nonpareil marble
A marble pattern consisting or red, black, yellow,
blue, and buff, executed on a size of gum
tragacanth. The red is dropped first so as to
cover the entire surface of the size, followed by
the black, yellow, blue, and buff. A peg rake the
length of the trough is drawn across the surface,
followed by a fine comb drawn from left to right
across the width of the trough. The paper is then
laid on. The reversed nonpareil is executed in the
same manner except that the comb is drawn from
left to right and then back again.
The nonpareil marble represents a revival of the
early comb pattern. It came into use in about 1838
and was used throughout the middle of the 19th
century for endpapers and later for cover papers
on all classes of stationery bindings. It was also
used for edge marbling from about 1840 to the
1920s when edge marbling virtually went out of
existence. Nonpareil marbles were less artistic
than the earlier combs, and, although executed by
hand, suffered from a sort of mechanical
appearance. (217 ,
236 , 369 )
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