"Improving" the Decoration of Furniture
Imitation and Mechanization in the Marquetry Process in Britain and America, 1850-1900
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 4019381 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Clive Edwards (corresponding author) |
| Year | 2012 |
| Volume | 53 |
| Issue | 2 |
| Pages | 401-434 |
| Publication date | 2012-04-01 |
| Peer Reviewed | Yes |
| Open Access | No |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Technology and Culture (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 0040-165X • E-ISSN: 1097-3729 |
| Publisher | Project MUSE (PUBLISHER • US) |
| DOI | 10.1353/tech.2012.0073 |
| OpenAlex | W1964952563 |
| Language | EN |
| References cited | 16 |
In the 1980s, the application of the laser to cut veneers for marquetry was arguably the first major successful development for improving the process since the nineteenth century. Despite attempts to advance what had been an essentially hand-crafted technique, successful economic applications remained elusive. This article analyzes attempts made since the mid nineteenth-century to apply technologies to "improve" the marquetry process in Britain and America. Inventors intended to increase opportunities for manufacturers to supply decorative furniture for a growing market. Speed of production and the possibility of supplying furniture with greater decoration reflected a desire to address both the economic and consumption agendas. I describe how inventors proposed attempts to mechanize or imitate marquetry often through patented processes, and then consider their success. I argue that applying technologies as knowledge, practice, and material resource to craft works raises a number of issues particularly when there is an element of "art" involved
Aesthetics · Art · Business · Consumption (sociology) · Craft · Economics · Imitation · Process (computing) · Production (economics) · Resource (disambiguation) · Visual arts · Art History and Market Analysis · Computer Science · Fashion and Cultural Textiles · Photography and Visual Culture
The Visible Hand
From the American System to Mass Production, 1800-1932
A dictionary of arts, manufactures, and mines
The Social Shaping of Technology
Technological Innovation and Design Economics in Furniture Manufacture
The Diversity of Industrial Experience
The Social Construction of Facts and Artefacts
Imagining Consumers
Diversity in Diversity
The Real Thing
Imagining Consumers
Manufacturing Diversity
Technology and Design - A New Agenda
The Mechanization of Brickmaking
From imitation to invention
| Citation velocity | historical |
|---|---|
| Highly cited | No |