History

History of water marbling

Due to time constraints I don't have time to do a comprehensive summary of this history. However, I have tried to provide supplemental materials so that you can learn.

Marbling is somewhat hard to define concretely, due to a long history and a wide variety of practitioners. One particularly insufferable human defined it as

is an art which consists in the production of certain patterns and effects, by means of colors so prepared as to float upon a preparation of mucillaginous liquid, possessing certain antagonistic properties to the colors prepared for the purpose, and which colors when so prepared, floated, and formed into patterns upon the surface of the liquid, are taken off by laying thereon a piece or sheet of paper, or dipping therein the smoothly cut edges of a book.

From this book

This definition deserves to be shoved into a locker after you take its lunch money, but the simplest description is as follows: add ink to water that's been treated so the ink will float, swish the ink around, then apply to paper.

Despite such a simple description, its history is long and complex. It is known that paper marbling was done in japan more than a thousand years ago, and that this tradition has continued in the art of Suminagashi. It's rather sad to me that as a stationary nerd (it would be reasonable to say that I too should be shoved in a locker because of this), nearly all of the information that I've read about marbling has focused on the evolution of the art form as applied to bookbinding in Europe after papers from the Middle East and China were brought to europe. As such, I'm going to ignore sources that focus on that portion of the history.

The other source on history that I would love for you to read is in this Extremely Legal^TM copy of a book on marbling. link to "book"