Lincrusta is a deeply embossed wallcovering, invented by

Frederick Walton Frederick Edward Walton (13 March 183416 May 1928), was an English manufacturer and inventor whose invention of Linoleum in Chiswick was patented in 1863. He also invented Lincrusta in 1877. Early life Walton was born in 1834, near Halifax. ...

. Walton was already known for patenting

linoleum Linoleum, sometimes shortened to lino, is a floor covering made from materials such as solidified linseed oil (linoxyn), Pine Resin, pine resin, ground Cork (material), cork dust, sawdust, and mineral fillers such as calcium carbonate, most com ...

floor covering in 1860. Yarwood, Doreen (1990) "The Domestic Interior: Technology and the Home" pp. 902-948 ''In'' McNeil, Ian (editor) (1990) ''Encyclopedia of the History of Technology'' Routledge, London, page 905, Bush, Akiko (2010) "An Introduction to Modern Textiles: The Wrong Impression" ''Dwelling'' 10(5): pp. 120-126, page 122 Lincrusta was launched in 1877 and was used in a host of applications from royal homes to railway carriages. Many examples over a hundred years old can still be found throughout the world. Commonly found in Victorian properties and restoration projects, Lincrusta is also frequently used in commercial projects such as hotel foyers, bars, restaurants and casinos. Notable installations included six staterooms on the

Titanic RMS ''Titanic'' was a British passenger liner, operated by the White Star Line, which sank in the North Atlantic Ocean on 15 April 1912 after striking an iceberg during her maiden voyage from Southampton, England, to New York City, United ...

, and in the United States the

White House The White House is the official residence and workplace of the president of the United States. It is located at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW in Washington, D.C., and has been the residence of every U.S. president since John Adams in 1800. ...

, the

Winchester Mystery House The Winchester Mystery House is a mansion in San Jose, California, that was once the personal residence of Sarah Winchester, the widow of firearms magnate William Wirt Winchester. The house became a tourist attraction nine months after Winc ...

and

Roseland Cottage Roseland Cottage, also known as Henry C. Bowen House or as Bowen Cottage, is a historic house located on Route 169 in Woodstock, Connecticut, United States. The house was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1977, and was declare ...

in Woodstock, Connecticut, where it has been completely restored and is on view to the public.

History

Lincrusta was originally manufactured in

Sunbury-on-Thames Sunbury-on-Thames (or commonly Sunbury) is a suburban town on the north bank of the River Thames in the Borough of Spelthorne, Surrey, centred southwest of central London. Historically part of the county of Middlesex, in 1965 Sunbury and other ...

until 1918 when the manufacturing was moved to Darwen, Lancashire. The first production of Lincrusta in the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

was in 1883 in

Stamford, Connecticut Stamford () is a city in the U.S. state of Connecticut, outside of Manhattan. It is Connecticut's second-most populous city, behind Bridgeport. With a population of 135,470, Stamford passed Hartford and New Haven in population as of the 2020 ...

. There were also factories built in 1880 at Pierrefitte, France, and by 1889 in

Hannover Hanover (; german: Hannover ; nds, Hannober) is the capital and largest city of the German States of Germany, state of Lower Saxony. Its 535,932 (2021) inhabitants make it the List of cities in Germany by population, 13th-largest city in Germa ...

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

, Italy, and by 1898 in Milan Linoleum Compani Milan Lincrusta is now produced in Morecambe, Lancashire using traditional methods. Heritage Wallcoverings Ltd acquired the Lincrusta operating assets in July 2014.

Production and characteristics

Lincrusta is made from a paste of gelled

linseed oil Linseed oil, also known as flaxseed oil or flax oil (in its edible form), is a colourless to yellowish oil obtained from the dried, ripened seeds of the flax plant (''Linum usitatissimum''). The oil is obtained by pressing, sometimes followed by ...

and

wood flour Sawdust (or wood dust) is a by-product or waste product of woodworking operations such as sawing, sanding, milling, planing, and routing. It is composed of small chippings of wood. These operations can be performed by woodworking machinery ...

spread onto a paper base. It is then rolled between steel rollers, one of which has a pattern embossed upon it.Campbell, Gordon (editor) (2006) "Lincrusta" ''The Grove Encyclopedia of Decorative Arts'' volume 1, Oxford University Press, New York
page 41
The linseed gel continues to dry for many years, so the surface gets harder over time. Both oil-based and water-based paints can be applied to Lincrusta; therefore, it can provide a base for effects from simple colour washes or marbling,

scumbling A glaze is a thin transparent or semi-transparent layer on a painting which modifies the appearance of the underlying paint layer. Glazes can change the chroma, value, hue and texture of a surface. Glazes consist of a great amount of binding med ...

, and glazing, to more elaborate

gilding Gilding is a decorative technique for applying a very thin coating of gold over solid surfaces such as metal (most common), wood, porcelain, or stone. A gilded object is also described as "gilt". Where metal is gilded, the metal below was tradi ...

and vert de mer treatments.

History

Production and characteristics

References

Further reading