A Note on the Early Use of Dammar Varnish

Author(s): Lance Mayer and Gay Myers

Source: Studies in Conservation, Vol. 47, No. 2 (2002), pp. 134-138
Published by: Taylor & Francis, Ltd. on behalf of the International Institute for
Conservation of Historic and Artistic Works
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A NOTE ON THE EARLY USE OF DAMMAR VARNISH

Lance Mayer and Gay Myers

Summary-Dammar varnish was introduced into Europe and America during the ninetee
chronology of its use in various countries is still imperfectly understood. New inform
manuscripts shows that dammar was used by painters in the United States by the m
century-one American painter wrote that dammar was 'much used in the United S
1860 it was available from at least three American colormen. The use of dammar may h
spread in the United States at this time than it was in Britain, perhaps because of
German and American painters.

Introduction

The material called 'dammar' is the product of a does not mention dammar, and recommends mastic
large sub-family of Asian trees, the Dipterocarpoideaedissolved in spirits of turpentine as the only accept-
[1]. Unlike mastic, which was used in Europe from able varnish for oil paintings [7].
very early times, dammar was not introduced into Two post-1845 American sources-the book
Europe until the nineteenth century. The date usually Hints to Young Painters by Thomas Sully
given for its first European use (in Germany) is 1827,(1783-1872) and the manuscript Notes of the
although its use in Germany may not have been Painting Room by Rembrandt Peale (1778-1860)-
widespread until some years later, and there was per-do mention dammar. Sully's Hints to Young
sistent confusion about the identity of the trees that Painters was published posthumously in 1873 and
produced the resin [2-4]. the preface states that Sully had compiled the infor-
In trying to understand the spread of informationmation for his book in 1851 but had revised it in
about the resin or resins called dammar, it is 1871. In Hints to Young Painters, Sully writes that
significant that Britain-which was so important he
in prefers mastic to egg varnish or copal,
transmitting information about art materials to
but the very best varnish I have met with is
the United States and other English-speaking
made of the gum de mar dissolved in spirits of
countries-does not appear to have adopted
turpentine. It preserves its gloss and trans-
dammar until many decades after its introduction
parency, is not given to mildew, is easily
in Germany. A sample from Turner's painting
removed from the surface of a picture and can
materials was analyzed and found to include
be applied without risk to freshly-painted
dammar [3], and it has been claimed that Winsor work. This varnish is much used in the United
& Newton sold dammar under the name 'crystal
States, and almost universally in Germany.
varnish' as early as the 1840s [2]. However, Leslie
Carlyle, who has studied British painting treatises Sully goes on to describe the high praise of 'Baron
and artists' suppliers, found that dammar was not Schroeder' (of whom more below) for 'the white
generally recommended in treatises nor advertised varnish, so generally employed in Germany' that
by name for sale to painters in Britain during the consists of 'gum de mar', spirits of turpentine, and
nineteenth century. In fact, Carlyle points out that calcined magnesia [8, pp. 23-24].
mastic varnish remained the overwhelming choice Rembrandt Peale mentions dammar in his
of British painters throughout the nineteenth unpublished manuscript Notes of the Paintin
century, and dammar only began to make inroads Room, which is not dated. However, Peale's man
into its primacy during the twentieth century [5, 6, script was most likely completed just prior to Ju
pp. 84-86]. of 1852, because a campaign to raise funds to pu
lish it-including testimonials from artists who
read the manuscript-was launched at that tim
The early use of dammar in the United States And it cannot have been completed prior to 18
because it cites the English translation of a book
The popular and much reprinted artists' handbook Hundertpfund that was published in that year
written by the American Laughton Osborn in 1845 Peale spells the word 'damar' as opposed to Sull
'de mar'. Peale speaks of the clarity and gloss o
Received January 2001 dammar varnish, and its superiority to mastic.

134 Studies in Conservation 47 (2002) 134-138

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A note on the early use of dammar varnish

refers to dammar not only as a final varnish, but nish, much used in Germany and called 'White
also as a painting medium [6, p. 308; 9, pp. 95-96, varnish'[.] The magnesia makes it dry. I have
119; 10; 11; 12, pp. 231ff, 305, 30n].1 tried it and am much pleased with it-particu-
We were able to find firmly datable references to larly with it drying quickly' [13, microfilm
the early use of dammar in America by studying the frame 210]
complex trail of unpublished manuscripts by
Over the next few years, and continuing sporadi-
Thomas Sully that led up to the posthumously pub-
cally into the 1860s, Sully recorded in his Hints for
lished book Hints to Young Painters. From 1809
Pictures notebook many experiments with dammar
until the year before his death, Sully kept a note-
varnish. Sully tried applying it in thin layers and
book, titled Hints for Pictures, in which he com-
applying it more thickly, and tried formulations
piled a lifetime of observations on technique,
with and without magnesia and other additives; he
including many recipes and accounts of experiments
used it both as a final varnish and as a painting
with painting materials [13]. Fortunately, a number medium. His initial enthusiasm about dammar was
of these entries are dated. A second Sully manu-
tempered by persistent problems with getting the
script, inscribed Memoirs of the Professional Life of
varnish to dry well, difficulties in obtaining an even
Thomas Sully [14], appears to be an effort to pare
gloss, and problems with the solvent in the varnish
down and organize the voluminous entries in his
affecting his paint if he varnished too soon [13,
notebook with an eye toward publication. Editors'
microfilm frames 231-232, 245-246, 248].
marks on the Memoirs indicate that publication was
Sully's Memoirs manuscript (the intermediate
contemplated in something close to this form.
stage between Sully's longer notebook and the much
However, the book that was eventually published as
shorter published book) sheds additional light on
Hints to Young Painters was drastically rearranged
the dating of the use of dammar. The sentence that
and is much shorter than the Memoirs manuscript.
was eventually printed in the book as 'This varnish
Again, fortunately for our purposes, the Memoirs
is much used in the United States, and almost uni-
manuscript is organized into three sections that are
versally in Germany' appears verbatim in the
clearly datable to 1851, 1858 and 1859.
Memoirs, in the section that can be firmly dated to
The story of Sully's first introduction to dammar
1851 [14, p. 17]. The testimony of Baron Schroeder
is told in the copious, dated notations in Sully's
also appears in the 1851 section of Memoirs,
1809-71 Hints for Pictures notebook. Although he
although in a slightly different form [14, p. 103].
spent most of his career in Philadelphia, Sully was
The Memoirs manuscript also resolves previous
in Richmond, Virginia in April of 1849, visiting his
confusion about the identity of the author of the
nephew Robert Sully (1803-55), who was also a
preface of the 1873 book Hints to Young Painters,
painter. Robert Sully was at that time engaged in
who was listed only as 'F. T. S. D.'. An inscription
experiments with painting materials, including clari-
on the Memoirs indicates that F.T.S. Darley, Sully's
fying linseed oil, making absorbent grounds, and
grandson, was a previous owner of the manuscript,
trying out new pigment mixtures for glazing. In the
and therefore is the likely writer of the preface [8,
midst of accounts of these experiments, Thomas
p. xv; 14, p. 1; 15].
Sully wrote:

Gum D. Mar-a tablespoonfull in a half pint

of spirits of turpentine, and half a teaspoonful
Availability of dammar varnish in the United
of calcined magnesia; makes an excellent var- States and elsewhere

'Rembrandt Peale's recipe for dammar varnish is simply

Sully does not mention where he first obtained the
dammar resin dissolved in spirits of turpentine. His
dammar vehicle involved evaporating a solution of dammar resin that he used beginning in April of
dammar in spirits of turpentine until it was the consis- 1849, although in context it is possible that he
tency of honey; this thickened dammar was then heated obtained it through his nephew Robert Sully in
and combined with two parts poppy oil (or a mixture of Richmond, Virginia. Robert Sully had a lively
poppy and nut oil). Peale says that the resulting medium interest in painting materials: in addition to the evi-
can be used with the copal vehicle-a medium of Peale's dence of his experiments in his uncle's notebook,
invention made by grinding poppy oil on a slab with as Robert Sully is mentioned several times as a corre-
much magnesium carbonate as would make a mixture
spondent having strong opinions about technical
having the consistency of paint, then adding an equal
quantity of copal varnish. Peale says that the copal vehicle matters in a manuscript notebook kept by the
can be used with all colors except white, to which the painter John Neagle (1796-1865) [16].
dammar vehicle alone should be added, implying that he Thomas Sully's reference to 'Baron Schroeder'
believed that the dammar vehicle would keep its color bet- seems to indicate that Schroeder was simply giving
ter. testimony to Sully about the worth of dammar var-

Studies in Conservation 47 (2002) 134-138 135

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 L. Mayer and G. Myers

nish, rather than supplying the resin itself. Questions It is somewhat surprising that Sully refers to
still remain about the exact identity of Baron dammar as being 'much used' in the United States
Schroeder. The editor of the 1965 reprint of Hints toin 1851, only two years after he himself learned
Young Painters believed that he was probably theabout it. Sully's manuscripts show a man who was
German painter Adolph Schroedter (1805-75) [8, p. preoccupied with materials and techniques: his
xiii-xv]. Thieme and Becker record that Adolphvoluminous notes prove that he read widely,
Schroedter considered emigrating to America in exchanged letters with many other painters about
1848, so he could possibly have been in contact withartists' materials, kept in touch with a number of
Americans at that time. However, he only traveleddifferent artists' suppliers, and in general seems to
as far as London before returning to Germany, andhave been as well-informed about artists' materials
there is no indication that he was a baron [17].2 as any artist in America at that time. In this con-
Additional circumstantial evidence in favor of nection, it is significant that the New York color-
Adolph Schroedter being 'Baron Schroeder' man is that and pigment manufacturer John P. Ridner
Adolph Schroedter was a prominent painter in does not mention dammar in a book that was pub-
Diisseldorf in the late 1840s. In fact, it is probably lished in 1850 [24]. Ridner is otherwise very knowl-
no coincidence that a German material like edgeable about varnishes and other painting
dammar was attracting attention in America materials,by and the omission implies that in 1850
mid-century, because there were manydammar was not in widespread use. This supports
connections
between painters in America and in Germany, the idea that
espe- Sully's use of the material in 1849
cially Diisseldorf, at about this time. The mayAmerican
have been an early use in America, just prior
painters Emanuel Leutze (1816-68), Eastman to the wide use that Sully describes in 1851.
Johnson (1824-1906), Worthington Whittredge Other printed and manuscript sources tend to
(1820-1910) and Richard Caton Woodville demonstrate increasing knowledge about and avail-
(1825-55) were all studying in Diisseldorf inability the of dammar in America during the middle
late 1840s [19, 20]. There were also many German decades of the nineteenth century. As we have seen,
immigrants, including some painters, who came Rembrandt
to Peale knew about dammar when he
America following the political upheavals in wrote his Notes of the Painting Room, which was
Germany in 1848. In New York, the Dutsseldorf completed at some time between 1849 and 1852.
Gallery, which exhibited paintings by members of Peale appears to have obtained his information
the Dtisseldorf Academy (including Adolph about dammar from a source independent of Sully:
Schroedter), opened its doors in 1849 [19, 21]. A Peale spells the word differently from Sully, and
case could be made that connections between Sully thought it worthwhile to copy down Peale's
Virginia (where Sully first learned about recipe dammar) for a dammar medium when he read Peale's
and Diusseldorf were especially strong. Emanuel manuscript in 1852 [13, microfilm frame 226]. It is
Leutze, the first of the Americans to study in interesting that the 1849 English translation of a
Diisseldorf, had worked in Virginia in 1837-38, and book by the German writer Libertat Hundertpfund,
two other Virginians traveled to Diusseldorf in the which Peale mentions in his Notes of the Painting
early 1850s to study with Leutze [22]. In any event, Room, included-as Leslie Carlyle reports [6, pp.
it seems plausible that the interest in dammar that 84-85]--the first published reference to dammar in
occurred around the middle of the nineteenth cen- English. But Peale's description of dammar and
tury could have been the result of direct connec- recipes using dammar are much more elaborate
tions between artists in America and in Germany than Hundertpfund's terse account, and both
rather than the better-known connections between Peale's and Sully's accounts appear to be based
artists in America and Britain.3 upon having actually used the resin rather than
having read about it in a book.
The well-known American landscape painter
2There is tantalizing evidence that another Schroeder, Asher B. Durand (1796-1886) must have at least
Cornelius, was a painter in New York and in Robert
heard about dammar by 1852, because he wrote a
Sully's home town of Richmond, Virginia about 1818, but
testimonial saying that he had read Peale's manu-
information about him is minimal, and there is none at all
after 1818 [18]. script in that year and found the information it
contained useful [12, p. 305, 30n.]. In 1857, William
3The Americans who studied in Germany might well have
Sidney Mount (1807-68), a painter working on
ordered supplies direct from Germany after they returned
to America. This can be documented in a letter from rural Long Island, not far from New York City,
mentioned using 'demar' varnish for the first time
Emanuel Leutze to Asher B. Durand that mentions Albert
Bierstadt (1830-1902) ordering materials from Dresdenin his diary [25]. In 1859, Thomas Sully recorded in
his notebook that at that time he was buying
and DiIsseldorf, but unfortunately the letter is not dated
(it is said to be 'probably from the 1850s') [23, p. 11]. dammar from two different colormen: Earle in New

136 Studies in Conservation 47 (2002) 134-138

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A note on the early use of dammar varnish

York, and Kelley, who was at that time in Selected Eighteenth-Century Sources,
Philadelphia [13, microfilm frames 246, 247; 23, pp. Archetype Publications, London (2001).
92, 145]. By 1860, dammar appears in the catalogue7 AN AMERICAN ARTIST [L. OSBORN], Handbook
of the prominent New York colorman Dechaux of Young Artists and Amateurs in Oilpainting,
[26], and is mentioned in an instruction book pub- John Wiley & Son, New York (1845) [and
lished the same year by Kennedy and Nichols, col- later identical editions up to at least 1879]
ormen in Auburn, New York, a town about 275 91.
miles (440km) from New York City [27]. 8 SULLY, T., Hints to Young Painters, Reinhold
To begin to put this chronology into a more Publishing Corporation, New York (1965)
global perspective, Mrs Merrifield wrote in 1849 [reprint of the book first published in
that 'dammara' resin was being used in Munich and Philadelphia in 1873 by J.M. Stoddart &
in the region of Venice [28]. The latter case may Co.; the page numbers of the 1965 reprint do
reinforce the importance of a German-speaking not conform to the 1873 edition, but we have
connection, since the Veneto was at that time under cited the 1965 version because it is more
Austrian control. A book published in Florence in widely available].
1866 refers to dammar as a material that had only 9 PEALE, R., Notes of the Painting Room, manu-
recently been introduced ('una resina entrata in script at the Historical Society of
commercio da poco tempo') [29]. The Florentine Pennsylvania (c. 1849-52) [page numbers,
book goes on to cite a French publication which which are inconsistent in the manuscript, are
states that dammar varnish was being used in 1850 taken from a transcription made by Carol
by painting restorers in France [30]. Doubtless fur- Hevner, which was kindly provided by Ross
ther investigation of printed and manuscript sources Merrill].
in other countries would help to refine the dating of 10 MAYER, L., 'Historic varnishes' in Painting
the use of dammar in those countries as well. Conservation Catalog, Vol. I: Varnishes and
Surface Coatings, American Institute for
Conservation, Washington DC (1998) 21-34.
Acknowledgement 11 MAYER, L., and MYERS, G., 'The Court of
Death through conservators' eyes', Bulletin of
The research for this paper was supported in part the Detroit Institute of Arts 70 (1996) 4-13.
by an Advanced Research Fellowship at the Henry 12 MILLER, L., with an essay by C.E. HEVNER, In
Francis du Pont Winterthur Museum. Pursuit of Fame: Rembrandt Peale,
1778-1860, National Portrait Gallery,
Washington, in association with the
References University of Washington Press, Seattle and
London (1992).
1 MILLS, J.S., and WHITE, R., The Organic 13 SULLY, T., Hints for Pictures, manuscript at
Chemistry of Museum Objects, Butterworths, Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript
London (1987) 93. Library, Yale University (1809-1871) [a
2 FELLER, R., 'First description of dammar pic- typed transcription is on microfilm at the
ture varnish translated', Bulletin of the Archives of American Art, New York Public
American Group. International Institute for Library papers, roll 18, frames 0075 ff; refer-
the Conservation of Historic and Artistic ences are given to these microfilm frames].
Works 7 (1966) 8-20. 14 SULLY, T., Memoirs of the Professional Life of
3 HANSON, N.W., 'Some painting materials of Thomas Sully, manuscript at Henry Francis
J.M.W. Turner', Studies in Conservation 1 du Pont Winterthur Museum (1851-59).
(1954) 162-173. 15 BIDDLE, E., and FIELDING, M., The Life and
4 CHURCH, A.H., The Chemistry of Paints and Works of Thomas Sully, Da Capo Press, New
Painting, Seeley and Co. Ltd, London (1890) York (1921, reprinted 1970) 402.
53-54. 16 NEAGLE, J., Hints for a painter with regard to
5 CARLYLE, L., 'Varnish preparation and practice his Method of study &c., manuscript note-
1750-1850' in Turner's Painting Techniques in book at American Philosophical Society,
Context, ed. J.H. TOWNSEND, United Philadelphia (1826 and later) 30, 38-39,
Kingdom Institute for Conservation, London 45-46.
(1995) 21-28. 17 THIEME, U., and BECKER, F., Allegemeines
6 CARLYLE, L., The Artists' Assistant: Oil Lexicon der bildenden Kiinstler, Verlag von
Painting Instruction Manuals and Handbooks Wilhelm Engelmann, Leipzig (1907-61).
in Britain 1800-1900, with Reference to 18 FALK, P.H., editor-in-chief, Who Was Who in

Studies in Conservation 47 (2002) 134-138 137

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 L. Mayer and G. Myers

American Art, Sound View Press, Madison 26 KATLAN, A., American Artists' Materials,
CT (1999). Volume II: A Guide to Stretchers, Panels,
19 GROSECLOSE, B.S., Emanuel Leutze, 1816-1868: Millboards, and Stencil Marks, Sound View
Freedom is the Only King, Smithsonian Press, Madison CT (1992) 320.
Institution Press, Washington DC (1975). 27 Hints on Drawing and Painting, and the Use of
20 HOOPES, D.F., 'The Dilsseldorf Academy and Paints, Kennedy & Nichols, Auburn, NY
the Americans' in The Diisseldorf Academy (1860) 23, 27, 31.
and the Americans: An Exhibition of 28 MERRIFIELD, M., Original Treatises on the Arts
Drawings and Watercolors, High Museum, of Painting, Dover Publications Inc., New
Atlanta (1972) 19-34. York (1967 reprinting of the book first pub-
21 Catalogue of Paintings, by Artists of the lished in 1849) cclxi.
Dfisseldorf Academy of Fine Arts, Baker and29 FORNI, U., Manuale del pittore restauratore,
Godwin, New York (1855). Successori le Monnier, Firenze (1866) 230.
22 GERDTS, W.H., Art Across America: Two 30 RIFFAULT and VERGNAUD, Nouveau manuel
Centuries of Regional Painting, 1710-1920, complet du fabricant de couleurs et de vernis,
Vol. II, Abbeville Press, Publishers, New Librairie Encyclopedique de Roret, Paris
York (1990) 18, 24, 26. (1850) 283 [cited in ref. 29, 264 n).
23 KATLAN, A., American Artists' Materials
Suppliers Directory: Nineteenth Century,
Noyes Press, Park Ridge NJ (1987). Authors
24 RIDNER, J., The Artist's Chromatic Hand-Book.
Being a Practical Treatise on Pigments, their
LANCE MAYER and GAY MYERS are both graduates
Properties and Uses in Painting. To Which ofisthe conservation training program at the
Added, a Few Remarks on Vehicles and Intermuseum Laboratory in Oberlin, Ohio. Since
Varnishes. Chiefly a Compilation from1981 the they have been in New London, Connecticut,
Best Authorities, George P. Putnam, New where they spend the majority of their time working
York (1850). as independent conservators for many large and
25 FRANKENSTEIN, A., William Sidney Mount, small museums as well as private collectors. Address:
Harry N. Abrams, Inc., New York (1975) Lyman Allyn Museum of Art, Connecticut College,
308-309. 625 Williams Street, New London, CT 06320, USA.

Resum---Le vernis dammar a ete' introduit en Europe et en Amerique au cours du dix-neuvieme siecle, mais
la chronologie de son utilisation dans divers pays est encore mal connue. De recentes informations provenant
de manuscrits non publies montrent que le dammar etait utilise par les peintres aux Etats-Unis vers le milieu
du dix-neuvieme sidcle et qu'on pouvait s'en procurer chez au moins trois marchands de couleurs americains
vers 1860. L'utilisation du dammar peu avoir ete plus repandue aux Etats-Unis ad cette epoque qu'en Grande-
Bretagne, peut-etre en raison de liens entre les peintres americains et allemands.

Zusammenfassung-Dammarfirnis wurde im Laufe des 19. Jahrhunderts in Europa und Amerika eingefiihrt.
Dennoch ist die Chronologie der Verwendung in den einzelnen Ldndern bisher noch wenig untersucht. Die
Auswertung bisher unpublizierter Manuskripte zeigt, daJf Dammar in den Vereinigten Staaten gegen Mitte des
19. Jahrhunderts eingefaihrt wurde und 1860 bei zumindest drei Farbenhdndlern bezogen werden konnte. In den
Vereinigten Staaten war die Verwendung von Dammar zu diesem Zeitpunkt, insbesondere durch die
Verbindungen von amerikanischen und deutschen Malern, demnach weit verbreiteter als in GroJfbritannien.

Resumen-El barniz de resina damar se introdujo en Europa y America durante el siglo XIX, sin embargo la
cronologia de su uso en los diversos paises no es todavia del todo conocida. Las nuevas informaciones apor-
tadas por manuscritos no publicados evidencian que el damar era usado por los pintores en Estados Unidos
hacia mediados del siglo XIX, y que ya en 1860 estaba disponible en, al menos, tres suministradores ameri-
canos de materiales para artistas. El uso del damar en este momento parece haber sido mucho mdts extensivo
que en Gran Bretafia, quizas por las conexiones entre pintores alemanes y americanos.

138 Studies in Conservation 47 (2002) 134-138

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