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THE METHODS AND MATERIALS OF THE HOUSE-PAINTER IN ENGLAND: 1660 - 1850
AN ANNOTATED BIBLIOGRAPHYThis work was submitted by Patrick Baty in partial fulfilment of a BA (Hons) by IndependentStudy in 1993 and reflected his knowledge at that time. Although no further works have since been added some useful notes can be found at the end.PREFACEThis work is intended as an aid to reference and research for those concerned with one facet of design history, the paint and, more particularly, the paint colours in use for the decoration of houses in England
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between 1660 and 1850.Increasingly, professionals involved in the restoration of historic buildings are realising that it isno longer either appropriate or desirable to treat the decoration of a house in their care as anafterthought. The last two decades have seen variations of the "Country House Look" imposedon interiors with little regard to the relevance of such twentieth century notions to historical practice. Fortunately, there is a growing awareness that the whims of fashionable interior decorators often have little basis in fact, and that the "Georgian period", for example, covered acentury of varied styles and outlooks, and cannot be typified by just one approach.The field of historic paint analysis is a very new one in this country, the first published articlesappearing in the late 1970s. It is one that has been dominated by a single individual, Dr. IanBristow. His many works have slowly led to an awareness that there exist methods for theinvestigation of previous decorative schemes, long hidden by subsequent coats of paint.Moreover, he has extended this topic beyond the realm of the decorative arts into the domain of the architectural historian. The techniques developed and perfected by Dr. Bristow and a handfulof other individuals, can now be used to assist the dating of both decorative and structural work in a way that has hitherto proved impossible. Indeed, using these methods, the compiler of this bibliography has recently been able to assist in proving that the largely undamaged scheme in theSaloon at Uppark, Sussex, dates from 1814 - a fact that has led to its conservation as one of theearliest untouched painted interiors in this country.Until the late 1980s, with the exception of Dr. Bristow's articles, North American journals provided the main source of reference for this subject. Hence 51 out of 177 entries in this work fall into that category. Five more have foreign origins - from Australia, France, Germany, andSwitzerland. The Swiss work (Tingry: 155) was thoroughly revised before it appeared in thethird (English) edition reviewed here. One of the French works (Watin: 160) was very influential,though more on account of the technical information that it provided than for its description of  painting practices, while the other (Cadet-de-Vaux: 045) was much quoted, though probably notfollowed very much. The Australian work (Gehrig: 073) was included for its clarity and for its
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The meaning of the word Britain is often implicit in the use of this word. See H.W. Fowler,
 A Dictionary of Modern English Usage
, 2
nd
edn., rev. Ernest Gowers (Oxford: OxfordUniversity Press, 1985), 156-57.
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similarity to English practices. The German work (Goethe: 081) was perhaps the most influentialand its effect on English attitudes is examined in another entry (Bristow: 036).Very many of the North American articles are purely technical in nature, and deal with theanalytical techniques of the investigation of early house-paints. Pigment characteristics are alsocovered, and house-painting practices, if clearly described, and if similar to English ones, areincluded. Whilst the various bibliographies published separately, or included in other works, have been of use, many deal with much later technology or aesthetics, and usually of purely nativeconcern.There have proved to be three main sources of information: the British Architectural Library atthe Royal Institute of British Architects, the National Art Library at the Victoria and AlbertMuseum, and the British Library. This area of study is still too new to be adequately indexed,and much following up of the references cited in articles found has eventually produced a list of some 450 works that have provided relevant information.The brief notes to the works reviewed are designed to assist students, researchers, restorationarchitects and paint analysts in identifying and using the sources available. It is by no meanscomplete, indeed it has proved necessary and somewhat frustrating, to trim it to a length which,although appreciably beyond the requirements of a piece of coursework, is just over half of myoriginal draft. As a result of such pruning this has become a highly subjective list. However, if use is made of the various bibliographies and the references given in many of the books andarticles reviewed here, a more complete picture of the subject will be obtained.It would be fair to say that a very clear idea of the field can be gained from the works of Dr.Bristow. The individual articles deal with most aspects, while the forthcoming book 
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that is based on his thesis is unlikely to be bettered.Acknowledgement, too, must be made here to the section of his thesis that deals with a review of the sources, it has proved invaluable in the compilation of this work, and several of hisconclusions have been drawn on.It may appear unlikely that a work which purports to be concerned with the eighteenth and earlynineteenth centuriesshould include so many painters' manuals and handbooks of a much later  period. However, works of a technical nature are rare before the end of the nineteenth century,when a spate of them appeared. With the exception of developments in the field of pigmentsthere were very few changes in the methods and the materials of the house-painter between thelate eighteenth and the early twentieth centuries. Indeed, apart from greater clarity andelaboration in the descriptions of processes and techniques, many pages of works from the 1920smight have been found in works published several generations before.The bibliography has been arranged in alphabetical order in order to facilitate indexing. Many of the entries have also been cross-referenced in order to draw the reader's attention to other worksdealing with a particular aspect of the subject. In addition, the entries have been labelled with aletter(s) that indicates their main emphasis; for example, someone wanting a quick overview of 
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Dr Bristow has since published two volumes that are of enormous use in the study of thesubject.
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the subject as a whole might seek out the Key Works [A], whilst for a less technical account of the colours to be found in decoration during the period, one might look at the works labelled [F].The length of the entries are very uneven, with a thousand page thesis getting only five lines, andan article in a journal more than three times that. The designation, however, of an under-reviewed work as a Key Work [A], or by including an adjective such as "interesting" or "useful"in its commentary should draw the reader's attention to its merits. Some blame for an undeservedshort review can, perhaps, be laid with the compiler and his idiosyncratic approach to the subject.The bibliographic details on each of the works make no pretence of being definitive. Theinformation known about the various editions is recorded, the emphasis being on the actualedition consulted.The style used in the setting out of the bibliographical details is that of the University of Chicago.
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There were examples that did not quite fit in with this;therefore an alternative style was devised. Nevertheless, it is hoped that once the approach that has been adopted is understood, this work  proves both easy to handle and of use to the reader.Patrick Baty
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Kate L. Turabian,
 A Manual for Writers
, 5
th
edn., rev. Bonnie Birtwistle Honigsblum(London: The University of Chicago Press, 1987).
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r.ireland013720

A seam of gold. The author has gathered together an immensely powerful research tool. This is an enormous and important undertaking in this field of study.

reply02 / 02 / 2009
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