The Voynich Ninja

I don't remember reading about the reddish lines added to two of the You are not allowed to view links. Register or Login to view. flowers. Is that pencil?

EDIT: there's a comment by Nick Pelling You are not allowed to view links. Register or Login to view.. If I understand correctly, he believes the reddish lines are not a later addition but were made before the rest of the drawing.

Quote:one page (f55r) still has the (unfinished) red lead sketch-lines, so that’s probably how all the drawings were done – a master making a (pencil) sketch and then a scribe tracing & finishing them, before rubbing off the red lead.

My guess is that the marking up for the text was similarly done in red lead, which was similarly then removed by the scribe. I don’t know if there’s any literature on red lead markings, though: that might be a scribal practice local to certain areas. Something to think about, anyway.

[attachment=10412]

It certainly wasn't a lead tip. It would be grey. Just like the circles.
From the smudges, it looks like coloured chalk.
Nick mentioned it.
‘glair (eggwhite) and calcium carbonate (chalk), I’m pretty sure..’

I was thinking of You are not allowed to view links. Register or Login to view.. But I now understand there is no reason to think of a sanguine pencil, it might have been chalk.

Yes, in that way. Liquid or solid. Although I don't know in what fineness such writing tools were available. I'm thinking of the thickness of a charcoal for drawing. That would perhaps be too thick for such lines.
I'm guessing liquid with a nib.