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.
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