Comments on: 1874 Ornamental Wood Company Catalog

By: 1836

1836 — Wed, 23 Apr 2008 12:20:14 +0000

I've posted photos of a cabinet with a seemingly identical lion motif in the Forum section ("RE: 1874 Ornamental Wood Company Catalogue")

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By: Emeriol

Emeriol — Wed, 26 Mar 2008 02:08:00 +0000

John,
Can you scan more images of the catalog?

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By: Vaillancourt Antiquities

Vaillancourt Antiquities — Tue, 25 Mar 2008 12:32:00 +0000

Great find, as I read this I had to look at the very chair I was sitting in to verify the presence of something that looks identical to No. 242, next to a bed sporting No. 208 and a shelf with No. 246 - but other items in the house do not match any pictured so I suppose there were other manufacturers of these or I posess the pressed variety as well.

Does anyone know where repros can be purchased, as I have an idea for valances? My clockmaker can order them in metal but only of a diminutive size...

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By: John W

John W — Tue, 25 Mar 2008 02:55:00 +0000

Woodwright. Welcome to the site. I was not aware that duplicators were available back then.

I assume these machines would work on the artificial (name escaping me now) materials as well. I have a bed with these applied "carvings". While not made of wood, they were probably were made to look so 140 years ago, though today the difference is obvious.

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By: jbkoehn

jbkoehn — Mon, 24 Mar 2008 19:42:00 +0000

These were probably machine carved by carving machines/ duplicators - the quick and affordable way to produce a carving once a “master” carving or template is made (the master/ template doesn’t even have to be wood - it could be plaster, or a casting etc.). Machine carvings have thier limitations on details because of the rotary cuttters and tracing stylus’s diameter. They may have been finished up by hand to add crisp detail. Also FYI: Many moldings (sometimes chair backs too - refered to as pressbacks) that are assumed to have been carved were actually “pressed” - the wood is steamed to soften it, then a metal mold is pressed into it with great mechanical pressure. The depth of the pattern can pressed into a molding is usually limited to 1/8 - 3/16″. Beyond that it will start to crush and break the fibers of the wood. Woodwright

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