Thomas Kershaw (1819–1898) was a leading British pioneer of marbleising, the creation of imitation marble finishes.
Thomas Kershaw in c. 1880s
He was born in Standish, Lancashire. From the age of 12, he served as an apprentice in Bolton to John Platt, a painter and decorator. During his nine-year apprenticeship, he bought graining tools with money earned from painting pictures and developed his skills in the art of wood graining. After completing his apprenticeship, he moved firstly to Manchester, then to York, and finally to London in 1845. There he was employed by William Cubitt and Company, becoming their leading wood grainer.[1]
In the mid-1840s, Kershaw left Cubitts to be independent and exhibited his imitation marble panels at the Great Exhibition of 1851, which won him a prize. At the Paris Exposition Universelle of 1855, he won a gold medal but felt obliged to carry out public demonstrations of his craft in the exhibition hall after accusations that he was using some type of fraudulent transfer technique. On his return, he bought a house on Baker Street and set up his own specialist decorating company.[2]
The Journal de Manuell de Painteurers published on Kershaw in September 1855: "We regret that our inferiority to the Englishman is incontestable, and have to acknowledge that his panels must be regarded as masterpieces".[1]
Kershaw was given several lucrative contracts, including one from the royal family to marbleise the columns at Buckingham Palace and Osborne House, but turned down a request from the Russian Ambassador to marbleise the interior of the Imperial Palace in St Petersburg.[1] In 1862 he won another gold medal at the London Exhibition and was elected a liveryman in the Painter-Stainers Company for thirty-eight years.[3] In 1860 he was granted the Freedom of the City of London.[4]
He died a wealthy man in 1898, leaving £158,267 to his beneficiaries, which is around equivalent to £19,000,000 in 2021. He married Mary Atkinson in 1845 in Wigan, and they had four daughters.[4]
The Wikibook Transwiki has a page on the topic of: Faux marbling
A set of five faux-marble painted panels by Thomas Kershaw in the Victoria and Albert Museum
Referencesedit
^ abcHoward W. Binns (1994). (PDF). Decorators' Association. pp. 8–11. Archived from the original (PDF) on 15 September 2012.
^Stewart Mc Donald (2004). . Archived from the original on 5 September 2018.
^ ab. www.carltonhobbs.net. 26 March 2010. Archived from the original on 20 February 2016.
^ abNorma Hampson (20 December 2017). "Thomas Kershaw 1819-1898". www.shakespeare.org.uk.
April 14, 2024
thomas, kershaw, another, person, with, name, cheers, beacon, hill, 1819, 1898, leading, british, pioneer, marbleising, creation, imitation, marble, finishes, 1880she, born, standish, lancashire, from, served, apprentice, bolton, john, platt, painter, decorato. For another person with the name see Cheers Beacon Hill Thomas Kershaw 1819 1898 was a leading British pioneer of marbleising the creation of imitation marble finishes Thomas Kershaw in c 1880sHe was born in Standish Lancashire From the age of 12 he served as an apprentice in Bolton to John Platt a painter and decorator During his nine year apprenticeship he bought graining tools with money earned from painting pictures and developed his skills in the art of wood graining After completing his apprenticeship he moved firstly to Manchester then to York and finally to London in 1845 There he was employed by William Cubitt and Company becoming their leading wood grainer 1 In the mid 1840s Kershaw left Cubitts to be independent and exhibited his imitation marble panels at the Great Exhibition of 1851 which won him a prize At the Paris Exposition Universelle of 1855 he won a gold medal but felt obliged to carry out public demonstrations of his craft in the exhibition hall after accusations that he was using some type of fraudulent transfer technique On his return he bought a house on Baker Street and set up his own specialist decorating company 2 The Journal de Manuell de Painteurers published on Kershaw in September 1855 We regret that our inferiority to the Englishman is incontestable and have to acknowledge that his panels must be regarded as masterpieces 1 Kershaw was given several lucrative contracts including one from the royal family to marbleise the columns at Buckingham Palace and Osborne House but turned down a request from the Russian Ambassador to marbleise the interior of the Imperial Palace in St Petersburg 1 In 1862 he won another gold medal at the London Exhibition and was elected a liveryman in the Painter Stainers Company for thirty eight years 3 In 1860 he was granted the Freedom of the City of London 4 He died a wealthy man in 1898 leaving 158 267 to his beneficiaries which is around equivalent to 19 000 000 in 2021 He married Mary Atkinson in 1845 in Wigan and they had four daughters 4 Work editEmperor s Room Buckingham Palace 1858 Baron de Rothchild s mansion Great Western Hotel Paddington London Dorchester House Park Lane London demolished 1929 Manley Hall Manchester demolished 1905 Examples of his work are on show in Bolton Museum and the Victoria and Albert Museum 3 External links edit nbsp The Wikibook Transwiki has a page on the topic of Faux marbling A set of five faux marble painted panels by Thomas Kershaw in the Victoria and Albert MuseumReferences edit a b c Howard W Binns 1994 A History of the British Decorators Association PDF Decorators Association pp 8 11 Archived from the original PDF on 15 September 2012 Stewart Mc Donald 2004 Thomas Kershaw 1819 1898 Prince of Grainers amp Marblers A Brief history amp tribute to his life amp works Archived from the original on 5 September 2018 a b The Prince of Grainers and Marblers www carltonhobbs net 26 March 2010 Archived from the original on 20 February 2016 a b Norma Hampson 20 December 2017 Thomas Kershaw 1819 1898 www shakespeare org uk Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Thomas Kershaw amp oldid 1198013346, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
