Milford chronicle., 1888-06-29
pecoaATIoN 81 lNTERIoas.
Use Of Wood veneers Instead Of wal
Papsr-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,
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 as the 3O0th
part of an inch, when 1t Is like paper. II
is not useful in this state, That which is
cut to the thickness Of the Tooth or the
150th 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 to affect. In one room, where
it was put on eighteen years ago. it is in
rs good condition as when it was first ap-
piled. The smooth surface Of an ordinary
pasteboard wall or ceiling is the best
foundation for it. All holes and cracks
must be evenly filed with plaster of paris
If the wall is new it is glue sized as If for
wall paper Then It is ready for the wood
in panels. frieze or molding. 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
fully and smoothly applied. Scarcely
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 in one
room, with a surprisingly beautiful effect
A checker board pattern of curly maple
is about as thick as piece Of cardboard
To produce it strips Of wood were first
woven In and out and then subjected to
heat and pressure, which made it one
smooth mass, varied IN hue as if it were
composed of two kinds of wood. Cherry,
oak and mahogany are OF the top notch of
esteem for this sort Of decoration as well
furniture at the present moment.
Embossed wood resembles carving and
while it is not meant exactly TO take the
place Of it, is rich enough in itself to de
liitiAu bAttlbAo4 anu 70 bN uStQ luF GlulESS
purposes Of utility and ornament 1t is
not cheap enough to become common.
The original patterns for the work are
carved by hand. Molds trom these models
are then made, on Which the wood is
placed after being sofrened They are
then submitted to 250 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 mgelow, issued
last year, are enveloped in a covering of
wood and tied with different colored rib
OOns.-New York Press