Hampshire Antique Restoration
Resources
Articles David has written over his years at the bench and in training, on furniture history, conservation ethics, techniques and his own conservation work. Each one opens as a PDF.
Furniture history
- The eighteenth centuryEnglish furniture from William and Mary onwards: walnut veneers, the arrival of mahogany, and the Palladian, Rococo and Gothic styles.PDF, 31 KB (opens in a new tab)
- The Regency periodHow the Prince Regent's taste shaped furniture well beyond the regency itself.PDF, 26 KB (opens in a new tab)
- The Victorian periodGothic revival, the Great Exhibition, machine carving and the Arts and Crafts reaction against it.PDF, 22 KB (opens in a new tab)
- Reference booksThe books on furniture history, design and finishing that David draws on.PDF, 25 KB (opens in a new tab)
Ethics
- UKIC code of ethicsThe code of the United Kingdom Institute for Conservation, now part of ICON, which guides how David treats every object.PDF, 6 KB (opens in a new tab)
- Icon websiteUKIC joined other conservation bodies to form Icon in 2005. Its website has the current code of conduct and a register of accredited conservators.Website (opens in a new tab)
Techniques
- Specialist woodworm treatmentWhy most traditional woodworm treatments harm furniture, and how Thermo Lignum heats a piece to 52°C while holding its humidity steady, so the beetle dies and the wood doesn't warp.PDF, 1.1 MB (opens in a new tab)
- French polishingWhat French polish is, how to make a polisher's rubber, and how to build a deep, flat shine.PDF, 16 KB (opens in a new tab)
- GildingGold leaf from Ancient Egypt to today, the difference between water and oil gilding, and how each is laid.PDF, 19 KB (opens in a new tab)
- Stains and the staining of timberWater stains, oil stains and walnut crystals (Vandyke brown), and when to use each on antique timber.PDF, 25 KB (opens in a new tab)
- Reproducing a coaching table from a photographA mahogany coaching table built from a single catalogue photograph at West Dean College in 2007, from rough timber to finished piece.PDF, 3.0 MB (opens in a new tab)
- Cyclododecane as a volatile exclusion layer (MA, 2009)David's master's dissertation. It tests whether cyclododecane can protect an untreated timber surface from darkening during consolidation.PDF, 6.3 MB (opens in a new tab)
Conservation reports
- An early 19th century pietre dure specimen tableCondition report and treatment proposal for a marble specimen table on a simulated rosewood and parcel gilt base.PDF, 1.0 MB (opens in a new tab)
- A mid 18th century South German commode chairCondition report and treatment proposal for a rococo walnut fauteuil, later converted from a commode to an ordinary chair.PDF, 661 KB (opens in a new tab)
- A mid 17th century Italian walnut armchairCondition report and treatment proposal for an open armchair with spiral twist stretchers.PDF, 531 KB (opens in a new tab)
- An early 19th century Biedermeier salon chairTreatment report for a satin birch chair with a caned seat and ebony stringing: broken joints, splits and missing leg sections.PDF, 6.2 MB (opens in a new tab)