Patterns Included for Victorian Furniture (1850-1880)
Renaissance Style Pieces feature bedroom set with a dresser, nightstand, bed and commode, as well as a round end sideboard and pedestal table.
Cottage Style Pieces include a a washstand, bed, dresser and night stand.
Rococo, Louis XV Style Pieces include a parlor set of a tufted upholstery ladies chair, gentlemen's chair and loveseat, as well as a side chair, two parlour tables, an upholstered rocker, slipper box, and corner whatnot.
The plan drawings are detailed and to scale, with clear written instructions given for the parlor set, cottage bedroom set and sideboard and pedestal table, but not for the Renaissance bedroom furniture, which has fairly clear exploded diagrams outlining the method of construction.
Tools Required
As these are cabinetmakers guides and not how to books, it is assumed the reader is accustomed to building miniature furniture and can mark, shape, cut, carve and assemble the pieces required, based on plan outlines. The Victorian Furniture edition does not have any photographs of assembled furniture, so the reader may need to refer to photos of full size pieces for carving and other details. The measurements are given as if the pieces are full size, although they are drawn to scale. To make the pieces you will need to have callipers or some way of converting full size measurements to scale accurately (the diagrams can be copied for scale references).
To build the furniture in the Victorian Guide, you will need access to suitable turned parts for the Cottage bedroom set, slipper box and dining table. Information on turning with a drill or alternatively carving the pieces is given in the general instructions, however you may require access to a lathe. Carving tools are required to create the details for the Renaissance furniture and Rococo pieces. A jeweller's saw or piercing saw is required for the parlor tables and whatnot, as well as the shaped legs and backs for the chairs and loveseat. Regular woodworking tools are required for other pieces. It is possible to build the furniture pieces with hand tools only, although a flexible shaft tool or drill press and access to a lathe would make some of the pieces easier to complete.
Who Might Use These Guides?
These guides are for miniaturists with at least a moderate understanding of woodwork, who are willing to work closely to scale with hardwoods to produce quality miniature furniture. Many of the plans in these books have been adapted for use by the major miniature furniture companies. The Renaissance bedroom suite for example is produced in a modified form by several commercial miniature companies. The guide groups pieces by design and room, it is possible to furnish much of a house or at least several rooms to the correct period using a single guide, each of which is based on a particular style and period.
Although the plans and construction are partially simplified, this is not a book for the beginner, unless you are coming from a background of full scale woodworking. The guides are primarily furniture pattern pieces and basic instructions for moderate to experienced woodworkers who wish to use their skills to make quality miniature furniture. If you follow the diagrams and instructions carefully you will produce pieces at least as good as anything you can buy commercially, and will be well on your way to appreciating the finer points of artisan made miniature furniture.
The furniture pieces in the Victorian Furniture (1850 - 1880) Guide are in the heavy Victorian style, with comfortable upholstery on lightly carved supports, or detailed fretwork or scroll trimmed pieces. The wood stock suggested is cut to standard widths, and suitable wood could be purchased already milled from a craft wood supplier.
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