In the "Natural History" of Pliny the Elder, book 11 chapter 94, Pliny says that "From the hides of oxen, and that of the bull more especially, glue is extracted by boiling." The entirety of book 16 chapter 83 is on "Woods united with glue."
From http://swingleydev.com/ot/get/237392/thread/
XVIII. Glue made from Hide and Hartshorn
When this has been carefully dried, take some cuttings of the same hide similarly dried and cut them up in small pieces. Take some hartshorn and, with a smith’s hammer, break it up into small pieces on an anvil. Half fill a new pot with them and fill it up with water. Then heat until a third part of the water has evaporated, but taking care not to let it boil. You test it in this way: moisten your fingers in this water, and if, when they are cool, they stick together, the glue is good; but if not, heat it until they do stick together. Then pour this glue into a clean vessel, and again fill the pot with water and heat as before. Do this four times.
Oil of hartshorn is a crude animal oil obtained from the destructive distillation of the deers' bones or horns. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hartshorn
Theophilus (c.1122) "On Divers Arts" Translated from Latin by C.R. Dodwell to The Various Arts; published by Thomas Nelson and Sons, Ltd. in 1961.
CHAPTER CVIIII HOW GOAT GLUE IS MADE, AND HOW IT IS TEMPERED; AND HOW MANY PURPOSES IT WILL SERVE.
And there is a glue which is known as leaf glue; this is made of clippings of a goat’s muzzles, feet, sinews, and many clippings of skins. This glue is made in March or January, during those strong frosts or winds; and it is boiled with clear water until it is reduced to less than half. Then put it into certain flat dishes, like jelly molds or basins, straining it thoroughly, Let is tand overnight. Then, in the morning, cut it with a knife into slices like bread; put it on a mat to dry in the wind, out of the sunlight; and an ideal glue will result. This glue is used by painters, by saddlers, and by ever so many masters, as I shall show you later on. And it is good glue for wood, and for many things. […]
Cennini, Cennino d’Andrea (lived c. 1360–1427) "Il Libro Dell’Arte" The Craftsman’s Handbook, translated by Daniel V. Thompson, Jr. 1933 Dover Publications, NY (no publishing date, but after 1960).
186. How to make glue from the skin of an ox or a cote.
—Take the skin of an ox or a cow, as thick as you can find it, which has already been tanned for shoes, and put it in a jar and pour water upon it, and make it boil over the fire from daybreak on a summer's day until nearly the third hour of the day, pouring water into it when necessary, or, when it is much diminished, pour off the water, which has boiled so long, and pour in clean water, and make it boil again until the sixth hour. Then pour off this water, which will be nearly all evaporated, and again pour clean water into the jar over the same leather, and do not renew it more than once or twice more. And take great care not to let it boil over, and then, having boiled it down to one-third, pour it into a vase, and leave it to cool all that day and night. In the morning of the next day if it is coagulated in the vase, put your finger upon it. If any part of it remains sticking to your finger, you may know that it is not good, and may throw it away as refuse. Afterwards fill up the jar with water as before, in order to boil it with the leather ; and you must not fill it up any more, but take all possible care not to let it boil over. You will know when it is good by (after you have boiled it sufficiently and let it cool) putting your finger upon it as before, to see whether it is hard ; and the harder you find it, the better you may know it to be.
Afterwards putting a small portion of it into an earthen vase, set it on the coals and make it rather warm. Then, removing the vase from the fire, keep it at a moderate heat over a slow fire made of a few pieces of charcoal, lest it should be con S. AUDEMAR DE COLORIBUS FACIENDIS. 149 grossiores vero quae per pannum transpire non poterunt iterum in ipso mortario mitte et molle sicut antea feceras. Et 3emper minutiorem partem per pannum transpire facias sicut dictum est et repone cum similibus minutiis et sic postquam in mundissi- mum pulverem redegeris stannum protrahe super pergamenum et super pannum flores et imagines et quodcumque opus volu- cris. Et in ipso opera per loca que de aurare vel argenteare voles, pones v
Mrs Merriefield (1849) ORIGINAL TREATISES, DATING FROM THE XIIth TO XVIIIth CENTURIES in the ARTS OF PAINTING William Clowes & Sons. London
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A neat article on period glue as it pertains to modern wood working:
http://www.oldbrownglue.com/images/articles/Why_not_period_glue.pdf
A class handout with lots of background information on different period glues :
http://www.rocks4brains.com/glue.pdf
Great post. Thank you for sharing interesting information about Animal Glue. Keep up your posting.
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