12/13/2023 0 Comments Marion bronze bookendsClick here to read our earlier post on electroformed bookends. In plated metal bookends the plating is usually very thin and is often reduced or removed by dusting or heavy cleaning. Additionally, in the electroformed bookends the plating or coating is thick enough to stand on it’s own if the matrix were removed. We do know that electroformed bookends are not plated on zinc, but are plated or electroformed on a composition material or on chalk, this is one difference between electroformed bookends and plated metal bookends. So far as we know, the metal in electroformed bookends has never been analyzed, and, as yet, we’ve not found the formulas used by the various bookend foundries, so the identity of the metal is not certain. McBride’s “ A COLLECTOR’S GUIDE TO CAST METAL BOOKENDS,” after speaking to the owner of Marion Bronze, he writes ….“The process of electroforming was actually more detailed than it would first appear and required special attention to the amounts of electrical current used and the CHEMICAL COMPOSITION OF THE PLATING SOLUTIONS (my caps).” ![]() ![]() In the excellent treatment of Electroformed / Galvano Castings in Gerald P. It’s hardness and strength is improved by the addition of a small amount of phosphorous. In modern times bronze alloys have varied in composition and while bronze is primarily copper the alloy may include zinc, lead, manganese, aluminum. Bronze, according to the Encyclopedia Brittanica, is traditionally an alloy composed of copper and tin, in varying proportions. Their response was, “……bronze could not be electroplated so it must be copper.” ![]() The Bookend Collector is always Interested in obtaining more information, and recognizing that actual analysis of metal on electroformed or plated bookends is often missing, we contacted the site and asked for supporting documentation for their statement. One antiques and collectibles site, Eureka, I Found It, states unequivocally that “Armor Bronze, Pompeian Bronze, and Marion Bronze” are zinc with a copper coating, produced by the “Electroformed” or “Galvano” method. Recently we have become aware of a trend to incorrectly label electroformed bronze bookends as copper.
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