the deep, unfathomable infra-red of the spectrum. The suddenness of the change caused my whole system to react in a terrific shudder. Remembering the scientist's words, I clenched my teeth for control over myself. Now I leaned forward tensely. Objects were slowly shaping themselves from the masses. It was the Red World! ”

“ The principal red pigments are carmine, vermilion, chrome red, scarlet lake, madder lake, light red, burnt sienna, for yellow reds; and Venetian red, Indian red, crimson lake, for blue reds. Red, in Christian art, represented by the ruby, signified fire, divine love, the Holy Spirit, heat or the creative power, and royalty. In a bad sense, red signified blood, war, hatred, and punishment. Red and black combined were the colours of purgatory and the devil. (See Realgar, Indigo.)
Red Chalk or Reddle is a mixture of clay and red iron OCHRE, used as a crayon in drawing. (See Ochre.) ”

“ It was small compared to the rest of the comet, but of such an intensity that against its light the rest was as shadow. Red is a terrible color; but this red had the terror of hell!
“ 'It seemed to be living; like the evil eye of some magnetic devil, winking, blinking, and shooting red fire into the onrushing coma. Great wreaths of hot splendor shot out from its rim, one upon another, a whirling, blinding, dazzle of spasmodic ascending glory. ”

“ Perhaps when we read of the turmoil that is constantly disturbing our southern border, we may think that the Indians had a knowledge of the real meaning of red when they made the totem of the south a red mountain. Red is the ruling color, the king of color, the dominant color, the strong color, and symbolizes the blossoming of plants and is the color of berries and fruit. Red tints the spring leaves and stains the fall leaf. In the spring the thickets and tree trunks are tinged with red ”

“ If we look hard at bright green, we tire the green-seeing nerves, and things look red-blue, which is purple. An eye tired of blue, sees yellow.
The curious thing about this is that about one man in thirty and one woman in three hundred is “born tired” to red. Such persons are said to be red blind. Otherwise they can see as well as anybody; but red things do not look colored at all. None of us can see red far round to the side out of the corner of the eye, as well as we can see green and blue. Color-blind persons have the corner of the eye all the way across, and cannot see red anywhere. ”

“ First, because it conveys this notion of filling the world with one private folly; and secondly, because of the profound idea involved in the choice of colour. Red is the most joyful and dreadful thing in the physical universe; it is the fiercest note, it is the highest light, it is the place where the walls of this world of ours wear thinnest and something beyond burns through. It glows in the blood which sustains and in the fire which destroys us, in the roses of our romance and in the awful cup of our religion. ”

“ We are familiar with the effects of red which are stimulating, exciting, or irritating. The toreador, recognizing this principle, waves a flaming red mantle before the bull. Blue has an exactly opposite effect. It quiets and soothes, and when it runs into violet, it becomes depressing. Experiment with purple lights and you will find that they give a note of gloom, mystery, or of impending disaster. Yellow is the color that brings gaiety and light-heartedness, as you will recall when you contrast your own feelings on a sunshiny day and on a gray day. ”

“ Those who are red-blind do not see the red end of the spectrum, and the blue-green appears grey, though they have distinct colour vision of the parts of the spectrum on either side of the blue-green. In matching red with a green, they put a bright red with a dark green. ”

“ The head and forelegs of the robe typify that part of the earth whence rises the god of day to take his westward journey. Red is the color of the day when it is young, the time when you will rise and go forth to prepare food for the little one whose tender life is wholly dependent upon your efforts. ”

“ They have, therefore, been formed according to the laws of light; for colours are, without doubt, the legitimate developments of light. Red, as being the solar, or fire colour, ranks parallel with oxygen; the more powerful indeed the combustion, the more powerful is the oxidation, and by so much redder the flame. Matter also becomes red through oxidation. The red vanishes lastly into white, and thus the highest oxidation is white. Red is the warmest colour, and blue the coldest. Red retains its presence to the eye at a far greater distance than blue and green ”

“ The laws for this are founded on the peculiarity of the power of man's vision. The eye, demands to be satisfied, an accord of primary colors. Red requires to annihilate one sided irritation the two primary colors, yellow and blue. The secondary green is obtained by a combination of yellow and blue, for that reason green is the color demanded by red to please the eye. But there must be a contrast of colors, for instance light red and dark green or dark red and light green must be brought together. ”

“ Burl caught the flash of the, flames upon two great iridescent spots upon the wide-spread wings. Shining purple and vivid red, the glow of opal and the sheen of pearl, all the glory of chalcedony and of chrysoprase formed a single wonder in the red glare of burning fungus. White smoke compassed the great moth all about, dimming the radiance of its gorgeous dress. ”

“ Then, as the seconds fly, the dull glow manifests a deep dark red color, such as one notices in the iron of the blacksmith's shop, soon after it begins to "glow." Then, on and on, as the seconds fly, the deep red grows lighter and brighter, gradually changing into orange, then into yellow, then into green, then into blue, then into indigo, then into violet, and then into the color of "white-heat." ”

“ Thus, to the colour-blind person many shades of dark blue, dark red, dark green and brown are to be grouped indiscriminately among the blacks. The pure blues and pure yellows they see as we see them; it is the reds, and the combinations of colour into which the reds enter, to which they appear wholly insensible, or insensitive. The reason, though not the explanation, of this shortcoming is readily demonstrable by way of the prism. ”

“ All colors of red were red. Black was black, and brown was just plain brown until it became yellow, when it was no longer brown. Purple he had always imagined was red, something like blood, until she taught him better. Once they rode out on a high hill brow where wind-blown poppies blazed about their horses' knees, and she was in an ecstasy over the lines of the many distances. ”

“ The extreme red: a ray which can only be discovered when the eye is protected from the glare of the other rays by a cobalt blue glass, is of a crimson character—a mixture of the red and the blue, red predominating. ”