Plastering: Plain and Decorative Book

William Millar's classic book "Plastering Plain and Decorative" is universally referred to as the 'Plasterer's Bible'. It was first published in 1897 and was clearly a great success, with a second edition following a couple of years later in 1899 and a third edition in 1905 (a reprint of the first edition is available from Donhead). In 1927 the publishers, B. T. Batsford Ltd, decided that it was time to republish Millar's 'magnus opus', but that the fourth edition should be revised and updated. They asked George P. Bankart, an architect/craftsman and author, who had already written another book for them, to take on this task. George Percy Bankart was an architect highly influenced by the 'Arts and Crafts' movement, who had chosen to work as a decorative craftsman. The 'Arts and Crafts' was an English movement dedicated to the idea that architecture could be inspired by a revival of traditional building crafts and materials. It started in the second half of the 19th century, based on the writings of Ruskin and was driven by the ideas Morris, amongst many others; and carried on into the first quarter of the 20th century. Bankart was born in Leicester on the 20th January 1866, and was a great friend of Ernest W. Gimson, another Leicester born architect, just over a year his elder. Both men studied and became architects, and shared a creative passion for the handicrafts. Whilst Gimson's career included embroidery design, traditional chair-making and furniture design, as well as decorative modeled plasterwork, Bankart concentrated primarily on plasterwork. Their different activities were true to the ideas of the Arts and Crafts movement, and their designs reflect the movement's interest in a return to nature. Bankart's career as an author started with "The Art of The Plasterer", which was published by B. T. Batsford Ltd in 1909. He seems to have taken a break from writing until, together with his son G. Edward Bankart, he produced two books "Modern Plasterwork Construction" in 1926, followed in 1927 by "Modern Plasterwork Design", both published by the Architectural Press. Also in 1927 he was back with B. T. Batsford Ltd for the publication of this fourth and revised edition of 'Millar'. One only has to look at the title page of the fourth edition to get an idea of Bankart's confidence and belief in the post-Victorian view of craft and design. He refers to this edition being revised and enlarged, even though it is actually shorter (347 pages compared to 604 pages in the first edition). It appears that he, and the publishers, believed that the added knowledge that he had imparted, bringing it up to date, along with the removal of (in his view) immaterial parts, had actually enlarged the scope of the book. The fourth edition has nineteen chapters, as opposed to twenty-one in the first, but more significantly one can sense the change in attitudes and understanding as George Bankart picks out and patches in paragraphs and chapters around William Millar's original work. There would be little merit in trying to describe or analyze all the changes in the fourth edition, but highlighting a few helps gain an overview. The first chapter, on the history of plasterwork, has been tweaked a bit with improved illustrations but still retains many of the prejudices in the first edition, including derogatory remarks about the Adam brothers and the 'death' of plaster modeling. The second chapter, (moved from chapter 16 in the original) was originally entitled 'Foreign Plasterwork' and has been renamed 'Eastern and Continental Plasterwork', possibly reflecting a slightly more enlightened view of the rest of the world! There are then three new chapters, on lime-stucco, modern plasterwork and modeling in relief, respectively. These are pure Bankart, and give a real sense of his passion and interest in hand modeled plasterwork, and his commitment to Arts & Crafts ideals. The sixth chapter is on tools (moved from chapter 21 in the original), and has additional illustrations and notes. This is followed by two chapters on materials, all brought up to date with more photos and drawings. As one reads on it becomes clear that, whilst still keeping a lot of Mr Millar's text and illustrations without alteration, Bankart has inserted sections into the original chapters to make them more contemporary. He assumes less background knowledge from his readers and adds further explanation where he believes it will help. A good example of this is in chapter 15, where a description entitled 'Renovating Old Ceilings' (page 243), which comes from the first edition, is then followed by a new section entitled 'For Renovating Old Ceilings' (pages 243 and 244), which gives a detailed description of how to save an old ceiling using plaster and scrim to reinforce it from above. The chapter ends with an illustration (page 272) showing how this method works, and a further treatise (page 273) on saving historic decorative plaster. Was this the beginning of plasterwork conservation! In this same chapter (chapter 15), there is also an illustration (page 249) entitled 'Typical Victorian Centre Flower 'Horrors' in Plaster'. Bankart does not hide his disdain for Victorian ceiling roses, or the period they represent. Whilst understanding his plea, we need to remember that his views on design and production, although heartfelt and challenging, are as much a reflection of his time as the ceiling roses are of the 19th century. He challenges us to think about what we value, but we have the advantage of distance and may also be able to see value in Victorian plasterwork. Fashion is fashion, whether good or bad, and beauty is in the eye of the beholder (so we are told). Chapter 11, entitled 'Exterior Plastering and Scraffito' is another completely new chapter, added by Bankart. The art of scraffito had been embraced and developed in the early 20th century, and this chapter reflects this enthusiasm. As the chapters continue, one can see Bankart up-dating the content right through to the penultimate two on 'Compositions' (17 and 18). These two chapters on gesso, papier mache, carton pierre, and an assortment of other materials, can be a very useful research reference, particularly when faced with the repair of such materials. The last chapter, on quantities, weights and recipes, contains a lot of very useful practical information. There is also a short entry on 'Wages' (page 321), which reflects on the shortage of skilled men due to the calamity in the middle of this period (The Great War). Fortunately for Bankart, he did not know of things to come! We find the Appendix, about developments in American Plastering, very interesting. Plasterboard gets a brief mention, believe it or not, on page 333. There is also reference to a Mr O.A. Malone of California Stucco, called the 'jazz plasterer', who has developed brightly colored external stucco, much loved by the Hollywood film stars. This is at the beginning of the 'Art Deco' movement, which had started in Paris in 1925. Sadly George Bankart did not live to see the spread of this new fashion. He died in Welwyn Garden City, England, in 1929 aged only 63. His legacy is certainly in his books, and the Arts & Crafts movement owes a lot to a man who sought to develop and encourage the art of the plasterer.