Quality and Design Vary with Artist and Trends
Finishing techniques and quality vary with the professionalism of the amateur artist. Some objects could be purchased completely finished from manufacturer catalog suppliers such as Chicago based Thayer and Chandler- high quality examples executed by professional tradespeople. Alternatively, most pyrographers preferred to finish their own goods and so the work of budding amateurs may lack clarity of detail and design. Red, green, and yellow stains were common stains used in their finish work. Period publications like "the Modern Priscilla" or "Women's Home Companion" offered additional patterns for active pyrographers that could be applied to all sorts of items: handkerchief boxes, mirrors, plaques, even wood and leather postcards! The more ambitious could tackle larger, more expensive and more time consuming case pieces: chairs, tables, desks, bookshelves, and even large leather hides. Design motifs include: nouveau, deco, mission including native American, Dutch, English medieval, Gibson Girls, and popular themes of the time.
While small pyrographic boxes are still abundant today for less than $25 a piece, larger furniture size pieces and unusual accessories that are finely incised and well executed are always hard to find. Nicely painted pieces in original condition are rarer still. The scarcest of all are pieces made by folk artists from scratch and who developed their very own unique embellishments in contrast to amateur artisans who simply "followed the dots" by buying pre manufactured pieces with manufacturer stamped patterns. There were however a handful of genuine American professional pyrographers who elevated the artform from amateur folkart to fine art.
Finishing techniques and quality vary with the professionalism of the amateur artist. Some objects could be purchased completely finished from manufacturer catalog suppliers such as Chicago based Thayer and Chandler- high quality examples executed by professional tradespeople. Alternatively, most pyrographers preferred to finish their own goods and so the work of budding amateurs may lack clarity of detail and design. Red, green, and yellow stains were common stains used in their finish work. Period publications like "the Modern Priscilla" or "Women's Home Companion" offered additional patterns for active pyrographers that could be applied to all sorts of items: handkerchief boxes, mirrors, plaques, even wood and leather postcards! The more ambitious could tackle larger, more expensive and more time consuming case pieces: chairs, tables, desks, bookshelves, and even large leather hides. Design motifs include: nouveau, deco, mission including native American, Dutch, English medieval, Gibson Girls, and popular themes of the time.
While small pyrographic boxes are still abundant today for less than $25 a piece, larger furniture size pieces and unusual accessories that are finely incised and well executed are always hard to find. Nicely painted pieces in original condition are rarer still. The scarcest of all are pieces made by folk artists from scratch and who developed their very own unique embellishments in contrast to amateur artisans who simply "followed the dots" by buying pre manufactured pieces with manufacturer stamped patterns. There were however a handful of genuine American professional pyrographers who elevated the artform from amateur folkart to fine art.
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