The Edison phonograph monthly (Jan-Dec 1913)

14 EDISON PHONOGRAPH MONTHLY, NOVEMBER, 1913 CIRCASSIAN WALNUT AN EDISON CABINET IN CIRCASSIAN WALNUT LOUIS XVI STYLE THE handling of Circassian walnut in the making of a cabinet is a fine art. It requires considerable skill to match the various pieces together so as to make well-thought-out designs by a proper use of the grain of the wood. f' We give above an illustration of the cabinet maker,*who with much forethought has designed the pannel of this particular cabinet in diamond shape, and for this purpose has selected not one piece of Circassian walnut but at least five or more so as to utilize the peculiar grain of the wood in carrying out his design. Not only must the grain harmonize, but the color of the pieces used must be so nearly alike as to appear to the eye one piece. These are joined with such mathematical carefulness as to show no break in the wood. Other designs, such as a "butterfly design" a "peacock design" etc., have been carried out with equal skill, there being no limit as to the designs, depending upon the originality of the craftsman who handles the wood. On the opposite page will be seen a photographic reproduction of a piece of native Circassian veneer, very brittle, very thin and full of cross-grain. This is the wood that must be skillfully handled so as to waste as little as possible and utilize the beauty of the grain. All through the history of cabinet making and in the old carvings, Circassian walnut has been the first choice when selecting the finest wood. The most treasured of all the old furnishings of Europe that were considered priceless in their time, and are now real art relics, were made of Circassian walnut. Circassian Walnut comes from the tree of the nut order, very much like our English walnut. Its native home is the Caucasus mountains in the southern part of Russia, and the chief ports of shipment for Circassian logs are Batoum and Poti, on the extreme eastern end of the Black Sea. Abe c 12,000 logs pass through these ports annually and they are made into veneers for use in our fine piano, library and phonograph cabinets. In the mountains contiguous to these Russian ports, the Circassian walnut attains its greatest growth. It is the land of banditti, where the highest ambition of the many types of Greeks, Armenians, Kurds, Lazes and other natives of Eastern Europe and Western Asia, is to capture and hold for ransom anyone imprudent enough to venture even a few miles unguarded by armed escorts. The hauling of even small Circassian logs is a constant problem. The streams go dry when the floods of early spring cease, and it is almost heroic how some logs are gotten out of their native forest surroundings down to a railroad or to a seaport town. The Russian Government owns the best of the trees on governmental grounds, and as yet they have nDt been cut to a large extent. The governors of the various political divisions of the country can be persuaded to allow a little cutting, but the cost is too great and small results are obtained in this way. The export duty of one cent per pound on Circassian logs shipped out of Russia renders shipping of poor logs a very doubtful venture and the actual cull logs are sold at cheap prices for use in Russia, thus escaping export duty. The buying of Circassian log is a gamble in most cases. It may cut up to advantage; it may not. Some logs cut better than one expects; some turn out so poor as to be a serious loss to the purchaser. This only increases the price of the logs that are evidently "good all through." In spite of all care, the number of sound logs for veneer is small and uncertain.