The Art of Gold Beating (1959) | British Pathé

Gold beating is an age-old process that goes back to the era of ancient Egyptians. Wonder at how this precious metal is slowly beat down to a leaf like consistency in this archive footage from 1959. For Archive Licensing Enquiries Visit: Explore Our Online Channel For FULL Documentaries, Fascinating Interviews & Classic Movies: #BritishPathé #Gold #Artisan #Craft Subscribe to the British Pathé YT Channel: (FILM ID:) Ruislip Middlesex. Gold is used for many artistic glorification. But see here the process of gold being beaten until it has the thickness it needs. C/U shot of a golden muscular arm holding mallet hanging on a wall. M/S of a man in the middle of gold melting process. Mr Bert Green pours gold into a small cast. C/U of a cast. Mr Green turns the cast over and a gold bar is out. M/S of Mr Green’s face as he works. C/U shot of the bar being taken away. C/U shot of a thin gold ribbon passing through a roller. Voiceover tells the audience that, golden bar, after being rolled into ribbon, is cut in squares and then beaten by hammers. C/U shot of the ribbon being cut in squares. M/S of three people working. C/U shot of girl’s hands as she puts golden squares in some sheets. M/S of a man taking sheets, putting into protection cover and placing under the hammering machine. C/U shot of the gold being beaten. M/S of a girl cutting a leaf in four. C/U shot of thin golden leaf being cut in four. Several shots of gold beating by using large hammering machines as well as beating by hand. Finished leaves are cut into squares and ready to use. M/S of a man restoring old picture frame with gold leaves. C/U shot of a brush pressing the gold on the frame. C/U shot of several books bound with gold leaves and two little gold figurines. C/U shot of the symbol of House of Windsor. Note: People featured in film are Bert Green, Kathleen Smith, Fay Crawford, George Lewellyn, Beryl Clark, Ted Ricketts, Jean Edwards, Ted Hook, Joe Woodward, Sylvia Lewington and Jim Sussex. BRITISH PATHÉ’S STORY Before television, people came to movie theatres to watch the news. British Pathé was at the forefront of cinematic journalism, blending information with entertainment to popular effect. Over the course of a century, it documented everything from major armed conflicts and seismic political crises to the curious hobbies and eccentric lives of ordinary people. If it happened, British Pathé filmed it. Now considered to be the finest newsreel archive in the world, British Pathé is a treasure trove of 85,000 films unrivalled in their historical and cultural significance. British Pathé also represents the Reuters historical collection, which includes more than 136,000 items from the news agencies Gaumont Graphic (1910-1932), Empire News Bulletin (1926-1930), British Paramount (1931-1957), and Gaumont British (1934-1959), as well as Visnews content from 1957 to the end of 1984. All footage can be viewed on the British Pathé website.