Page:Cyclopedia of Painting-Armstrong, George D (1908).djvu/296

288 paper becoming quickly soiled. It should be remembered, therefore, that when wall paper is bought ready trimmed it is necessary to take great care in handling, so as not to dirty or mar the edges. There are two ways of hanging paper, one with what is called a butt edge, the other a lapped edge. In the former both margins are cut off, and the edges of the paper must then be drawn together, so as to exactly meet, the pattern, of course, uniting accurately. The difficulty of the paperhanger using the butt edge is that he sometimes finds a difficulty in bringing the edges to meet, and if there is a space between, the white wall underneath shows through. Sometimes the paper shrinks after being hung, and produces the same objectionable effect. To prevent this it is not a bad plan to mix a little distemper to match the ground of the paper, and to paint this down the wall exactly where the several seams will come. If in this case there is an opening of, say, a thirty-second part of an inch it will not be noticed. As a rule, the unskilled workman will prefer to use a lapped edge. In this case only one margin is cut off, and the paper is lapped or placed over the other, care being taken to match the pattern as before. The objection to lapping is that the joints show somewhat conspicuously, as it will be clear that there will be two thicknesses of paper instead of one wherever the joins occur. A hint of importance is to remember that the laps should be away from the light, as this will render them less conspicuous than it would otherwise be.

Paperhanger's Paste. There are several ways of making paperhanger's paste, but they all practically come to the same thing in the end. Take a sufficient quantity of ordinary white flour, place it in a big basin, add a littielittle [sic] water, stir and beat it up to a stiff batter, and then Ihin with additional water, taking care there are no lumps. Care must also be taken not to add too much cold water, so as to make the mixture too thin. When satisfied that there are no lumps, pour in slowly boiling water, stirring