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Historical
scroll saw fretwork books and documents |
1. Fretwork and
Marquetry, D. Denning, 1895
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In 1895, just in the
middle of the golden time of scroll saw, D. Denning published a book
titled ¨Fretwork and Marquetry¨. In this book Denning explains
everything related to fretwork, Marquetry, inlaying, overlaying, scroll saw machines,
blades, patterns, etc.
This book is 110 years old. It was
published in London 6 years before queen Victoria's death. It is a
historical legate that any scroll saw lover will appreciate and
enjoy. Furthermore, even though many techniques explained in it are
obsolete one will find that it is still possible to learn from many
of the sections of the book. Reading it is a pleasure, for you will
feel taken back to a fascinating time in which in spite of the
technical limitations some artists were able to create master scroll
saw designs and works that have remained unequaled for more than a century.
In these pages I am sharing the
whole book with you. Every illustration in the book has been respected and left in its
place. Some pages containing only adds and the long list of
books in the same collection have been
removed.
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2.
Sorrento and Inlaid work, Arthur Hope, 1876
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In 1876, Arthur Hope
published ¨Sorrento and Inlaid work¨. This is one of the first
scroll saw books to appear in the United States. In this book
Hope makes an introduction to marquetry and inlaying. The book was published just
a few years after the introduction of the newly invented treadle
scroll saw machines, which were revolutionary and transformed scroll
sawing into a hobby of masses. Hope gives us an attractive glimpse
of that time in the preface of the book:
¨It is now twenty years since the author of this book began his first rude attempts at scroll-sawing, with a roughly whittled saw-frame, fitted with a blade made from a watch-spring, its teeth, few and far between, unevenly and laboriously cut with a common file. Since then he has watched the growth of the art in this country, stimulated by the introduction of curious and beautiful articles of fret-cutting from Germany, and inlaid work from France and Italy, and the gradual improvement in handsaw frames, and blades of wondrous delicacy. Within the past four years, aided much by the invention of treadle machines of great simplicity and beauty, a scroll-sawing fever has swept over the country, absorbing the attention of the young and old. It would perhaps be impossible to name a village, however small, where the fever had not made its appearance. In many of our large cities scroll-sawing is taught by experienced instructors, either in classes or in private lessons.¨
Sorrento is an Italian city with a
very old tradition of inlay works of remarkable quality and beauty.
If you would like to learn more about it and to admire the works
they produce you can visit:
http://www.giottoline.com/ |
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The book contains several patterns also included in this
presentation, though the resolution is low to limit the size of
files. |
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Copyright
notice: Even though due to their age these book are public
domain, the presentation given here is copyrighted and protected by
the copyright laws and the international treaties. In particular,
the scanned images are actually photographs of the book and thus
they belong to the author.
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