I recently bought a copy of "The Handyman's Enquire Within" edited by Paul Hasluck, dated 1908. I was intrigued by this entry, under the heading of "False Antique Furniture":
The manufacture of false antique furniture is an industry on a somewhat large scale in America, and probably in Great Britain also. Poplar, bass and white maple are the most suitable woods for the purpose... Sawdust is also largely used, being reduced to a pulp and made into sheets under pressure so great that all subsequent warping is prevented. The wood is made to assume the particular "antique" colour desired by boiling in dye for one hour.
It goes on to describe how various colours are achieved, followed by steaming, sizing, glazing and artificial tarnishing and ends with the laconic statement The article is ready for sale when sufficient dust has collected upon it.
I wonder if any furniture restorers have come across this stuff? If you could boil it for an hour without it falling apart, it sounds rather good!
The manufacture of false antique furniture is an industry on a somewhat large scale in America, and probably in Great Britain also. Poplar, bass and white maple are the most suitable woods for the purpose... Sawdust is also largely used, being reduced to a pulp and made into sheets under pressure so great that all subsequent warping is prevented. The wood is made to assume the particular "antique" colour desired by boiling in dye for one hour.
It goes on to describe how various colours are achieved, followed by steaming, sizing, glazing and artificial tarnishing and ends with the laconic statement The article is ready for sale when sufficient dust has collected upon it.
I wonder if any furniture restorers have come across this stuff? If you could boil it for an hour without it falling apart, it sounds rather good!
