From the official organ of the Chautauqua Literary and Scientific Circle, The Chautauquan, we have the following recipe for creating duplicates of material prepared for distribution at one of the local circles. One of the reasons that walk-talk-and-chalk remained the pedagogical choice of many professors for so long.
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[Do-it-yourself Hektograph, 1889]
THE hektograph is a useful contrivance for taking several copies of any written document. In circles it is so convenient for printing programs and circulars that we print here directions for preparing one, with ink.
Take 2 oz. of gelatine (Cooper’s preferred) and 12% fluid oz. of glycerine. Soak the gelatine over night and drain well. Put the glycerine into a small pail or any suitable vessel and set it into another and larger dish which has been partly filled with salt water. By heating the salt water to the boiling point, the glycerine may be raised to a temperature of 200°; when this temperature is obtained, add the gelatine to the glycerine, and heat the mixture for several hours to drive off the water. Now pour the fluid into a shallow pan and allow it to cool for at least twelve hours. (A shallow oblong tin pan 8 by 10 inches in size and one inch in depth may be made by the tinner; an ordinary oblong pie pan will answer the purpose, or even a thin board with laths nailed around the edge.)
The ink for use on the hektograph is made by putting 1/6 oz. 3 B. purple aniline in 1 fluid oz. of hot water. On cooling add 1/6 oz. each of alcohol and glycerine.
To use the pad, write with an ordinary pen, on a sheet of paper whatever you wish to print, using the above ink. Allow the ink to dry on the paper of its own accord, without the use of the blotting paper. When dry lay the paper, the written side down, on the pad, pressing it down lightly and smoothly. Now by taking the corner of the paper between the thumb and finger, it may be carefully removed leaving the impression from which the printing is to be done on the pad. To print, simply lay the paper evenly on the impression on the pad and press the surface very lightly. Thirty or forty impressions can be made before it will be necessary to write the copy over. As soon as the printing is done, wash the pad with a sponge or cloth, using lukewarm water, until all the ink is removed. The ink should not be allowed to stand on the pad. If the surface of the pad becomes uneven, the composition may be melted and poured back. New material may be added at any time.
Source: The Chautauquan, Vol. 10, No. 2 (November, 1889), pp. 234-235.
Image Source: “Jell-O Cup” will get jiggly” from the website www.amny.com posted April 10, 2014.