A butler is a domestic servant, one of the principal menservants, who is principally in charge of the household's wine and beer cellar (hence the name which derives from the French word meaning someone who bottles drinks) and plate. It is a common misunderstanding that a butler is in charge of the other servants, in reality this was the duty of the valet, however in the absence of a valet the role would be required of a butler. Primarily a butler is a wine consultant and brewer of beer. The notion of a butler opening the door to guests is quite incorrect, that duty was traditionally conducted by a footman.
The duties and role of the 19th century butler were helpfully described in 1860 by Mrs Beeton to those starting a household as:
The domestic duties of the butler are to bring in the eatables [food] at breakfast, and wait upon the family at that meal, assisted by the footman, and see to the cleanliness of everything at table. On taking away, he removes the tray with the china and plate [silver plated metal articles], for which he is responsible. At luncheon, he arranges the meal, and waits unassisted, the footman now being engaged in other duties. At dinner, he places the silver and plated articles on the table, sees that everything is in its place, and rectifies what is wrong. He carries in the first dish, and announces in the drawing-room that dinner is on the table, and respectfully stands by the door until the company are seated, when he takes his place behind his master's chair on the left, to remove the covers, handing them to the other attendants to carry out. After the first course of plates is supplied, his place is at the sideboard to serve the wines, but only when called on.
The first course ended, he rings the cook's bell, and hands the dishes from the table to the other servants to carry away, receiving from them the second course, which he places on the table, removing the covers as before, and again taking his place at the sideboard.
At dessert, the slips being removed, the butler receives the dessert from the other servants, and arranges it on the table, with plates and glasses, and then takes his place behind his master's chair to hand the wines and ices, while the footman stands behind his mistress for the same purpose, the other attendants leaving the room. Where the old-fashioned practice of having the dessert on the polished table, without any cloth, is still adhered to, the butler should rub off any marks made by the hot dishes before arranging the dessert.
Before dinner, he has satisfied himself that the lamps, candles, or gas-burners are in perfect order, if not lighted, which will usually be the case. Having served every one with their share of the dessert, put the fires in order (when they are used), and seen the lights are all right, at a signal from his master, he and the footman leave the room.
He now proceeds to the drawing room, arranges the fireplace, and sees to the lights; he then returns to the pantry, prepared to answer the bell, and attend to the company, while the footman is clearing away and cleaning the plate and glasses.
At tea he again attends. At bedtime he appears with the candles; he locks up the plate, secures doors and windows, and sees that all the fires are safe.
In addition to these duties, the butler, where only one footman is kept, will be requires to perform some of the duties of the valet, to pay bills, and superintend the other servants. But the real duties of the butler are in the wine-cellar; there he should be competent and advise his master as to the price and quality of the wine to be laid in; "fine," [refine] bottle, cork and seal it, and place it in the binns [wine racks]. Brewing, racking and bottling malt liquors [beers, ales, stouts and the like], belong to his office, as well as their distribution. These and other drinkables are brought from the cellar every day by his own hands, except when an under-butler is kept; and a careful entry of every bottle used, entered in the cellar-book; so that the book should always show the contents of the cellar. Research Butler
Cappagh brown is a bituminous earth, coloured by oxide of manganese and iron, which yields pigments of various rich brown colours. It is called also manganese brown andt derives its name from Cappagh, near Cork, in Ireland. Research Cappagh Brown
Cork is the external bark of a species of oak (Quercus suber) which grows in Spain, Portugal, and other southern parts of Europe and in the north of Africa, and is distinguished by the great thickness and sponginess of its bark, and by the leaves being evergreen, rectangular, somewhat oval, downy underneath, and waved. The outer bark falls off of itself if left alone, but for commercial purposes it is stripped off when judged sufficiently matured, this being when the tree has reached the age of from fifteen to thirty years. The first stripping yields the coarsest kind of bark. In the course of eight or nine years, or even less, the same tree will yield another supply of cork of better quality, and the removal of this outer bark is said to be beneficial, the trees thus stripped reaching the age of 150 years or more. The bark is removed by a kind of axe, parallel cuts being carried round the tree transversely and united by others in a longitudinal direction, so as to produce rectangular sheets of bark. These vary in thickness between 2 mm and 7 mm. Care must be taken not to cut into the inner bark, or the tree would be killed. The pieces of cork are flattened out by heat or by weights, and are slightly charred on the surface to close the pores.
Cork is light, elastic, impervious to water, and by pressure can be greatly reduced in bulk, returning again to its original size. These qualities render it peculiarly serviceable for the stopping of vessels of different kinds, and formerly for floats, buoys, swimming-belts or jackets, artificial limbs, etc. Corks for bottles are cut either by hand or by means of a machine. The best corks are cut across the grain. Research Cork
Gilding is the art of applying gold-leaf or gold in a finely-divided state to surfaces of wood, stone, or metals. It is a very ancient art, being practised among the Egyptians, Greeks, Romans, and Ancient Persians. The processes employed through more modern times have been very varied. Metals are gilded either by what is called chemical gilding, mercurial gilding, by electro-gilding (electro-plating), or by the application of gold-leaf. Copper and brass, for instance, may be gilded by the process called wash or water gilding, with an amalgam of gold and mercury. The surface of the copper, freed from oxide, is covered with the amalgam, and afterwards exposed to heat until the mercury is driven off, leaving a thin coat of gold.
Gilding is also performed by dipping a linen rag in a saturated solution of gold, and burning it to tinder, the black powder thus obtained being rubbed on the metal to be gilded, with a cork dipped in salt water, until the gilding appears. Iron or steel is often gilded by applying gold-leaf, after the surface has been well cleaned, and heated until it has acquired the blue colour which at a certain temperature it assumes. Several leaves of gold are thus applied in succession, and the last is burnished down cold.
One process of chemical gilding was by dipping the article into a solution of gold, what is termed Elkington's solution being composed as follows: 5 oz. (troy) of fine gold; nitro-muriatic acid, 52 oz. (avoirdupois); dissolve by heat, and continue the heat until the cessation of red or yellow vapours; decant the clear liquid; add 4 gallons of distilled water, 20 lbs of pure bicarbonate of potassa and boiling for two hours.
Gilding on wood, plaster, leather, parchment, or paper, is performed by different processes of mechanical gilding. The first of these is oil-gilding, in which gold-leaf is cemented to the work by means of oil-size. In the case of paper or vellum the parts to be gilt receive a coat of gum-water or fine size, and the gold-leaf is applied before the parts are dry. They are afterwards burnished with agate. Lettering and other gilding on bound books are applied without size. The gold-leaf is laid on the leather and imprinted with hot brass types. Brass rollers with thin edges are employed in the same way for lines, and similar tools for other ornaments. When the edges of the leaves of books are to be gilt they are first cut smooth in the press, after which a solution of isinglass in spirits is laid on, and the gold-leaf is applied when the edges are in a proper state of dryness.
Japanner's gilding is another kind of mechanical gilding, which is performed in the same way as oil-gilding, except that instead of gold-leaf a gold dust or powder is employed. Frames of pictures and mirrors, mouldings, etc, are gilt by the application of gold-leaf, or by the cheaper process of 'German gilding,' that is, by tin-foil or silver-leaf, with a yellow varnish above.
Porcelain and other kinds of earthenware, as well as glass, may be gilt by fixing a layer of gold in a powdered state by the action of fire. The gold-dust or powder required in this operation may be obtained by precipitating it from a solution in aqua regia, either by means of iron sulphate or proto-nitrate of mercury. In order that the gold powder may be applied to the surface of the article to be gilt it must be well mixed with some viscous vehicle, such as strongly-gummed water. It is then laid on with a fine camel's-hair brush. Research Gilding
Linoleum (lino) is a tough floor covering which replaced oilcloth around the end of the 19th century on account of it being warmer. Linoleum is basically strong canvas coated with five or more layers of thick linseed-oil based paint and printed with a coloured design. The paint was originally comprised of cork dust and mineral colouring agents ground with oxidised linseed-oil to a stiff homogenous paste. Research Linoleum
Mazda are a Japanese motor car manufacturing company. Mazda The name Mazda comes from 'Ahura Mazda', the highest Zoroastrian God of reason who granted wisdom and united man, nature and the other gods. Mazda was founded by Jujiro Matsuda in 1920 as 'Toyo Cork Kogyo Co., Ltd' which started manufacturing machine tools in 1929, and in 1931 produced its first motor vehicle, a three-wheel truck called the Mazdago. The first car produced by Mazda was the 1960 Mazda R360 Coupe, a two-door passenger vehicle, while in 1962 appeared the four-door Mazda Carol. In 1989 Mazda produced the Mazda MX-5, which quickly became famous as the world's best selling roadster. In 1979 the American motor car company Ford acquired a ten percent stake in Mazda and the company proceeded as a joint Japanese-American venture. Research Mazda
The Cork Oak is a tree native to southern Europe and north Africa. It rarely exceeds 12 metres in height, and has egg-shaped ever-green leaves and flowers produced in April and May. The acorns ripen in October and are edible with a sweet taste resembling chestnut. The bark of the tree is stripped off for cork. Research Cork Oak
The water shrew (Neomys fodiens) has a fringe of bristly silvery-white hairs on the hind feet, a double row of hairs act as a keel on the tail for swimming. It is very dark in colour above, but the underside varies from white to grey. Sometimes it occurs as a very dark morph. The ear openings can be closed, and there are four uni-cuspid teeth. The water shrew moults in spring and autumn. Water shrews live generally close to water, that is mostly on the banks of swiftly flowing streams and weirs, and are especially abundant in watercress beds, and are also occasionally found near ditches, ponds and the seashore. They may be found as a temporary visitor in woodlands and grasslands. The nest is a ball of vegetation in an extensive burrow system, excavated by the shrew, using its front feet and nose. The entrance may be above or below water level, and the shrew may re-use mole tunnels. Water shrews eat mostly aquatic crustaceans and insect larvae, and terrestrial beetles, molluscs, worms, occasionally small fish, amphibia and mammals, which are caught both under water and on land. The water shrew produces a venom in its saliva which is effective against small mammals, and is a fast, adept swimmer, a good diver and floats like a cork due to the air caught in its very water-repellent coat. The breeding season is from April to September, with two litters a year possible, each of about six young, but maybe as few as three or as many as fifteen. The animals becoming sexually mature in their second year. Research Water Shrew
Daniel Maclise was an Irish painter. He was born in 1806 at Cork and died in 1870. His first notable picture was a water-colour drawing in 1829 entitled 'Malvolio Affecting the Count'. In 1835 he was elected ARA with full honours following in 1840. From 1830 to 1836 he worked under the pseudonym Alfred Croquis, producing character portraits for 'Fraser's Magazine'. Research Daniel Maclise
John Churchill (First Duke of Marlborough) was an English soldier. He was born in 1650 at Ashe and died in 1722. He served under Turenne in 1672 and distinguished himself at Nimeguen and Maestricht. In 1678 he married Sarah Jennings, a lady of the bedchamber of the PrincessAnne. John Churchill showed great skill and resource in serving the royal army at Sedgemoor in 1685. In 1688 he went over to the Prince of Orange, and was made Earl of Marlborough by William III.
In the war in Ireland, from 1689 to 1691, his capture of the two ports of Cork and Kinsale severed the communications of France. He made his mark also in the war in the Low Countries. But he was disliked by William and his Dutch favourites. This and a strong feeling of sympathy with his old master caused Marlborough to enter into plots with King James at Saint-Germain. Following the affair of Brest he was arrested, kept in the Tower in 1692 and was for a time disgraced. But when a rupture with France appeared impending, the king took him to Holland to negotiate for the Grand Alliance.
After the death of William in 1702, he was made, largely through the influence of his wife with the new queen Anne, captain-general of the British army. John Churchill also commanded the forces of the Dutch republic. The career of John Churchill in the field was one of peculiar splendour. In 1702 to 1703 he seized the line of the Meuse. In the following year he arranged with Eugene the operations that saved the empire. After a march of extraordinary skill he struck down the veteran French and Bavarian armies, under Tallard and Marsion, on the field of Blenheim in 1704, piercing the enemy's centre by finely designed attacks. He had Villars, an adversary worthy of him, in his front in 1705; and he fell back in retreat before the marshal in Lorraine, having been left in the lurch by a colleague, Louis of Baden. Then he turned the celebrated lines constructed by the French to cover the east of Belgium, and in 1706 won the great battle of Ramillies.
John Churchill and Eugene triumphed again at Oudenarde, on the Scheldt, another battle won by a single stroke of tactics; and having captured the great fortress of Lille, they made preparations for the invasion of France. Villars, sent to defend his country, was just defeated on the terrible day of Malplaquet in 1709, for the allies only won a Pyrrhic victory. their losses, especially those of the Dutch, were enormous; the league against France was severely shaken. In 1710 the marshal covered the northern borders of France by a system of skilfully constructed lines. John Churchill, whose influence in England had been greatly weakened, became cautious, and would not attack; and though he turned the lines by a fine manoeuvre in 1711, he gained only insignificant success. In 1712, on the accession to power of the Tories he was deprived of all his commands. Research Duke of Marlborough
The Probert Encyclopaedia was designed, edited and programed by
Matt and Leela Probert
Abbreviations
Research Butler
