This area of the site contains a detailed conservation report of a project worked on by Yannick Chastang Ltd.. Other reports can be downloaded and reviewed in intricate detail as a guide to suggested conservation techniques. For example, a full report on the seminal Linke desk, archive # 707, a variation of the front cover of my 1981 book and my 2003 book on Linke, is available on Yannick’s website here. The desk was in a very poor state and I recommend that the owner in the United States send it to Yannick Chastang in Kent, England for full restoration.

Under Yannick’s supervision I have been learning the basic principles of conservation on Linke furniture but I do advise people not to attempt to work on pieces themselves unless they are fully qualified. The image below shows me cleaning the old dirt of the marquetry surface of the delightful three-legged table # 552 as seen above right.

Below are three images of a Linke table being conserved. A variation of # 63, the photograph on the left shows a small section of missing satiné veneer that has been filled in with a horrible paste. Next is the cleaned up area waiting for the new replacement piece of veneer cut to the exact shape and sanded down to the required thickness; in itself an exacting task and time consuming for an amateur. The final photograph shows the table upside down, clamping the top to a board to cramp the new piece of veneer in place, using a suitable animal glue.