Valuable secrets concerning arts and trades, or, Approved directions from the best artists : for the various methods of engraving on brass, copper, or steel, of the composition of metals and varnishes, of mastichs and cements, sealing-wax, &c. : of colours and painting, for carriage painters : of painting on paper : of compositions from limners : of transparent colours : how to dye skins or gloves : to colour or varnish copper-plate prints : of painting on glass : of colours of all sorts, for oil, water, and crayons : of the art of gilding : the art of dying woods, bones, &c. : the art of moulding : the art of making wines : of the various compositions of vinegars : of liquors and essential oils : of the confectionary art : of taking out all sorts of spots and stains.

Printer

Hubbard, Thomas, 1758-1808

Date

• 1795

Publisher

Norwich, Connecticut: Thomas Hubbard

Summary

• Thomas Hubbard (1758-1808) of Norwich, Connecticut, was a printer and proprietor of the local newspaper. His press also helped disseminate one of the popular European "books of secrets" on American soil. In 1795,Hubbard published "Valuable secrets concerning arts and trades…," revealing processes for compounding paints, dyes and cements, as well as vinegars and confectionary. This text is based on a British version, "Valuable secrets in arts and trades…" (London: 1758 and subsequent editions), which was itself a translation of the earlier French "Secrets concernant les arts et metiers," (Paris, 1716 and subsequent editions). In the same year the Connecticut edition was published, a Philadelphia printer issued a similarly-derived book entitled "One Thousand Valuable Secrets…." (For more information on this genre of books, see the entry on this page describing G. Smith's "Laboratory, or school of arts.") The 1795 Norwich edition is held at the UW-Madison Memorial Library Special Collections at call number LRX V24 Cutter.