Decalcomania glass globe upon a turned mahogany circular socle, decorated with a band of maidens and foliate ornament. (via Gardiner Houlgate Auction House)
Decalcomania (from the Latin de which means down, plus calquer, which is Latin for trace, plus mania which is Greek for madness) is a decorative process for applying engravings or prints to objects of glass, wood, metal, ceramics or any hard smooth surface. It was invented in England around 1750 and imported into the United States as early as 1865. It was invented by Simon François Ravenet, a French engraver who moved to England and perfected the process he called “decalquer” (to copy by tracing). It reminds me of a more complicated method of decoupage, as it uses a varnish to affix printed images to surfaces, except the print is peeled off after drying, transfering the image to the surface.
- Read more about the varying techniques of the process from Henley’s Twentieth Century Formulas Recipes Processes” encyclopedia
- Decalcomania was also a technique employed by the Surrealists
