Life-size painted wooden cut-out figures of soldiers, serving maids, children and animals stand in dark corners of some museums and country houses, often creating a disturbingly lifelike impression for teh casual viewer. Many strange theories have been put forward to account for these figures, now known as dummy boards or silent companions: were they intended to act as firescreens, or to scare off burglars, or even to ward off loneliness? This book disentangles their true origins in seventeenth century 'Trompe l'oeil' painting and discusses the range of purposes (primarily decorative) to which they were put. There is also a section on the closely related subject of chimney boards - panels painted in trompe l'oeil to disguise fireplace openings in the summer months.