HARDWOOD RECORD 



33 



at the same address forty years ago as 

 Vrooman & Baker ; subsequently the title be- 

 came Vrooman & Crawford. Later Mr. 

 Vrooman bought out his partner's interest 

 and continued alone until October 21, 1894, 

 when the style of S. B. Vrooman & Co. was 

 adopted and Samuel B. Vrooman made presi- 

 dent of the concern and Fisher Dalrymple sec- 

 retary and treasurer. 



The concern has a, band saw and planing 

 mill, also a distributing yard, at the above 

 address, with a capacity of 3,000,000 feet of 

 lumber, and carries also considerable stock 

 elsewhere. It handles only high-class stock 

 and makes a specialty of teakwood. The con- 



cern is furnishing the New York Ship Building 

 Company and the William Cramp Ship & 

 Kngine Building Company with this wood for 

 the battleships now being constructed at these 

 yards. This valuable wood they import direct 

 from India. They handle also mahogany, 

 Spanish cedar, Florida red cedar. Prima Vera 

 cypress and general hardwoods. 



Samuel B. Vrooman combines with his busi- 

 ness activity at home and abroad a genial and 

 attractive personality, which has made him 

 many friends -on both continents. Fisher Dal- 

 rymple is the strenously busy man of the con- 

 cern; he is an expert lumberman and an 

 astute business man. 



Utilization of HardWoods 



ARTICLE .\L1 



GOLD FURNITURE 



What is commonlj- termed gold furniture 

 among the trade has undergone probably a 

 greater evolution than any other class of 

 furniture. This is attributable to the change 

 in the character of the composition which pro- 

 duces the gold effect, as well as to the fact 

 that different woods are being used now from 

 those formerly employed. It was a long time 

 before gold furniture attained popular favor, 

 especially among wealthy people. 



Vernis Martin is the name of the gold 

 composition formerly used. The new article 

 is composed principally of metal ingredients, 

 and has a much more pleasing appearance; 

 the shiny effect, which was formerly evident, 

 is eliminated and an accurate imitation of 

 gold leaf produced. This new composition is 

 the invention of the Gold Furniture Company 

 of Chicago. It may be said that this con- 

 cern has developed the manufacture of gold 

 furniture from its heretofore rather unsatis- 

 factory stage by employing innovations, 

 among which was the metal composition before 

 referred to, and it now produces this class 

 of goods at lower prices than formerly pre- 

 vailed, and at the same time manufactures a 

 better article. 

 The principal change that has occurred in 



I he manufacture of this product has been the 

 SiUbstitution of birch, almost entirely, for ma- 

 hogany and walnut. The last, named woods 

 were not only too expensive for novelty manu- 

 facture, but they were not so well adapted to 

 receive the Vernis Martin composition as birch 

 rr even chestnut. 



The principal articles manufactured by gold 

 furniture concerns are chairs, pedestals, can- 

 fdesticks, clocks and various small novelties. 

 The method of manufacture differs in no 

 essential particular from that of ordinary 

 furniture. The pedestals, which vary widely 

 in design, are always carved by hand out of 

 solid pieces of wood. 



Birch is in great demand for this class of 

 ^■ork, and supplies the principal need. Chest- 

 nut is used frequently, and experiments with 

 a view to utilizing maple are in progress. It 

 i<' claimed for birch that it polishes as well 

 as mahogany, and being closer grained takes a 

 finer finish. The parts are sawn in such a 

 way as to avoid joints. It is further neces- 

 sary that full stock be used in the case of 

 arms and legs of chairs. In assembling, all 

 parts are glued and screwed, the same methods 

 lieing used as are employed in ordinary fur- 

 niture manufacture. 



Relative to the illustrations shown in con- 

 nection with this article, the ornamentation is 

 made with the metal composition, which the 

 manufacturers declare is more easily preserved 

 on birch than on walnut or mahogany. The 

 fern dishes are made of four parts sawn 

 from scrap material and dovetailed together, 

 being bent over forms or moulds. Many 

 novelties are now being experimented with, 

 with a view to more complete utilization of 

 stock. 



Seasoning plays an important part in this 

 industry. All material is re-dried in special 

 kilns, remaining there for from three weeks to 

 two months, as absolute dryness is a prerequi- 

 site in successful manufacture. The presence 

 of even a slight amount of sap cracks the 

 furniture and spoils the finish. 



While gilt furniture can be obtained in all 

 styles and patterns, the types pievailing in the 



AN ARTISTIC GOLD NOVELTY. 



Louis XrV and XV periods seem best suited 

 for this purpose, and are most commonly 

 copied. The peculiar requirements of this 

 class of furniture, such as special stock and 

 thinness of parts offers an inviting field for 

 birch. Two large manufacturers of this line 

 have for several months been practically un- 

 able to secure suiEcient low-grade stock to 

 keep their factories supplied. The increased 

 demand for the furniture, combined with the 

 scarcity of birch, are responsible for the ex- 

 periments in maple. 



GOOD DESIGN IN GOLD FURNITURE. 



New Bored Column Company 



A new corporation under the laws of North 

 Carolina is the Colonial Column Company, which 

 will have headquarters at China Grove, N. C. 

 The company owns extensive timber privileges, 

 tontrolling a large supply of high-grade poplar, 

 o.Tl! and pine timber, and thus will use only the 

 iiigli grade stock in the manufacture. Solid 

 bored columns of all dimensions will be turned 

 rut from poplar, pine and oak, and the entire 

 product will be subjected to a special process 

 and primed to insure against rot and checking. 

 In addition, balusters will be manufactured from 

 the same woods as a by-product. 



