Sometimes the shade-rest is sunk slightly below the level of the top of the shade so that the mounting of the finial is not promi nent. The mountings of finials, however, have so improved in recent years that they are no longer unsightly and therefore the present custom is to leave the shade-rest flush with the top.
When the shade frame is returned from the framemaker's it is first carefully checked with the drawing and then set upon the lamp in order to make sure that the desired result has been ob tained. Often, slight corrections at this point lead to a great enhancement of the beauty of the finished product. The frame is then wrapped carefully and tightly with a thin binding-tape to which the lining and outside coverings are sewn. If this binding tape is not very securely in place the covers are likely to slip and cause wrinkles in the shade. The sewing of the covers to the tape must be done with very fine stitches entirely hidden under neath by the wire and finally hidden on the outside by the narrow braid or ribbon used in finishing. Often the lining is given a coat of shellac or water-proof varnish and when this is dried so that it is no longer sticky but still soft enough for a needle to penetrate easily, the cover is sewn into place. When this process is followed and the cover properly sized it is possible to paint directly on the shade with oils, water-colours or inks.
If this outside cover is to be executed off the shade it should first be pinned into place and the design carefully drawn in soft pencil, each panel being marked with a key number corresponding to a small number attached to the frame so that the panels can be put in place after the work is accomplished in the correct order and with a perfect matching of the design at the seams. In ac complishing this work certain allowance must be made for the slight shrinkage due to the repeated dyeings and it must be re membered that the shrinkage occurs on the long and crossways of the material, while the bias will permit sufficient stretching to overcome it. It may be said here that the linings and covers should always be put on with the centre axis of the panel running true with the length of the material and with the cross-threads running as nearly horizontal as possible. Finally, in the finish ing, the narrowest possible braid or ribbon should as a rule be employed to hide the seams and often tiny folds of the material of which the shade was made are pressed into service, though these are seldom as satisfactory as the other edging materials, for often the design demands a slight deepening contrast in the framing of the panels.
The method of making parchment or vellum shades is very similar to that already described, except, that as a rule no lining is necessary unless the design involves incisions in the cover. Usually these shades are put together with the assistance of an adhesive and nearly every lampmaker has his favourite glues or cements for this purpose. However, it has been found that the use of an adhesive alone is not sufficient to make sure that the panels will not expand and contract from the heat of the bulbs in the lamp, from moisture, and various other causes enough to tear them loose from the frame. It is therefore necessary either to water-proof the joints and panels with shellac, or some similar substances, or to sew them as well as cement them into place.
In the making of real vellum shades special attention must be paid to this work, and the frames must be far heavier than those employed in ordinary work, for real vellum being a split raw hide, expands and contracts to a tremendous degree, often buckling on the frame or contracting so that it is distorted out of shape. It is therefore wise to cement and sew this material into place and to treat it with oil so that moisture has a lessened effect.
Glass, mica and capa shell should be avoided as well as un covered varnished silk, for these substances are too harsh and too translucent to knit in well with the average interior and no matter how carefully treated permit a harsh glare of light which is un pleasant. If, however, the lamps happen to be made for distant effects such as stage sets, these materials may help to procure admirable effects.
Almost any graphic art can be employed in the decoration of the various materials used. Painting with translucent colours, batik, etching, woodblock printing and all other methods have their advantages and disadvantages which must be studied care fully Colour Plate III. shows a dry-point panel to which colour and gold leaf were also added. The gold leaf though opaque has been handled in such small areas that it seems a natural part of the lacy design of the original print. When the lamp is lit, and in the daytime also, the glint from these gilded areas adds richness which could not otherwise be obtained. Care must be used, how ever, in the employment of this medium to have it well dis tributed in a delicate pattern or used in properly designed masses for silhouette effects so that the opacity helps rather than hinders the motive. Many lithographs or four-colour prints have been employed successfully but it is very difficult to obtain exactly the type of print which will be most suitable to the lamp and to the surroundings. However, at times, certain typical period de signs can be so employed, and of course, when printed in quantity, they give a beautiful result at a considerably reduced cost for manufacture.
It is also necessary to mention briefly the finial or crest mounted upon what is known as the shade-binder. This may consist of the cover or part of the cover of the original vase (see colour Plate I., upper left-hand corner), a small casting which recalls the design of the mounts or of a decorative piece of semi-precious stone (suitable for Chinese lamps) as seen in some of the other colour plates. This finial should, however, always be considered a part of the design and should carry out the feeling of the lines of the lamp. (W. E. Cx.) a deep black pigment consisting of carbon in a very fine state of division, obtained by the imperfect corn bustion of highly carbonaceous substances. It is manufactured from scraps of resin, pitch refuse, inferior oils and fats, and other similar combustibles rich in carbon, the finest lamp-black being procured by the combustion of oils obtained in coal-tar distilla tion (see COAL-TAR). Lamp-black is extensively used in the manu facture of printing ink, as a pigment for oil painting and also for "ebonizing" cabinet work, and in the waxing and lacquering of leather. It is the principal constituent of China ink.