P3 has note
| - Although Belter's use of laminated wood was unusual, his methods for applying and carving solid wood, and for supporting the back, were typical of heavily ornamented furniture of the period. It is likely, however, that Belter was one of the first - possibly the first - to produce elaborate carvings largely from laminated wood. Between 1847 and 1860 he took out four patents covering machinery and processes for making his furniture.
Belter's use of plywood must have been motivated by a desire to simplify the difficult process of making such large pieces of furniture from solid wood, to save money on the use of expensive rosewood and to manufacture stronger and lighter furniture than was possible with solid wood at this time. It is unlikely, however, that he could ever have envisaged using the technique to make inexpensive furniture in this style. This ornate sofa, for example, must still have been very expensive and would only have been affordable to the upper end of the market.
While some competitors made furniture which bore a closer resemblance to 18th-century French Rococo models, Belter's approach was freer. His was a less antiquarian, more inventive, revivalism. He drew not only on contemporary French furniture but also on furniture from his native Germany. Designs for either were regularly published in specialist magazines. (en)
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