Artistic Artisan Has Masterpiece
By Pat Piper of The Tampa Bay Times on March 10, 1965
Most people put aside the tools of their trade when they retire, but not Paul Magnor.
Magnor retired three years ago (1962) from the Spanjer Brothers Sign Company in Chicago where he used a jigsaw to cut letters for signs out of wood, aluminum, and plastic.
He uses his jigsaw now, along with a drill, sharp knives, pencils and glue to make inlaid wood pictures which he describes as “pictorial marquetry.”
Among his 30 to 35 pictures, made from various kinds of wood, is what he calls his masterpiece, “The Last Supper.”
It took Magnor three months to complete the picture in which he used 49 different kinds of wood (mostly imported), and more than 1,100 pieces.
“I stopped counting the pieces when I hit 1,100,” he remarked. He values this one picture at about $1,500 (approximately $13,000 in 2021 dollars). Others are from $20 up. The brilliant colors in the picture of “The Last Supper” are of dyed wood.
Magnor says he uses a magnifying glass in his work most of the time, “especially on the eyes.”
He takes his design from small pictures, outlines them and then enlarges them before tracing on the base for his picture. The various woods then are selected and cut to size, and glued to the base.
Magnor came to this country in 1913 and began work as a laborer in Duluth, Minn. HE served with the U. S. Army during World War I, spending 18 months in France. When he returned he worked in several woodworking shops in Chicago before going to work for Spanjer Brothers.
He has his wife live at 446 37th Avenue N. E., St. Petersburg. His pictures are on exhibit at the Florida Art Club sidewalk show at Bayshore Gardens which will continue through today.