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For as long as I can remember I’ve had a helpful chart hanging above my desk that explains 32 common moulding profiles. Whenever I forgot what a “conge” looked like, I could glance up and instantly get the answer.
The source of this obviously old chart has been lost to me , a victim of the fast-moving, fast-rotting Internet. Also lost: A helpful article called “Moldings: The Atomic Units of Classical Architecture” by Donald M. Rattner. It was on the Traditional Builder web site until June 2008. Then it disappeared.
Thanks to the Internet “Wayback Machine” at archive.org, however, you can still read this article in its entirety — and all the links to images even work. This link will take you directly to the article. This is a good primer to read, and the chart above is a nice thing to hold onto if you watch George R. Walker’s new DVD on mouldings (read my review here).
Get the chart here.
– Christopher Schwarz
P.S. George Walker points out in the comments below that the above chart is from “The American Vignola” by William Robert Ware. It’s available to read at Google Books.
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A PDF of the article "Moldings: The Atomic Units of Classical Architecture" by Donald M. Rattner can be found at:
http://www.thecivilstudio.com/publication.htm
Thanks!
Hows about a nice poster from Lost Art Press?
Thank You Chris!
Theory of Mouldings is available as a pdf, and should be required reading. =) I highly suggest readers download the file and print it out in full, and then spend a lot of time reading it with a highlighter pen handy. It is a very important book.
http://www.carpentryarchive.org/files/theory_of_mouldings.pdf
The original source for the plate with molding profiles is "The American Vignola" by William Ware published in 1903. Dover Press has a reprint available in paperback. Ware’s book doesn’t give a lot of detail about designing moldings but it’s filled with information about classical design written in a modern text.
archive.org is an excellent resource, I only found out about it a few months ago but now find myself using it for loads of different things – first time for mouldings though.
Ah well,
I’ve got to stop reading these blogs; kinda feel like a trout. Something shiny went past and I’ve got to follow that. Now, how am I going to finish my venture into making my own infill planes and actually building a bench that’s worthwhile. Hold on, maybe I can incorporate some moulding into those…
Love the articles and resources, keep ’em coming.
Chris
I just began reading "The Theory of Mouldings" by C.Howard Walker. It is a fascinating study of the subject, examining history, influences, and proper composition of moldings.