Kamptulikon

Kamptulikon is a floor covering that was used in the 19th century. It was invented by the Englishman Elijah Galloway in 1843 and patented by the British manufacturers Teyler, Gough and Boys before 1848 and produced in large quantities. The establishment of linoleum meant that Kamptulikon was completely displaced by the end of the 19th century, as it often cracked due to the shrinkage of the wood of the floors.

use

Kamptulikon is an elastic, rubber-like material that, due to its sound insulation on floors, was also used in large or public buildings such as churches, parliaments, clubhouses or hotels, as well as stair runners and foot runners. In the stables of the British royal family, the walls and partition walls were also clad with the material. The cells in psychiatric clinics were also lined with thick camptulicon to avoid injuring the inmates. The Kamptulikon u. a. as a replacement for the leather clothing used by knife cleaners, which also served as a cleaning cloth.

British architect Charles Barry used the new material as flooring in the new Houses of Parliament in London in 1840 , and by the 1860s there were 10 factories in England producing Kamptulikon.

Manufacture and properties

Kamptulicon was produced as a mixture of rubber , gutta-percha , waste from the cork industry , shellac and linseed oil . The ingredients were pressed, mixed and then rolled onto a strong fabric under high pressure . The actual mixing took about 10 hours, whereas the drying process took longer.

Kamptulikon is an elastic covering that lies between the raw materials cork and rubber in terms of its elasticity and was therefore very resistant to wear and tear. It is also almost insensitive to water and many corrosive chemicals. Because it conducts heat significantly better than carpets and other textile floor coverings, it was not used for living spaces.

literature

• Article: Kamptulikon . In: Otto Lueger (Hrsg.): Lexicon of the entire technology . 2nd Edition. ( zeno.org - 1904-1920).
• Miles Lewis: Australian Building: A Cultural Investigation . Section 11.04: Floor Coverings. ( unimelb.edu.au ).
• The Kamptulikon in: Romberg's magazine for practical architecture , Archit. 449-23.1863; (digital: p. 86; in the PDF original: p. 151f.)

Individual evidence

1. ↑ cork carpet . In: Meyers Konversations-Lexikon . 4th edition. Volume 9, Verlag des Bibliographisches Institut, Leipzig / Vienna 1885–1892, p. 94.
2. ↑ Kamptulikon . In: Meyers Großes Konversations-Lexikon . 6th edition. Volume 10, Bibliographisches Institut, Leipzig / Vienna 1907, p.  526 .
3. ↑ Kamptulĭkon . In: Heinrich August Pierer , Julius Löbe (Hrsg.): Universal Lexicon of the Present and the Past . 4th edition. tape 19 . Altenburg 1865, p. 858 ( zeno.org ).
4. ↑ Romberg's Zeitschrift ..., p. 86 bottom left and top right.
5. ^ Pamela H. Simpson: Comfortable, Durable, and Decorative. Linoleum's Rise and Fall from Grace . In: APT Bulletin . tape 30 , no. 2/3 , 1999, p. 17-24 .
6. ^ Romberg's Zeitschrift ..., p. 86 bottom left.