The Marquetarian

Founded
in
1952

The
Society's
Journal

The front cover of the Spring issue

The Marquetarian is a veritable mainstay of the Marquetry Society.
As it states on it's front cover, it is the "Journal of The Marquetry Society" and has been in existence in one form or another since the formation of the Society in 1952.

In those early days it was produced as a duplicated sheet (or sheets according to the amount of content) and it was yet to be another couple of years before it was produced in the booklet format we have become so used to.

Those early Marquetarians didn't even contain any illustrations at all except for a small design on the front cover!

The Marquetarian has certainly come a long way since those early days.
Today's magazine is produced to the highest standards that are currently available. Compiled on Mac's and PC's using the latest version of the industry standard "QuarkXpress" publishing software, it is now edited by Alan Mansfield who has recently taken over the mantle from that most respected of erudite Marquetarians Ernie Ives.

Hi, friends!

Ernie edited the magazine for thirty years, taking over the editorship from Max Newport in the late 1970's. Ernie has edited well over 120 issues of the quarterly produced magazine and has introduced many improvements in that time, notably full colour reproduction of marquetry exhibits and plenty of instructional articles.

Alan certainly intends to do his utmost to keep to those high standards that Ernie set; from the look of this Spring edition, it looks like that goal has been admirably achieved.

There is only one problem with the magazine and it is this; we are afraid that the only way you can get your hands on a copy of The Marquetarian is by becoming a member of the Marquetry Society! it is an exclusive publication after all - and how about this for a recommendation: around 99% of the readers of the Marquetarian keep every issue they have ever received, they never throw them away! how many magazines can you say that about?

So then, let's take a look and see what you will find in the Spring edition of the Marquetarian.

This edition of the Marquetarian features many educational articles we hope you will find fascinating. There is much to read in this latest edition, so let's (as we've just said) take a look at some of those interesting articles you will find inside:

There’s plenty for you to enjoy and learn from in this Spring edition of the Marquetarian.

There are loads for you to check out in this Spring edition of The Marquetarian. We have yet another really packed magazine here that we are sure you are going to enjoy.

For starters there’s a really good article about our new Bristol Group. If any of you marquetry enthusiasts who live in or around the Bristol area, you may find this article very useful. This new Bristol Group already has a location where regular meetings are held, so if you are located in the vicinity, why not read the article, pop along to one of the meetings are learn how to become a highly successful Marquetarian yourself.

Our 2025 International Marquetry Exhibition is being held in the lovely Essex village of Ongar. Our tame photographer has been out and about in the location and has provided us with copious photos of local attractions, eating places and history of this delightful locality. Well worth a read this is.

Although many of us enjoy the making of a marquetry picture or piece, very few find the finishing part of the process to be anywhere near as enjoyable. This is where our next article comes in handy. It explains how to take the difficulties away from the tedious flattening and varnishing procedures. It also has a useful list of recommended finishing supplies to help you along.

Murals in the medium of marquetry is an interesting subject. Who would have thought that there had been so many in our history? We even had one of our murals accepted by our late Queen who had it displayed at Windsor Palace, that will come as a surprise to our newer members, but we have the letters from Buckingham Palace itself to prove that the display of this mural did indeed take place. The there is the Millennium Mural to read about, that was a special one indeed.

Our NEC exhibition a short while ago saw us recruiting a goodly number of new members to our ranks. It is truly good to see so many new people taking an interest in our ancient art and craft. As these new members have found out, marquetry is a lot more than simple cherubs and flowers decorating old furniture. Marquetry can be a vehicle for new and adventurous forms of art where the tactile and warm nature of the basic material of the art can contribute to the desirability of the artwork in question. For instance, who has not felt the urge and compulsion to want to touch things that present them with the warmth and tactile beauty of a perfectly presented wooden object? We all do, don’t we? Read more on this subject with the NEC exhibition report.

Vic’s tips and our Social Media Officer’s report are well worth checking out. Especially as our Facebook page has taken off so spectacularly. We are getting copious new members of our Facebook fraternity joining that element of our growing influence every day. We just need to convert as many of them as possible to becoming Marquetry Society members proper as we can. But we are working on that.

And don’t miss more exhibits from this year’s International Marquetry Exhibition. There’s plenty of beautiful marquetry there for you to enjoy – we think you will like it very much.

Happily, we have found an entire half page of space (carefully done for a well filled autumn 290th edition) of our very useful identification chart of veneers. These are all over 65 years of age and show you how well veneers can retain their colour when kept away from the bleaching effect of sunlight. These veneers are all genuine examples taken from veneers with odd characteristics in our veneer reference library and they are all featured in accurate colours. And don’t miss the article about making your own veneer collection and how to store it correctly. Each veneer example featured is taken from accurate scans of the genuine veneers and carefully colour balanced against the actual veneer itself in order to ensure it matches both the printed and true veneer as far as modern technology will allow us.

But, and then again, don't forget our regular 'Readers Letters' 'Chairman's Chatter' 'Independents Corner' and much, much more.

So, as is always the case, we have yet another excellent issue for your perusal!.

The full index of the Marquetarian, from
the earliest issues up to today's,
is available by clicking the
button below:

"Membership Form UK"

or, for our USA potential members

"Membership Form USA"

(everyone else please use the UK form, thanks)

Click any of the following links to read the very
first issues of the Marquetarian:

number 1 | number 2 | number 3 | number 4