The Daily times. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1886-1889, 1888-06-05
DECORATION OF INTERIORS.
Use of Wood yeneers Instead OF Wall
Paper-Embossed Wood.

The process for preparing wood used for
interior decoration was invented by Charles
w. Spur, Of Boston He has very re
markable knowledge Of woods and helped
to make the collection which Mr.. Morris
X Jessup, the banker and philanthropist,
has presented TO the Museum Of Natural
History Until Mr. Spur found the
secret of making good veneers, which Is
to cut the wood thin. furniture men and
wood dealers were trying to see how thick
they could make them so as to prevent
the warping which was invariably taking
place. and making the experiments un-
successful
Wood may be cut as thin a. the 3OOth
part Of an inch when 1t Is like paper. IL
is not useful in this state. That which Is
cut to the thickness Of the Tooth or the
lj0th part Of an inch and lined with paper
Is used for the decoration Of walls and
ceilings This neither shrinks nor swells,
there not being enough Of it for the at
mosphere 10 affect In one room. where
it was put on eighteen years ago it is in
as good condition as when ii was frst ap-
piled The smooth surface of an ordinary
pastebcard wall or ceiling is the best
lDuDUdllDll ltG IL al AciNo hi4t Ni">
must be evenly filed with plaster of paris
If the wall is new it is glue sized as II Tor
wall paper Then it is ready for the wood
in panels. frieze or molding, perfectly
plain and simple, or very elaborate. The
wall i, first covered with cloth put on
with common -four paste The veneers
are dampened with preparation OF glycer.
inc and water, which softenS them ana
when dry leaves them pliablc paste IS
then rubbed over the wood rs well as the
cloth covered wall, and the former care
fully and smoothly applied Scarcely a
more difficult task than putting on wall
paper. There are no fewer than forty
kinds of wood from which to select the
ornamentation Of house interior Some
times two or three are mingled III one
room. with a surprisingly beautiful effect
A checker board pattern Of curly maple
is about as thick as a piece of cardboard.
To produce il strips Of wood were first
woven in and out and then subjected 10
heat and pressure, which made II one
smooth mass. varied in hue as if 1t were
COMPOSED of two kinds Of wood Cherry,
oak and mahogany are on the top notch OF
esteem for this sort of decoration rs well
furniture at tne present hiOmc"N'
Embossed wood resembles carving and
while it is not meant exactly 10 take the
place Of it, is rich enough In itself to de
mand attention and to be used for endless
purposes of utility and ornament. 1t Is
not cheap enough to become common
The original patterns for the work are
carved by hand Molds from these models
are then made, on which the wood is
placed after being softened. They are
then submitted TO 2J0 degrees of heat and
great pressure When taken from the
hydraulic press they are much too hot to
touch for some time. 1t Is easy To see
that such process naturally prevents any
shrinkage afterward
A ceiling Of one of the parlor cars on
the Old Colony railroad is decorated with
these embossed and plain woods, and Is
priced SO highly by the company that the
car is only in service during the summer
months Book binding is another use to
which the wood has recently been put
Poems by Pope and Jean lngelow, issued
last year, are enyeloped in covering OF
wood and tied with different colored rib
bons. New York Press