Historical Painting Techniques, Materials, and Studio Practice

Figure 2. Charles Roberson's recipe fo r Roberson's Medium, originally in sealed envelope. Fitzwilliam
Museum, University of Cambridge.
The books also demonstrate a degree of experimentation in the formulation
of artists' colors; the composition of mixed colors in particular, such as olive
green or neutral tint, was not absolutely fixed. Notes in the recipe books'
margins indicate that formulae were not always successful, and in the later
recipes a degree of substitution was effected (16).
The recipe books show the importance given to secret recipes and trade
secrets. Many of the recipes are written in code or shorthand or have certain
portions in Greek. The fo rmula of Roberson's Medium, the company's most
successful product, has been struck out in a recipe book (17). It is contained
in a once-sealed envelope from Charles Roberson to his nephew Charles
Park that is marked, "To be opened when I am dead," and dated 1868, ten
years before Roberson's death (Fig. 2) (18). Roberson had reason fo r secrecy.
When a Mr. Ellis advertised in the Daily Telegraph of 1900 that he would sell
"the fo rmula fo r making this famous medium fo r imparting permanency to
oil paintings" at a price of seventy guineas, Roberson quickly threatened
prosecution. Ellis's solicitors responded the next day stating that he had "no
intention ... of selling the medium as 'Roberson's Medium,' " had effected
no sale of either the fo rmula or the medium, and would discontinue the
advertisement (19).
Personal accounts
The personal account books are among the most important records in the
archive. They are incomplete, but provide detailed information about the
materials and techniques of many of the most prominent nineteenth- and
twentieth-century artists in Britain. They list in most cases what an artist
bought and how much, and when he or she paid (Fig. 3) . They also demonstrate
the range of services Roberson would perform, such as sending
workers to artists' studios to carry out a variety of tasks, transporting paintings
to and from exhibitions and loaning equipment to artists. William Holman
Hunt's accounts show that he frequently changed his mind as to the proportions
of his paintings, and that Roberson regularly sent workers to add strips
of canvas and enlarge stretchers, particularly toward the end of the artist's life.
Account holders were not only confined to artists living in Britain. Jozef
Israels in the Hague, Louis Raemaekers in Brussels, Fritz Voellmy in Basel,
and the American artist Wilton Lockwood all bought from Roberson.
The accounts record extensive use oflay figures, usually rented by artists from
Roberson, as their purchase price was very high (Fig. 4) There are a number
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Historical Painting Techniques, Materials, and Studio Practice