April, 2011

Thomas Parsons' - Parso-stone Samples
Apr 26th, 2011 | | Paint Technical | 1 Comment

Parsons’ Decorative Finishes (2) – Imitation Stone

A current project on London's Cafe Royal reminded me that I had a wonderful catalogue of paints that were manufactured in the 1930s and that might provide useful source material. Parsons' Decorative Finishes is...

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Thomas Parsons' - Flat samples
Apr 25th, 2011 | | Colour Ranges | Paint Technical | 4 Comments

Parsons’ Decorative Finishes (1) – The Book

The recent analysis of the original decorative schemes of London's Cafe Royal proved the worth of my many years specialist-book-collecting. It is always good to be able to demonstrate to my long-suffering wife that...

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Geffrye - 1880s almshouse
Apr 22nd, 2011 | | Paint Technical | 6 Comments

Soft Distemper

Soft distemper on the walls of this almshouse - Geffrye Museum Soft distemper (sometimes known as Calcimine) is a traditional water-based coating for plaster surfaces. As it allows the wall beneath to ‘breathe’...

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Tor Royal
Apr 20th, 2011 | | Private Houses | Residences | 4 Comments

Tor Royal, Dartmoor

Sir Thomas Tyrwhitt & Princetown Tor Royal was built in 1785-93 by and for Sir Thomas Tyrwhitt. He had been private secretary to the Prince of Wales until 1796, when he was elected to the House of Commons as...

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Parsons - Pompeian Colours
Apr 18th, 2011 | | Colour Ranges | Comments Off

A Tint Book of Historical Colours

SOME COLOURS FROM THE DECORATIVE AND APPLIED ARTS Pompeian and Etruscan Colours "Long Acre1 in the year 1802 was an ideal situation for a firm of colour and varnish makers, the neighbourhood being the cradle of...

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Werner's Nomenclature - Orange
Apr 16th, 2011 | | Colour Ranges | 4 Comments

Werner’s Nomenclature of Colours

Colour charts for use in taxonomic descriptions of plants and animals were published from the last years of the seventeenth century. The page above is one of thirteen in a wonderful little volume, whose second...

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Edwinsford Exterior - Copyright RCAHMW Mark Baker Collection C437691
Apr 13th, 2011 | | Portfolio | Private Houses | Residences | 18 Comments

Edwinsford, Carmarthenshire

Edwinsford Exterior - From the National Monuments Record of Wales: © Mark Baker Those in the know might be puzzled as to why I have included what is clearly a ruin amongst the buildings that I have worked in. ...

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Barnbarroch Ruins
Apr 12th, 2011 | | Portfolio | Private Houses | Residences | 4 Comments

Barnbarroch, Wigtownshire

In the early hours of October 23rd 1941 a blaze began in one of the bedrooms of Barnbarroch House, Wigtownshire. Servants, woken by the noise, raised the alarm. Some jumped from windows, seriously injuring...

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