10-07-2025, 12:44 AM
(01-03-2016, 02:42 PM)ReneZ wrote: You are not allowed to view links. Register or Login to view.I wondered if it was caused by the Marci letter, that may have been preserved between the pages, in which case this could a stain from the wax seal.
An other suggestion I heard was that it could be wax of a candle that dripped off during an evening reading session.
There are a few more in the MS but not many.
Beeswax melts at ~60-70 C. The wax pool around the wick of a candle must be at about that temperature, since it is in contact with solid wax. That is too cold to "roast" the vellum. I guess that one would need at least 130 C, possibly more.
Anyway any spill from a candle would cool quickly, as it does when it drips along the cande. I doubt that the molten wax it would have time to seep through the vellum of f103 and stain f104.
AFAIK solid beeswax has no liquid component that could seep out of it and stain vellum to the extend seen in f103. But if the candle is made of tallow, or has other ingredients like oil to make it cheaper, perhaps those could seep out over time.
I would say the same about seal wax, which usually was beeswax or shellac with solid pigments. Besides, I suppose people would avoid seal wax formulas that bled grease and stained paper.
Anyway, a greasy substance like tallow, wax, or oil should not dissolve or soften the ink, whether it is iron-gall or some other formula like gum arabic plus ocher. Ditto fot Thus it would seem that the stains were made by some water-containing liquid. The liquid may have just softened the ink; its erasure probably happened when the culprit cleaned up the spill by the blotting or wiping.
The stains may have happened at different times. More on that later.
All the best, --jorge