IT is my desire, in these few pages, to render what assistance I am able to those numerous ladies and gentlemen who have made a study of my profession their amusement.

I cannot hope that this Work will be all that is needed, but such instruction as it is possible to give with only pen and ink will, I trust, be found within its pages.

With the exception of illuminating, and perhaps a few sister arts, wood sculpture or carving appears to be the most useful and entertaining recreation which has for some years been admitted into fashionable circles.

Many of my pupils have by their endeavors largely contributed to the success of fancy fairs for various charities in which they have been interested ; others have decorated their tables with caskets and bookstands, and their walls with brackets and frames ; and I must not omit the mention of one lady who has accomplished the remarkable task of carving all the oaken pew-heads or finials for her husband's church, with very little assistance from me, on the actual blocks of wood, I merely supplying the designs and models, and carving one or two with her in softer material.

Again expressing a hope that this little Work will assist those who have commenced, and act as an inducement to others to try their skill, I beg to introduce the following.

Perforated carving is accomplished with the assistance of a bow or buhl saw, and is a quick and easy way of gaining a rich effect.

There is a large number of ladies who use the buhl-saw very skilfully; but I feel certain that when they see the vast improvement to their works which they can give by employing carving tools, they will add to their other accomplishments that of enriching their productions with an artistic use of our implements.

Fretwork is produced in the following manner: - A horse, which is a piece of wood cut out in the form of a boot-jack, with a screw to fasten it to the table, the two prongs projecting over the table ; the wood to be worked is laid on this horse (the pattern having been previously marked on it), and the saw worked in a perpendicular manner, the right hand grasping the handle underneath the horse, and working up and down between the two prongs, the left hand being laid on the fretwork to guide it according to the lines to be sawn. When the outside is done, holes must be bored with a gimlet or an Archimedean screw in the places to be taken out of the interior, and the saw loosened at the top, put through the hole, and refastened, and so on until all the pieces to come out of the centre are fretted. The first example I give will look very pretty (Plate TV.), even if no carving is added; the second it is more necessary to enrich with the tools, and when worked, forms a pretty bookstand and portrait-frame in one (Plate Y,). The wood for the former should be from a quarter to half an inch in thickness, and the latter from half an inch to five-eighths of an inch. The mode of procedure is as follows: - Firstly, the design must be enlarged to the size required (say about 18 inches by 12). The outline and the pieces to come out of the centre must now be sawn out in the way described above. When that is done, the perforated wood is secured to the work-table by a piece of wood three or four inches long being fixed to the carver's screw, as if it were going to be carved; the nut end is then put through one of the holes in the work, then through the hole in the bench, and the nut screwed on underneath. The piece of wood thus employed is called a bridge, the use of which prevents the necessity of making a screw-hole in the work in hand. But this can only be done in perforated carving. We have in this class of work no "grounding" to do. The description in a former section will give an insight into the manner of finishing the work, and producing a natural effect.


On Bold Carving, and Carving in the Round or Solid.

This is the most difficult and the most important branch of wood-carving or sculpture; and, in fact, I think it is the only class of carving that merits the latter term. It occupies more time in execution, and requires considerably more practice and more taste.

Let us for a moment look at a piece of Grinling Gibbons's carving. It is probably an arrangement of bouquets of fruit and flowers tied together with graceful folds of ribbon, which, with festoons of flowers branching out of cornucopia, form the bordering of a handsome mirror. This is sure to be bold and daring work, producing a grand effect. The carving has probably in some parts a projection of eight or ten inches, so arranged that, though the masses are to a certain extent uniform, yet they appear to have become so by accident. Now this is not, as some would think, executed in the solid, but probably in three, certainly in two, layers of wood, carved separately, and mounted one on another in such a dexterous manner that the junction is quite unobservable. Nearly all the works of this eminent carver are mounted in this manner; and if the amateur wishes to carry out any works in this style, he will certainly receive pleasure, emulation, and instruction by studying the works of Grinling Gibbons at any of the palaces, mansions, or churches which are fortunate enough to possess some of his handiwork.

We had better commence by carving one of the smaller mounts, - say, for instance, a branch of apple-tree, with leaves and fruit, about two inches or two inches and a half in thickness. To study directly from nature is undoubtedly the safest way of representing her correctly; it is, nevertheless, attended with considerable difficulty in this and many other instances, to an unpractised amateur. I should, therefore, advise the pupil to copy a carved mount before he attempts the light, airy, and graceful designs of nature herself; for the experienced carver will translate, as it were, the design to the amateur by his judgment without losing its characteristics, but merely arranging it in such a manner as will make it possible to render its representation in wood practicable and effective. In fact, it is sometimes necessary to exaggerate forms to counterbalance the want of colour in our material.

This study must be sawn out with a bow-saw to the out- line, the wood being held in the vice (the buhl-saw is far too delicate for wood of such thickness). The hosting must now be commenced, regard being paid to advice in a former section, and carrying it out in such a way that the thickness of wood is made good use of without showing the sides too obtrusively.

This will form a good piece of practice for doing something on rather a grand scale, and those who have succeeded with it sufficiently well to encourage them to proceed in this direction, might now attempt a floral boss in the style of Grinling Gibbons. The branch of apple-tree which we have just finished will form the mount. The place on which it is to be fitted is called a seat. The ground part of this work should be carved all over, showing little or no wood unused, as explained by Plate VII. The seat should be a circular pedestal, about one inch and a quarter in diameter, left to the full thickness of the wood, in the place just underneath the mount. The sides should be carved, to give as good an appearance as the design will allow. When finished, I should advise it to be varnished and white polished. It could be made use of for many purposes, as, for instance, a bracket, in which case a top for it should be turned in walnut wood, and polished in the same manner. This will be found to give a pleasant contrast.

In carving bold works such as the above, it is very useful to have some clay or modelling wax, and before cutting the wood, to model the design with modelling tools. By this means the amateur will be better able to determine the best way to lay down the leaves and flowers.

I hope and think I have given such hints in the various branches of the art, and shown their peculiar treatment, as will enable the amateur to carry out any works he may wish, provided the requisite practice is given; and I also hope that, with my hints and their patience, many beautiful works of art may be added to their treasures.