, 1888-10-07
DECORATION OF INTERIORS.
Use of Wood veneers Instead of wall
Paper-Embossed Wood.

Use of Wood Veneer 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 a very re-
markable knowledge of woods and helped
to make the collection which Mr. Morris
K Jessup. the banker and philanthropist,
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 I'M
successful.
Wood may be cut as thin as the 300th
part of an inch, when it Is like paper. 1t
Is not useful in this state. That which is
cut to the thickness of the Tooth or the
15Oth 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 1t for the at
mosphere to affect In, one room, where
1t was put on eighteen years ago, 1t Is in
as good condition as when 1t was first ap-
piled. The smooth surface of an ordinary
p~asteboard wall or ceiling Is the best
foundation for It. ALI holes and cracks
must be evenly filed with plaster of paris.
Ii the wall Is new it is glue sized as II for
wall paper Then it is.ready for the wood
In panels, frieze or ytnolding. perfectly
plain and simple, or very elaborate. The
wall Is first covered with cloth put on
with common -four. paste. The veneers
are dampened with a preparation of glycer-
inc and water. which softens them, and
when dry leaves them pliable. A paste Is
then rubbed over the wood as well as the
cloth covered wall, and the former care
fullu opd omoofh1u onD1iaI Snoroa1u n
more difficult task than putting on wall
paper There are no fewer than forty
kinds Of wood from which to select the
ornamentation of q house interior Some
times two or three are mingled In 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 1t strips of wood we're first
woven In and out and then subjected to
heat and pressure, which made it one
smooth mass. varied in hue as,jf 1t were
composed of two kinds of wood Cherry,
oak and mahogany are on the top notch Of
esteem for this sort of decoration as well
furniture at the present moment.
Embossed wood resembles carving, and
while 1t Is not meant exactly to take the
place Of it, is rich enough in itself to de-
man attention and to be used for endless
purposes of utility and 1t Is
nob cheap enough TO become ommon
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 $50 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 q 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 Ingelow, issued
last year, are enveloped In q covering of
wood and tied with different colored rib
bons.-New York Press.