256 MANUFACTURE OF PAPIER MACHE. 
eome ceilings of Chesterfield that adorned many of the fine old ceilings 
in deep relief of the Eiizabethian era, are of tins material. 
The following is a description of the various processes practised in 
the manufacture of papier mache, at the works of Messrs Loveridge and 
Shoolbred, at Wolverhampton. 
There are at present five principal varieties of papier mache known 
in the trade, viz., 1, sheets of paper pasted together upon models ; 2, 
thick sheets or boards produced by pressing ordinary paper pulp be- 
tween dies ; 3, fibrous slab, which is made of the coarse varieties of 
fibre only, mixed with some earthy matter, and certain chemical agents 
introduced for the purpose cf rendering the mass incombustible (a 
cementing size is added, and the whole well kneaded together with the 
aid of steam." The kneaded mass is passed repeatedly through iron 
rollers, which squeeze it out to a perfectly uniform thickness ; it is then 
dried at a proper temperature) ; 4, Carton pierre, which is made of pulp 
or paper mixed with w r hiting and glue, pressed into plaster piece-moulds, 
baked with paper, and, when sufficiently set, hardened by drying in a 
hot room ; 5, Martin's Ceramic papier mache, a new composition, 
patented in 1858, which consists of paper pulp, rosin, glue, drying oil 
and sugar of lead, mixed in certain fixed proportions, and kneaded 
together ; this composition is extremely plastic, and may be worked, 
pressed, or moulded into any required form. It may be preserved in 
this plastic condition for several months, by keeping the air away and 
occasionally kneading the mass. 
The first mentioned variety of papier -machS alone engages our atten- 
tion here. A special kind of paper, of a porous texture, is manufactured 
for this purpose. An iron mould of somewhat smaller size than the 
object required, is greased with Eussian tallow, a sheet of the paper is 
laid on to the greased surface of the mould, and covered over with a coat 
of paste made of the best biscuit flour and glue, which is spread evenly 
all over the sheet with the hands ; another sheet is then laid on, and 
rubbed down evenly, so that the two sheets are closely pasted together at 
all points. After this the mould is taken to the drying chamber, where 
it is exposed to a temperature of about 120 deg. ; when quite dry, which 
it takes several hours to accomplish, it is carried back to the pasting- 
room, and another sheet laid on with another coat of paste, after which 
it is returned to the drying chamber, and the same operation is re- 
peated over and over again until sufficient thickness is attained, which, 
for superior articles, such as are manufactured at these works, requires 
from thirty to forty sheets of paper, and of course as many coats of paste 
between. The shell is then removed from the mould, and planed to 
shape with a carpenter's plane, after which it is dipped in linseed oil 
and spirits of tar to harden it ; this changes the colour from a grey to a 
dingy yellowish-brown tint. The article is then stoved, and seven or 
eight coats of varnish are laid on (with a stoving after each), which are 
cleared off each time, any inequalities of surface being finally removed 
