Carl Spitzweg's Bookworm

This marquetry of Spitzweg's Bookworm, is a fine example of the beautiful "wood inlay pictures" produced by Buchschmid & Grétaux during the mid-20th Century. The "BG" featured at the lower right of this inlay picture is a trade mark representing the highest standard of this type of workmanship available. These plaques were created as a tribute to some of the best-known German paintings.

Each marquetry was completely crafted by hand using the wood from Germany's Black Forest. Each of the partners had specific roles in the picture-making process. Grétaux was the artist who created all the wonderful designs used for the inlays, while Buchschmid was the craftsman who handled the wood and wood veneers taking care of the production of each picture. Although the same design might be used more than once, each picture is a unique work of art. No wood inlays have been produced by this famous team since the early 1950's, thereby increasing the value of all the existing marquetries.