Tuesday, April 26, 2011

I've Been Busy...


You may have noticed that the last few months I have neglected posting on my blog. I have been working on projects and busy with my diverse (volunteer) civic activities, and just didn't have the surplus creative energy to sit down and write something. So today, I just sat down and decided to start contributing again.

I am amazed at the stats for this blog, even though I have not posted anything for some time, I still get thousands of visits each month. I am encouraged and flattered that others think my blog has value. I am motivated to continue, and I have new topics to discuss which will expand the focus of this site. I want to talk about traditional period upholstery conservation and the philosophy of non interventive upholstery which has become all too acceptable in museums today. I also want to talk about developing and marketing my Old Brown Glue, which has become very much in demand over the past decade.

I also intend on discussing the issue of authenticating antique furniture. I am presenting my annual lecture at the University of California at Irvine, in association with the American Society of Appraisers, in June and my mind is full of talking points which are of value to both furniture conservators and collectors.

I value comments and would appreciate any input from you, dear reader. Please send me questions or comments and I will direct the content of this blog in that direction. I am more interested in having a conversation than just hearing myself think.

So, every few days now I will sit down and work on this site. But right now I need to finish restoring the nice Boston Sheraton mahogany card table which stands on the bench.

Thank you for your interest.

2 comments:

Mat Nedeljko said...

Patrick, I for one have noticed that you were conspicuously absent...I have been checking every few days for updates. So glad to hear that you are back and I look forward to your future entries.

Patrick I would like to see an future entry on the assembly trays you use for storing cut pieces... how are they made, what size..what is that blue color I see in some pictures.

Thanks again for picking this blog back up.

W. Patrick Edwards said...

I have been fortunate to have purchased two antique printer's cabinets with trays for holding the lead type. These cabinets cost around $500 each and are very rare. They are made of oak or ash and manufactured around 1890. Each tray is fitted with adjustable strips of wood so that the letters could be sorted. I removed all the inserts and found some blue flocked paper. I don't know what kind of paper it was; it was at a discount store and was unmarked. However, since the color is a good contrast with wood, it is easy to see the parts. Also, the very fine texture of the surface keeps the pieces from moving around.

The size of the trays depends on your projects. These typesetting trays are large (16 x 32") and for the two Louis Philippe tilt tables I constructed, I needed 14 trays to hold the 6,000 elements just for the two tops. Each cabinet has 24 trays.

I also made many smaller trays for working around the shop, so that I do not need a larger tray all the time.