The third edition of this classic text, first published in 1949, contains additional colour plates and text describing popular decorative paint finishes such as lapis lazuli, tortoiseshell, malachite, patinated gold and fossilstone marble. A chapter on broken colour effects--including ragging, dragging, stippling, sponging and shading--is also provided. The extensive text on graining has been enhanced by replacing the descriptive-only ground colours with two full-colour plates of suggested colours (aligned with the British Standard), thereby enabling access to paints from local suppliers or helping the decorative painter make and mix his/her own colours.