IMITATION INLAID OR INTARSIA SURFACES.
The invention shown in Figs. 259 to 261 relates to the pro duction, as distinctve articles of manufacture, of tiles, table tops, wainscoting, panels, work-boxes, articles of furniture of all kinds, and fancy or ornamental articles generally.
A mould or matrix is first prepared, of metal, slate, or any fit material, and of suitable size and construction, in the bottom of which, or in the bottom and sides of which, the outlines of the ornament or ornaments with which the finished article is to be embellished are depressed, sunk, engraved, or intagliated. Into the mould or matrix thus prepared is placed the material, compound, or composition which is to form the base of the manufactured article. If this is to be an ornamental plaque or a tile, for example, clay, plaster-of-paris, or any artificial stone compound may be used, which is pressed into the mould, so that the intagliated lines in this will appear upon the plaque or tile, when this is withdrawn from the mould, as outlines of relief.
Almost any material, compound, or composition is capable of being used with and ornamented by this process, such as plastic materials or compounds, stone, wood, cast metal, or any sheet metal or metallic foil, such materials as are not themselves capable, on account of hardness, of receiving an impression in the mould or matrix being first covered or coated with a com pound of a soft or plastic nature. Wood, by being steamed, boiled, or treated in several other well-known ways, is adapted for ornamentation by this process, either plain or veneered, and with or without a plastic coating of varnish, shellac, or any suit able paint composition.
Fig. 259 is a plain view of a plaque or panel with an imita tion-intarsia surface. Fig. 26o is a section of the mould or matrix ; and Fig. 261 is a similar section, showing a modifica tion in the construction of the mould or matrix.
In the treatment of some materials it is desirable to construct the matrix in the shape of rollers, one of which has a flat sur face, and the other is provided with indented or engraved lines, which will form the outlines in relief upon the material passed between them. When a hollow mould or matrix is used, this may be constructed as represented in Fig. 251, that is, with a raised or depressed part a, forming either a shoulder, as indi cated by the full line, or a recess as indicated by the dotted lines, at each end of said figure, which shoulder or recess, as the case may be, surrounds the engraved or intagliated bed of the mould, by which the ground or real surface of the article or material to be ornamented will be exposed in its natural state. By either of these methods a base may be used, which consists of several parts or layers, which allows of an endless combi nation and variety of materials adapted to be used by this process in the production of imitation-intarsia articles of man ufacture, or articles of any kind ornamented by this process.
After the base has been produced with lines in relief in the manner described, and the spaces within the lines filled in with enamel, paint, or any suitable colored composition, and the sur face rubbed down smooth, and varnished, if desired, as fully set forth, the article so prepared, if of clay, and ornamented with mineral colors or enamel, is baked to give it the requisite de gree of hardness and durability, and bring out the colors. The subsequent treatment of the ornamented articles will, of course, differ according to their nature and the purposes for which they are intended ; but the process of producing the raised outlines and subsequent filling in with coloring matter, is in all cases substantially the same.