VENETIAN MARQUETRY; OR, A PERFECT IMITATION OF INLAID WOOD-WORK.
By Charles G. Leland.
There are few persons who have not admired marquetry, or the sort of mosaic work made by sawing out pieces of wood of different colors and fitting them into one another. This is effected in three ways. The first is by simply sawing out squares, diamonds, crosses, or any pattern of which all the pieces are alike and can be fitted together. The designing of these is a very interesting exercise. I may briefly say that it can be done by drawing cross lines at equal distances, like those of a chess-board, and tracing similarly-sized pieces from them. The Arabs and Moors excelled in such designing and work.
DESIGN FOR A PATTERN IN ONE COLOR.
The second kind of marquetry is made with a fret, or "jig," or scroll saw. One of these may be had for a few cents, but a good equipment for the work costs from fifty cents up to any price, according to the scale on which the pupil wishes to work. Any hardware dealer will procure a complete outfit, and there are now so many books of instruction and of patterns for the work, that it is hardly necessary for me to explain it more in detail. In a few words, it consists in taking two pieces of very thin board, of different colors, fastening the two together, drawing a pattern on a piece of paper, gumming it on to one surface, and then sawing the two out. Of course, if it be neatly done, one piece will fit into the other. Thus, if one be black and the other white, the black pattern will fit into the white ground, and the white pattern into the black ground.
The third kind of marquetry is made with veneers, which are sheets of wood almost as thin as paper, and as the process of making it is rather difficult for amateurs, I shall not describe it here.
But there is a fourth, and far easier process, called Venetian Marquetry, which has never, to my knowledge, been fully noticed in print; though it is so obvious a method that I dare say many have used it. Much of the old marquetry was made of white wood stained with dyes. Venetian Marquetry is a very perfect imitation of this, not to be distinguished from the sawed-out patterns. It is made as follows:
Take a thin panel, or board, of holly or any other nice white or light-yellow wood. Pine may be used when no other can be had, though it is, from its softness, the worst for the purpose. Draw a pattern on it. This may be done by tracing. Then with a knife-wheel, mark out in the wood the entire outline of your pattern, cutting in to the depth of at least one tenth of an inch. (A knife-wheel is like a pattern-wheel; that is, it is a little disk, or flat wheel, not larger than a three-cent piece, set in a handle; but the edge of a pattern-wheel is like the rowel of a spur, in sharp points, while that of the knife-wheel, or cutting-wheel, is thin and sharp. It must be very strongly made.)
Use the utmost care in marking out your pattern with the wheel. If there are corners too sharp to turn with the wheel, mark them with a thin penknife. In fact, if you can not obtain a wheel, the whole may be done with a penknife. The wheel simply makes a more even, continuous line, and is more convenient to use. When the partial division of the pieces is effected, paint the pattern with the dyes made for wood. Care should be taken to apply these very thinly indeed, in small quantity, to let them dry thoroughly, and then to renew them.
AN EASY PATTERN.
Warping may be prevented by carefully dampening the back of the panel, by screwing down the wood, or by keeping it pressed down by a weight while drying. Perhaps the best way in most cases is to fasten strips across the back.
Great pains must be taken to prevent the dyes from spreading beyond the outlines. The only difference between this Venetian work and sawed-out inlaying lies in this, that the pieces of wood are not quite cut through. That is all. If they were, it would be real inlaid marquetry. As dyes were very extensively used to color much of the finest old work, it will be admitted that the chief difference between this method and that in which all the pieces are fret-sawn, is that this is by far the easier. Fret-sawing of two or three veneers is, for a young amateur, much more difficult than marking out and dyeing a pattern. And it is a very important consideration that this beautiful art or method may be employed where a variety of woods and tools are not available. There are few places where two or three cheap dyes for wood, a piece of white wood, and a thin penknife can not be obtained. Thus, even common ink thinned with water will make a slate-colored dye, while several coats will stain wood jet-black. (When the dyed surface is very dry, rub it off carefully with soft paper, renew the ink, let it dry, rub off the surface again, and then oil it.) Umber in coffee will make a brown dye. But best of all are the dyes sold for the purpose.
The channels, or fine lines cut by the knife, may be carefully closed with any kind of filler. A good one may be made by very thoroughly mixing fine varnish and flour, or by rubbing up size with umber or any other coloring matter.
A great defect in much of the old marquetry was the same fault that the Englishman found in the autumnal landscape in America, when he said, "It is very pretty, to be sure, but don't you think it's a trifle gaudy?" The old artists in wood used as many colors as they could get together; and amateurs and beginners greatly incline to this. But an artist in decorative work can produce the best and most vigorous effects with few colors and large easy patterns.
AN EASY DESIGN FOR A BORDER.
Very good work may be made by cutting away the wood here and there, and introducing substances which can not be imitated, such as ivory or tortoise-shell, metal, jet, or mother-of-pearl. Simple round, diamond, or square figures give to the whole an appearance of inlaying.
Venetian, or solid, marquetry may be applied with the aid of stencils, to large surfaces, such as the panels of doors, and dados.
There are few arts, indeed, in which so good effects can be produced with so little labor and at so little expense as this. Even those who are unable to design or draw can, with a little thought, arrange simple patterns in attractive groups. Leaves and fruit, even without shading, are easily represented.
DESIGN FOR A BOX-LID OR PANEL.
It is not difficult to learn to engrave, or run lines, on wood. Any one can learn to do it after a few days' practice. It is done with a small triangular-pointed tool, such as is used by wood-engravers. These gravers, of the best quality, cost fifty cents each. The lines of leaves and flowers, and a hundred other details, look best in marquetry when they are executed in this manner. I have just been examining a piece of marquetry two hundred and fifty years old. The inlaying is the best of the work, and most of it is done in lines so as to give it the appearance of a colored engraving.
The work, when finished, may be rubbed down and oiled and polished. Or it can be varnished. Mastic varnish is best for this purpose, but it is the most difficult of all kinds to apply evenly.
There is still another kind of inlaying which is not included in the foregoing paper. To make it, take a board of hard, wood, well seasoned, and lay on it a coat of thick varnish. Take the sawed-out pieces, which should be of the thinnest tortoise-shell, ivory or wood, and dispose them on the board. When the first varnish is dry, lay on, for a ground, varnish very much thickened with flour or color. When this is dry, repeat it; and so on, until the ground thus made is as high as the pattern.
A SUGGESTION FOR THE DECORATION OF A CHEST IN VENETIAN MARQUETRY.
When inlaying is done with pieces of stone, it is called mosaic. It will be observed that in making solid marquetry, all the difficulty is limited to marking out a pattern on a smooth piece of hard white wood, and then tracing it carefully with the point of a penknife or with a cutting-wheel. The whole work is not much harder than cutting out a picture with the point of a penknife. The dye is more apt to spread evenly if, in applying it, you first give the surface a thin wash of water.
It should be remembered that where two lines are run together in parallels, as for instance, in long stems, the wood lying between is very apt to break off. This can only be prevented by using the point of a thin penknife-blade or a very small wheel, with very great care. For some work a wheel the third of an inch diameter should be used. In cases where the design is very delicate, the line need be merely scratched into the wood. Any indenting which will restrain the flow of the dyes, and indicate a distinct outline is sufficient. Great attention should be paid to this. Do not expect to make a perfect piece of marquetry at a first effort.
There is a piece of Venetian marquetry in the South Kensington Museum, London, which was presented by the last Doge of Venice to Sir Richard Worsely. It last came from Apeldoorcombe, in the Isle of Wight. It is at present the property of Sir Thomas Winter. The Court Journal said of it, that even Her Majesty the Queen has not so fine a piece of furniture in all Windsor Castle. Its date is 1602. My attention was directed to it by a London merchant who deals solely in marquetry. And by this the reader may learn that Venetian marquetry is really capable of producing great artistic results.
A BORDER OR PANEL.
Oh where are you going my dear little maid?
To the school o' fine arts—if you please, she said
To learn how to paint on china and glass
On velvet and satin, silk, linen and brass
On wood, tin and canvas, on matting and zinc
Slate, marble and tiles, and leather I think.
I have already painted a screen and three plaques
A whole set of dishes and two little racks
A stand for umbrellas—
A lovely one too—
With a ground of sienna—
And bands of light blue.
And cat tails, a dozen, so straight and erect
Growing up all around with artistic effect
There are other things too—
Which I can't stop to tell,
But I think for six lessons
I've done very well.
“MISS MAMIE SEZ DESE ARE ‘HIGHLY CULLUD.’—I’D LIKE TO KNOW EF DEY’RE ANY MO’ HIGHLY CULLUD DAN I AM!”
A LESSON IN GEOGRAPHY
By M. B. Jordan
"A Lesson in Geography,
With all the States to bound!"
My boys grew sober in a trice,
And shook their heads and frowned,—
And this was in the nursery,
Where only smiles are found.
Then suddenly up jumped Boy Blue,—
Youngest of all is he,—
And stood erect beside my chair.
"Mamma," he said, "bound me!"
And all the other lads looked up
With faces full of glee.
I gravely touched his curly head;
"North, by a little pate
That's 'mixed' in 'mental 'rithmetic,'
And 'can't get fractions straight.'
That never knows what time it is,
Nor where are books or slate.
"South, by two feet—two restless feet
That never tire of play,
But never fail to gladly run
(Even on a holiday)
On others' errands willingly,
In most obliging way.
"East, by a pocket stuffed and crammed
With, oh so many things!
With tops and toys and bits of wood,
And pennies, knives, and strings,
And by a little fist that lacks
The glow that water brings.
"West by the same; and well explored
The pocket by the fist.
The capital, two rosy lips
All ready to be kissed.
And,—darling, now I've bounded you;
The class may be dismissed."
HURLY-BURLY.
(A Nonsense Rhyme.)
By Emma Mortimer White.
When the Mother Goose cow jumped over the moon,
And the little dog laughed to see,
The horse hurrahed and tossed up his hat,
And "whistled an air, did he."
The camel danced the Highland fling,
And the elephant put on skates,
While the cat went into the butcher trade
And charged the highest rates.
The mackerel rode a circus colt;
The whale leaped over the trees;
While the catfish rode on a bicycle,
That ran itself with ease.
The tiger went to bed in his boots;
The lion shot at a mark;
The eagle banged his hair in front,
And offered himself to a park.
The horned owl laughed till he almost cried,
Then cried till his eyes were dim;
But the wisest of all was a wise old hen
Who taught herself to swim.
JACK-IN-THE-PULPIT
Well, my hearers, how do I find you this time? Getting ready for school, do you say? Ah, of course! Your Jack knows all about it. The season will soon begin at the little red school-house, and it will be a joy to see the bright procession that will go marching by my meadow every morning, the girls chatting and humming in the cheeriest way, and the boys all whistling gayly—whether just for the fun of it or to keep up their courage, I'll not attempt to say. And the dear Little School-ma'am—bless her!—she'll be in a perfect glow of delight!
It seems to me that the very walls of the school-houses ought to throb with pride over the wise young heads and the clear, happy voices that will soon make them echo with sounds of busy work and play. And so success to you all, my dears, throughout the whole term!