Papering
The next item for consideration is papering. A visit to almost any paperhanger’s will reveal the fact, that the shopman possesses quantities of certain designs, perhaps not quite large enough to be of practical service to him for papering a room. In this circumstance the stage carpenter should be able, by the expenditure of a few cents, or a quarter at the outside, to obtain quite enough for his purpose. Next, he can procure from any builder’s yard a few lengths of architrave or beaded edging for doorways and windows. This will have to be mitered and fixed to the frames. A few slips of board, with beading along one edge, should also be purchased at the same time for fixing to the bottom of the frames to form the skirting. Now paste the wall-paper to the frames.
Fig. 7.—Complete door with section.
Fig. 8.—Flat 1 or 5 converted into exterior cottage door.
Having satisfactorily constructed all the “flats,” fix them together in the order shown in the plan—i.e. each to each—by means of pieces of bent zinc and screws. Additional supports are often required, such as iron brackets screwed to the bottom of the “flat” and the floor, as indicated by the crosses in [Figs. 3] and [5].
To give a finished effect, paste brown paper over the whole of the door frames, and produce the appearance of panels by the addition of mitered thin beading or slips of wood ([Fig. 7]). The door panels may then be painted according to taste with a mixture of any powdered color and dissolved size. The fixing of a knob or handle with a long screw renders the thing complete.
Reference to the plan marked [Fig. 2] reveals the fact, that the two end “flats” (1 and 5 respectively) are alike. Now, while one of these “flats” may be utilized for an interior door ([Fig. 3]), it may be found extremely useful so to prepare its fellow that it represents an exterior cottage door, and to use it as a wing at one side of the stage in another scene. It should then appear as in [Fig. 8]. To obtain this result, a section of scenery has to be covered with brown paper or canvas, as already described for the interior door. Should canvas be decided upon, first prepare it by adding a coating of mixed size and whiting, to form a background for the painted design. In this case the door itself is covered on the outside with paper, and lines are drawn down to give an idea of planks nailed vertically together. A latch-handle can either be purchased and fixed for a few cents, or an imitation one painted in.
The lintel and doorposts are constructed by gluing or nailing battening of a sufficiently stout nature, that it projects to the degree indicated by the section in [Fig. 8]. The purpose of this latter projection is to allow for the addition of a latticed porch, which will give that picturesqueness so essential to stage scenery.