Nonpareil- Part 1- The basics



One of the real cliches of marbling, this pattern of marbled paper, sometimes called "combed" has been produced form the earliest times till the present day. It has been produced in almost any colour combination,  width of comb, and degree of skill since then.
 So, what is a nonapreil? Well, It is any form of marbled paper whose final step is a combing, and that combing must be preceeded by a previous combing , which is carried out at right angles to the final one. The key here is in the first combing, and it's direction.

The materials:

Size:
Nonapreils need a size which is thin, but not watery. It has to be thin, or else the colours cannot pass through the comb. Neither should it be watery, as the colours would shift about and misbehave when they are combed.

Colours:
Nonpareils traditionally have 4-5 colours in them, but equally traditional ones have only two ( see blue nonpareil)

Comb: The comb in question is usually one with  0.5 cm spacing, but smaller and larger ones have been made. Nonpareils made with a large comb look good on large books, and vice versa.

The basic process of a nonpareil is this:

1- drop on any number of colours ( 2-3 is good for the beginner)
2- make a git-gel ( see--) along the length of the trough [ on small troughs, you can omit this step; and skip to 3 ]
3- on this git gel, make another, but this time, along the width of the trough
4- pass the comb along the width of the trough.

The resultng pattern, in all it's glory, is the nonpareil. Now, it is often printed as it is, but you can add extra decoration to the pattern.....

1- curled nonpareil.
 simply make curls over the nonpareil

2- double combed-
Draw a rake over the nonpareil. Occasionaly done.

There is also another method, slightly more advanced, Which, in my opinion, produces a somehat more pleasing paper. - see

marbling combs- Woolnough's method

The great 19thc. marbler, Charles woolnough, gave us in his book "the whole art of marbling " a method of making combs. The combs produced here can be made very fine indeed, and are of a superior class.
 To make the combs, you must take a, piece of paper as long as you intend to make the comb, and enogh needles to make the comb ( 2 needles per centimeter produce a very good comb)

1-Fold the paper in half.

2- Then,  fold the back the part you previously folded, about 4cm creating an "M" shape in the paper

3- Now, draw a line about 1 cm. from the edge. This line will be folded back to hold the needles in place later. Now, mark off sections on the line, where you want the needles to be.

Stick the needles into the paper, like so.

Once the whole comb has it's needles stuck into it, you fold back the margin of paper that you made in the third step, thus causing the needles to stick out, like a comb. 



Make sure that the needles are straight and stick out evenly form the paper.

( N.B you can make the blunt ends of the needles point outwards- it's your choice)

Usually, as this point, the comb would be secured with a strip of glued paper. However, There is a much more permanent method - HOT GLUE...

Cover a bar of wood in hot glue, and stick the comb in it.

Once the glue has solidified, you can pull the paper away, to reveal a very good comb

Combs for marbling

A pair of combs ( L and R), and a rake ( center)

A comb, as its name implies, is a series of wires, set at equal distances to each other, in a piece of pasteboard or wood, like a comb used for hair. A rake is essentially a comb in which the teeth are spaced more than an inch apart. The combs and rakes are essential for the making of some patterns.

There are several methods of making combs. Here is the method I use;

You would need a piece of cardboard, about the thickness used for book covers ( A) , & hairpins ( B)

after marking off the sections between the teeth , slot the hairpins into the piece of cardboard , along the markings, like so;

another view

Repeat the process along the length of the cardboard.



Then,making sureb that all the needles are alagined properly, and all protrude the same distance,  tape the structure with duct tape to secure it.