Series editors' preface - Wood Tools

Figure 1.21 Thonet bentwood chair, Viennese c.1865,
stamped Thonet Austria 6811
Surface decoration and finish
The demand for novelty, and the reproduction
of expensive processes by imitation, were the
two main driving forces behind developments
in surface decoration and finish. Many old
techniques were revived, along with a range of
new patented processes, some of which
became established while others were unsuccessful.
The most well-known revival and its mechanized
equivalent is carving. During the early
years of the century the carving trade was in a
poor state. With the revival of historical styles
and a demand for ‘old’ pieces, carving was
stimulated. However, much of the work for the
general taste and fashion was destined to be
cut on carving and routing machines. This taste
was fuelled by a few schools of carving, developed
by the Rogers family in London, Tweedy
and Robinson in Tyneside and Kendal and
Cooke in Warwick. Most of their work was
based on anecdotal scenes, often of great complexity,
which remained examples for other
makers to copy.
Furniture history 33
To satisfy the demand for carving, particularly
in the Gothic style, machine carving,
which had been known to sculptors previously,
was applied to architectural woodwork.
It was soon used to make carvings suitable for
furniture. The most successful of three major
companies was the Jordan process, which
allowed the model to be copied by moving the
material towards a fixed cutting tool.
Pyrography, in which wood is charred by
heated iron moulds being applied to the surface,
was developed with the result that the surface
had an ‘old’ finish built in. Pressure carving or
moulding was another technique for imitating
the work of the chisel. It was effected by applying
moulds, with a design stamped into them,
to wood under great pressure. It was especially
useful for end-grain medallions. Finally, there
was a range of mouldings and applied decoration
made from wood waste and other material
including colourings and adhesives.
Painting The decoration of furniture by
painting is divided between that with painted
ornament on a timber ground and that with an
all-over painted ground which is then decorated.
The latter process was usually confined
to cheaper woods and is often called japanning
by contemporary writers: a particular type was
called pen-work. This was an imitation of etching
which was made by first japanning the furniture
black and then painting the design in
white japan. Following this was the final
process of adding line work with Indian ink
and a pen.
Sheraton in his Cabinet Dictionary gives full
details on the subject of painting, including the
process of painting rush seats. In this instance
he warns against the practice of using water
colour which was designed to deceive the purchaser.
This warning was repeated much later
in the century by another commentator talking
about painted bedroom furniture which was
deceitfully decorated with water colours rather
than proper varnishes.
Marquetry and equivalents During the 1850s
and 1860s a number of methods of imitation
decoration were invented and patented in
response to the demand and the rising cost of
the original processes. The boulle revival of the
nineteenth century was supported by stamping
brass (especially borders) directly into timber