Wood tar

Description

A thick, black resinous product obtained from the destructive distillation of pine or other resinous woods. Wood tar was used as a source for alcohol and turpentine prior to WWI. It has also been used as a preservative and insect repellent.

Synonyms and Related Terms

wood-tar; goudron de bois (Fr.); vegetable tar; pine tar

Authority

• G.S.Brady, Materials Handbook, McGraw-Hill Book Co., New York, 1971 Comment: p. 801

• Dictionary of Building Preservation, Ward Bucher, ed., John Wiley & Sons, Inc., New York City, 1996

• Art and Architecture Thesaurus Online, http://www.getty.edu/research/tools/vocabulary/aat/, J. Paul Getty Trust, Los Angeles, 2000