Shopping for furniture


a bug which had been around for a few million years doing his thing, and in all probability will be around for the another few million years, was found to have the secret to a wonderful finish material. Lacca's secretions had been used since Egyptian times, not only as a coloring agent but also as dye and glue. The Romans employed this all purpose product, called gum lac, and other continued to use it through the mid-ninetecuth century-the red coast of. the British armv were dved with gum lac. But, when aniline dyeing was discovered, the days of gum lac were done.

I can well imagine the scene at the United Gu in Calcutta when the owners learned their 1M worth not a million but a merc hundred pc>(, To re-coin a phrase, necessitw was the mother of invention: In panic, the partners put their best chemists onto the job. Mixing a solvent with flakes of gum lac, the chemists came upon a revolutionary new product – shellac. What joy there was on the finish line! Not only did this product give a wonderfully attractive finish to a wood surface, but it also dried within an hour to a hard coat. With shellac used in a finihing system now known as French polishing, the world of furniture was transformed, and furniture manufacturers were able to start thinking of themselves as captains of an industry rather than producers of a craft item.


page 1 2 3 4 5 6 | Next >