Goldbeating

The art of goldbeating is of great antiquity, being referred to by Homer; and Pliny states that one ounce of gold was extended to 750 leaves, each leaf being four fingers square, which is three times the thickness of the ordinary leaf gold of the present time.

My father engaged two young guild apprentices from our neighbor's larger workshop to help transport the wooden stump, hammers, and other supplies from the goldbeating studio.

The popular late-19th-century trend of using gold leaf for decorating brought the goldbeating industry to the area.