Hints to Travellers, Scientific and General, Vol. 2 / Tenth edition, revised and corrected

by Royal Geographical Society

Squeezing sculptures is a more difficult matter. Mr. A. P. Maudslay gave very full directions in an earlier edition of these “Hints” which may be repeated here. After stating that all moulds of sculpture have to be made of many thicknesses of paper, with a good coating of paste between every few sheets (not only because of the great inequalities of surface, which break through the paper, but also in order that the mould, when dry, may be stout enough to keep its shape), he said:—

‘Paper can only properly be applied for the purpose of moulding when the carving is free from large contours and deep undercutting; but it is wonderful what accurate results can be obtained even when large curves and some undercutting have to be contended against. Where worn or splintered parts of a wood-carving, or fissures in a stone, or deep undercutting which is not essential to the design, occur, it is often of advantage to fill them up with clay or paper, to which a smooth surface can be given, so that the mould will come away free from them when it is dry; and careful notes and measurements will often enable one to restore the contour to a mould which has suffered some pressure in transport. In a properly-made mould the detail of carving is never lost, unless the paper itself is destroyed.

‘A shallow tin bath (or two made to fit inside one another), large enough to hold an open sheet of paper, is useful for soaking the paper in.[17] Twenty sheets or more may be placed in the water at once, and left there without harm for an hour or more; but a few minutes’ soaking is quite enough.

‘I have several times had to mould, in America, the whole of a monolithic monument—one as much as 25 feet in height—covered with carving and hieroglyphic inscription, and have been perfectly successful in reproducing it in plaster in England. Each face would be marked out into three or more sections, and each section would be moulded separately, great care being taken that each mould should considerably overlap the margin of the other, so that when each section is cast in plaster the edges of the cast can be cut away until the joint is perfect. And each section should also overlap at the top and sides in No. 1, and at the sides in No. 2, &c., for the same reason; and it is necessary to pay careful attention to the beating in of the paper near the sides and edges, as it is there that the layers are most likely to come apart when dry. These edges can be trimmed down afterwards, if found too bulky in packing.

‘The first sheets of paper should always be put on singly, and well beaten in. If the carving presents many sharp angles, the paper will again and again be broken away over them, and small scraps of paper may be used for covering them up, until the whole section is covered at least three papers deep in the thinnest place. The coat of paste should then be given. If the paste is laid on when the mould is too thin, it will penetrate to the stone, and prevent the mould coming off when dry. The paste may be put on warm, but if too hot it draws the paper from the stone (if it is a stone sculpture); air gets underneath the paper, and it is very difficult to get rid of it again. Avoid, in putting on the first papers, doubled edges or creases, and beat in well, so that the paper may work into the grain of the stone or wood. It is easy to spoil a mould by scamping the work in it, but not easy to spoil it by overbeating. After giving a coat of paste with a brush, it is advisable to work in the paste with the fingers, so as to be sure, from the smooth feeling, that it penetrates the paper over the whole surface.

‘After the first coat of paste has been applied, a good deal of time may be saved by employing an assistant to beat out the paper for the further thickening of the mould, for when thus beaten out, two or three thicknesses of paper can be laid on at the same time. Take about six sheets together from the water, fold them, and then double them twice, and slightly tear the wet doubled edges, so that when the sheets are laid open again there are a number of small slits in the paper; then lay them out together on any flat surface, and beat them out with a brush for a few minutes. It is easy to separate them again into the required number of sheets in thickness.

‘Another method which is equally good, if not better than the last, is, after making the tears in the doubled sheets as before, to unfold them, and then to roll them together and twist them up like a rope, and rub them well between the hands; then unroll them and beat them out for a moment, separating as many sheets as are required. Either of these processes loosens the fibre of the paper, whilst the slits prevent it stretching unevenly. After this treatment it feels to the touch more like wet leather than paper.

‘As the mould grows thicker the pulpy paper will, from the continual beating, find its way into, and fill up, the deeper cutting; but it should be most carefully watched that the mould is not left too thin over the more prominent parts of the surface, and, with a little practice, the thickness is easily judged by the touch. It is always well to use the fingers frequently both in pressing the paper into its place and working in the paste.

‘It is difficult to lay down any rule as to the thickness of a mould and the number of coatings of paste necessary. If the mould is of large size, and the carving presents prominent angles or large curves, it may need an average of thirty sheets in thickness to preserve its shape, and three or four coatings of paste; but if the carving is in low-relief on a flat surface, less than half the thickness will suffice.