Plaster and Papier-Maché Ornaments for Rooms.
The mouldings of cornices in rooms are formed by a wooden mould drawn along a straight-edge to guide the mould, acting like the carpenter’s plane, when forming analogous mouldings in wood. When such cornices are of sufficient size and depth to require it, wooden brackets, shaped something like the profile of the cornice, are fixed up against the wall, and laths are nailed on these brackets, to serve as a foundation for the mouldings. By this means the necessity for a heavy mass of plaster, to get the requisite projection in the cornice is avoided; which mass would be unwieldly to manage, and liable to fall down by its weight.
Foliage and ornamental work in plaster is made by modelling the ornaments by hand, in a proper kind of clay, worked by steel or wooden tools, resembling small spatulas in form. To do this requires a taste and skill in drawing or designing in the workman, which raises him to the rank of an artist. When the model is finished and dry, the surface of it is covered with a thin coat of oil, and a mould of fine plaster is taken from it in separate pieces. To allow of the plaster mould being taken off the model, the edges of these separate pieces of the mould are made smooth so as to fit accurately together. From this mould any number of casts may be taken by pouring fluid plaster into the mould when it is put together; and as soon as each cast has set, or become hard, the mould is taken off it, to be put together again for a new cast. There has been recently an improvement introduced, which leads to a diminution of the use of plaster for ornaments; this is by the substitution of papier-maché. The material so named is formed chiefly of paper, brought to the state of a paste, and then compressed in moulds. There is to every ornament so made a counter-mould, following the general contour of the ornament, so that the piece is made about equally thick in every part. The resulting ornament is very much less ponderous than those made of plaster, and much less liable to fracture. The interior decorations of many buildings are now made of this material.
Whitewashing and Stuccoing.
Old plaster ceilings, walls, &c., are cleaned by being whitewashed. The plaster is first washed over with clean water, by means of broad flat brushes, to remove the dirt. All cracks and defects in the plaster are then stopped by filling them up with new plaster, and it is frequently necessary to cut away the plaster in such places to obtain a clean new surface to enable the new plaster to adhere. When the surface is dry, the whitewash, made of whiting mixed up in water, is laid on with the same form of brushes, and two or three times gone over, so as effectually to cover all stains and marks on the surface. Instead of being whitewashed, walls are frequently coloured by mixing ochre, of the proper tint, in the water along with the whiting.
The outside of walls of houses, &c., are now frequently covered with stucco, a kind of plaster made with a lime that resists the action of water, when set, and which, if well managed, causes the wall to look as if built of stone. The mode of stuccoing walls is exactly the same as that of covering them with common plaster.
Origin of Paper-hangings.
In early times, wealthy people were accustomed to have the walls of their rooms covered with tapestry, which was a combination of woven cloth and needlework, somewhat mid-way between the sampler work and the carpet work of our own day. These specimens of tapestry frequently represented some historical events, and were often worked by the hands of the lady of the mansion and her maids; but at other times were the work of men following that line of occupation. The walls of those rooms which were not thus covered, were usually of panelled wainscot, or oak.
But when tapestry went out of fashion, and a more lively covering for a wall than oak was wished for, a custom arose of printing or stamping certain coloured devices on sheets of paper, and of pasting those sheets against the wall. We believe that it is in England more than in any other country that this covering for walls is employed; and since the removal of the duty which was formerly laid on paper-hangings, they have become so very cheap as to be almost universally employed in houses of every class; indeed, it may be regarded as a circumstance not a little conducive to the comfort and neatness of humble dwellings, that a yard of printed wall-paper can now be purchased for one halfpenny. From this trifling price up to five or even ten shillings per yard, paper-hangings are now manufactured; so great are the improvements gradually made in the modes of manufacture.