Poudreuse
- Thread starter CBWW
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John McAlister
Well-known member
Have I ever made a Poudreuse? What, pray tell, is a Poudreuse? I'm betting it's not 18th Century American!!
John McAlister
John McAlister
Jack Plane
Well-known member
I have made a replacement mirror mechanism for an antique poudreuse (no photos sadly). The mirror pivots in a frame. When the mirror and frame are raised, the mirror is tilted to the desired angle and gently lowered. The mirror frame slides down into grooves in the rear of the carcase and the bottom edge of the mirror then rests on the surrounding table framework, preventing the whole mechanism from sliding down into its housing. It's pretty rudimentary, but works nonetheless.
Peter Storey Pentz
Well-known member
John,
Not 18th Century American, 18th Century French. The word refers to 'powder'. A synonym would be "French dressing table". PSP
Not 18th Century American, 18th Century French. The word refers to 'powder'. A synonym would be "French dressing table". PSP
John McAlister
Well-known member
CBWW. I find that I did make a Dressing Table in 1972 but do not show on my drawings exactly where I got the details. I also have a couple of 3 1/4" x 3 1/4" snapshots of it; which I don't know how to attach to this reply. The top center section is hinged at the back and has a mirrored underside. There is a glass bottomed well under the center top piece. The 2 end sections are drawers opening at the front. It has straight tapered legs. Not nearly as fancy or complicated as some of the Poudreuse that I found on Google. Your email address is hidden but send it to me, off forum, and I'll be glad to email you what I have. No use cluttering up the forum especially since I cant figure out how to show these snapshots on the forum. Or perhaps you'd rather keep your email hidden. John McAlister.
Thanks for the offer John. I am all set on the construction of the case. The question was over the mirror. The mirror is attached to the underside of the lid, held on by an applied molding. The lid lifts up, then is capable of sliding forward while tiped up. I suspect there is a grove along the inside of the compartment below. I am planning on having maybe a 3" wide by 1" or so bar with stub tenons to ride in the groove. The mirror will be hinged to this and the back side of this bar will have a slight angle to keep the mirror at a certain angle. I have not seen or been able to find images of how this was done traditionally and I can not make sense of the previous description. The client is really not concerned about traditional authenticity. email is through my website at cherrybrookwoodworks.com
Hi CBWW
Looks like your on the right track. The few I have worked on had slide/ runners attached to the inside of the opening. Looks like the one in the photo has the dado [ slide ] cut into the compartment sides. The last one I had, had 1 1/4" wide x 1" thick board running from front to back on each side with a 3/8" dado cut just below center running the length of the slide. The mirror frame was attached to a 1" thick x 2 1/2" board with tenons cut into the ends to slide in the runners. The slide and runners are set even with the case . Now for the tricky part, The board the mirror hinges attach to is cut to slide over the back of the case. A notch is cut into the back of the case 1" deep and just up to the slides, preventing the mirror hinge board tenons from sliding out the back. The mirror hinge board is notched so when it is slid to the back side it extends over the back boards of the case. The back boards prevent the mirror hinge board from sliding out the back, and the mirror hinge board is notched so it slides even with the back of the case. The hinges are set on the rear edge of the board and a bevel is cut on the mirror frame to allow it to set at a slight angle when open. The mirror is able to slide from front to back of the case and will lay flush with the top when laid down. Sorry , no photo's , I thought it was so simple so I didn't take pictures. Hope this makes sense. The piece I am describing was French about 1800 - 1820 and gesso with painted women in gowns of the period on the lids of the compartments.
Randy
Looks like your on the right track. The few I have worked on had slide/ runners attached to the inside of the opening. Looks like the one in the photo has the dado [ slide ] cut into the compartment sides. The last one I had, had 1 1/4" wide x 1" thick board running from front to back on each side with a 3/8" dado cut just below center running the length of the slide. The mirror frame was attached to a 1" thick x 2 1/2" board with tenons cut into the ends to slide in the runners. The slide and runners are set even with the case . Now for the tricky part, The board the mirror hinges attach to is cut to slide over the back of the case. A notch is cut into the back of the case 1" deep and just up to the slides, preventing the mirror hinge board tenons from sliding out the back. The mirror hinge board is notched so when it is slid to the back side it extends over the back boards of the case. The back boards prevent the mirror hinge board from sliding out the back, and the mirror hinge board is notched so it slides even with the back of the case. The hinges are set on the rear edge of the board and a bevel is cut on the mirror frame to allow it to set at a slight angle when open. The mirror is able to slide from front to back of the case and will lay flush with the top when laid down. Sorry , no photo's , I thought it was so simple so I didn't take pictures. Hope this makes sense. The piece I am describing was French about 1800 - 1820 and gesso with painted women in gowns of the period on the lids of the compartments.
Randy
John McAlister
Well-known member
Pete, Randy, Obviously the table I made is considerably less fancy and sophisticated than the tables you are working with. I mounted the mirror to the underside of the top center section with mounting screws through a brass rosette. It hinged at the back with a piano hinge and could not be slid forward.
John McAlister
John McAlister