How Big is Yours?

[Less]

Ok, now that I have your attention,

Who knows the history of our mat samples as we know them today?

How did they get to be 3" (2-3/4")

Who offered the first sample set, size, selection, etc.?

I remember a turn-of-the-century litho with what had to be an original 16-ply mat that appeared to be cut by a machine; talk about a deep bevel. Wish my mat cutter could do that.

[Ron Eggers]

Less,

I don't know the answer to your question so, as is my habit, I'll talk about something else that may be only slightly related.

In 1977, Crescent was my mat line. Bill Hershey was my rep. Bainbridge was a distant and exotic rumour and Miller/True Vue was not making matboard. Larson Picture Frame, in Ashland, Wisconsin and Juhl Pacific were separate entities and neither owned a British matboard company.

I had 33 Crescent paper mats and they had names like "Red," "Black" and "White." Rag mats were "White" or "Cream." Conservation was an effort to save trees and wildlife. Life was simple and a little boring. I think the mat samples were 2 3/4".

I have a few things around the house framed with these mats and the bevels are now Bonanza Gold.

Geez, am I old! And I've heard rumours that JRB is older than I am! :eek:

[B. Newman]

Gee Ron, I can do one better than that! In 1972, among the Crescent colors we stocked were Las Palmas Green (refrigerator green) and San Fernando Gold (harvest gold), and even then there was Sepia. I can't remember any other colors because every thing we did was in either green or gold, but I liked the brown! :rolleyes: The most common framing ticket said WGG2 (2" Walnut green/gold) frame with 1 3/4" green or gold mat. Not even a double mat and who in their right mind would want a bevel cut on the mat???

I guess that's the main reason I use Crescent today. (And I'm a Methodist because my Momma was a Methodist! So there! tongue.gif )

Betty

[jframe]

Well, I'm a Methodist cause my mama is a Methodist too! smile.gif I remember all those colors being the most popular plus pyro brown, oak something, , stone grey,copley grey, LOTS of pebble, black white, cream, off white, tv grey, warm grey,(yuck yuck yuck). Some are still around I think, Cerulean, Volcano Blue (volcano's are blue?) Madeira Red, Tampico Brown, Las Vegas Purple, Madagascar Pink, Bimini Blue, Celery...wait just a sec, let me go check my walls :D ...oh yes, and that awful bright orangy red!

[Marc Lizer]

kirsten gray

[Jana]

Good grief. You guys have been framin' a L-O-N-G time. But I do remember using only, and I emphasize only, white pebble board (cut with a linoleum/utility knife) in art school. I still have some of those mats.

I can't sell that pebble board. Imagine my dismay when that's the mat a decorator recently chose. Oh, the horrors. But, you know what, the piece didn't turn out too bad.

Oh, the original question. I have no idea, but maybe mat samples should be 3 1/2" wide. That would be a compromise.

[nona powers]

Ron, you do go back a ways. Me to. I remember when Bainbridge came out with the first full line of archival matboards that I could use on good art. No more white, cream or Ivory.

I went to a museum where they were showing very close tonality tintype photographs with bright white rag mats. I mentioned to the director, "You know you can put a soft grey on those tintypes and they would show up a whole lot better".

Many museums still just use white rag. I saw some beauritful close tonality asian silk paintigs the other day in The San Diego Museum of Art. All you could see was the bright white. Notice how often you see it in magazines like Architectural Digest. Ruins the whole room because all that is noticed is the bright white. It ruins the enjoyment of the art.

Nona Powers, CPF, GCF
www.nonapowers.com (http://www.nonapowers.com)

Hey, she can talk about something besides standards and FACTS!!!!