Thomas Kershaw

Thomas Kershaw (1819–1898) was a leading British pioneer of marbleising, the creation of imitation marble finishes.

At the Paris Exposition Universelle of 1855, he won a gold medal but felt obliged to carry out public demonstrations of his craft in the exhibition hall after accusations that he was using some type of fraudulent transfer technique.

On his return, he bought a house on Baker Street and set up his own specialist decorating company.

[1] Kershaw was given several lucrative contracts, including one from the royal family to marbleise the columns at Buckingham Palace and Osborne House, but turned down a request from the Russian Ambassador to marbleise the interior of the Imperial Palace in St Petersburg.

[1] In 1862 he won another gold medal at the London Exhibition and was elected a liveryman in the Painter-Stainers Company for thirty-eight years.