Karibari

Frank Siegle <buchbinderei-mende<-a t->t-online< . >de> writes

>I want to construct a Karibari. The manual I use recommends to
>construct the frame with red wood. Can anybody tell me the
>scientific name of this kind of wood.

Not knowing what a karibari was, I went to Webster's 3rd New
International Dictionary to look it up; I still don't know what one
is, but karri or kari is listed as being "1: a large gum tree
(Eucalyptus diversicolor) of Western Australia  2: the hard durable
red wood of karri that constitutes one of the principal commercial
timbers of Australia."

Another text notes that over 200 of the 500+ species of Eucalyptus
have been introduced into the U.S.  Some have become naturalized in
south Florida, but they especially thrive in California.  Some years
ago I was given one large flitch of Eucalyptus (unidentified species)
taken from a tree near Tarpon Springs, and it is very dense, is the
color of raw beef, and can be difficult to work with hand tools.

    **** Moderator's comments:   Thanks also to Helen Coxon
    <helenc<-a t->rom< . >on< . >ca> who provided similar information. A karibari
    is a Japanese drying board used in scroll mounting and paper
    conservation. Obviously, then the term is Japanese and the
    similarity to "karri" is coincidental. Which is not to say it
    isn't indeed the "red wood" Mr. Siegle is referring to--my
    knowledge of wood species is minimal--, hence the posting of
    this item. For more information on construction of a karibari,
    see

        Koyano, Masako. Japanese Scroll Paintings: A Handbook of
        Mounting Techniques. Foundation of the American Institute
        for Conservation. Washington, 1979.

    This book, btw, indicates Japanese cedar for construction. Also,
    someone in Canada offered a very nice videotape on the subject
    several years ago but unfortunately I've completely forgotten
    whom.

Clint Fountain
Museum of Florida History
Tallahassee, FL

                                  ***
                  Conservation DistList Instance 10:88
                 Distributed: Thursday, April 10, 1997
                       Message Id: cdl-10-88-008
                                  ***