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Wednesday, 4th November 2009 (607 views)

A New Jersey borough will mark its 125th anniversary later this month by celebrating its history as a centre for the production of gold leaf.

According to the Press of Atlantic City, workers at a factory belonging to the Hasting Gold-beating Co of Philadelphia would beat strips of the precious metal into delicate leaf for use in decoration and books.

Once finished, the leaf would be placed between tissue paper and carefully stored between the pages of books before being transported by train to the company's headquarters in Pennsylvania.

Marie Iaconangelo, president of the History Committee of West Cape May, said: "They used 23-carat gold because 24 carat would have been too soft. After they closed the factory, they sifted the ground to recover any remaining bits."

The history of gold beating in West Cape May will feature in a documentary on the borough.

Director of the Cape May Film Festival Tom Sims gathered firsthand accounts of West Cape May residents for the film, which is set to be screened at a special 125th anniversary dinner on November 15th.

 

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